Wrestling - Men's

What We're Fundraising For

The Blugold Wrestling team is an integral part of the UW-Eau Claire community. Our athletes follow the UW-Eau Claire mission of excellence to the highest standard. Blugold Wrestling has continued to raise the bar, as this year senior Jared Stricker became the program’s first two-time national champion. Stricker is the recipient of the WIAC Wrestler of the Year award for the second consecutive season. He was named the Co-Wrestler of the Year last season. Blugold wrestlers have now won the award three times, with Derek Sikora serving as the only other recipient in 2006.  Stricker tallied the most wins in NCAA Division III this season and went 43-0 en route to a 174-pound national championship. It was his second consecutive national title, making him the first two-time national champion in the wrestling program's history.  The senior is believed to rank in or near the top five in Division III history with 169 career victories. He became the WIAC's all-time leader in wins this season and also became UW-Eau Claire's all-time leader with 75 pins. He ended his Blugold career on a 71-match win streak, the longest in program history.

The program also had eight wrestlers receive Scholar All-America honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association for the 2024-25 season. To continue the legacy of excellence, we need support from loyal fans like you to continue to compete at the top level.

To prepare our wrestlers to compete at the highest level, we need to travel to face tough opponents, but these trips are costly. Making a gift this year will allow us to travel to compete in places like Pennsylvania and Alabama. Your gift will support our transportation, lodging and food to compete against top-ranked programs. Gifts will also support hiring additional assistant coaches, who are vital to helping Blugold wrestlers excel on the mat, in the classroom and in the community. Your generosity will play an important role in the maintenance and growth of UW-Eau Claire Wrestling. 

Our Goal is to Beat our Best

Now in our fourth year of Athletics Giving Week, we are determined to surpass our best results yet. UWEC Director of Athletics, Jason Verdugo, has challenged all teams to exceed their top performance. If we reach our initial goal of $8,500, we’ll receive a $500 bonus, and hitting $9,500 will earn us an additional $500.

Matching Gift Opportunity

An anonymous donor is happily matching at gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $2,000 for Blugold Wrestling! Make your gift this week to take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact for wrestling. 

Gifts are counted as one per household per team. Please do not give a gift to the same team for you, your spouse, your child etc. because you all will only be counted as one gift towards the challenge. There is an option to jointly make your gift from you and your spouse to ensure you are both credited for your generosity.