For the sixth year in a row, UW-Eau Claire men’s wrestling team is the 8-Man Battles tournament champion. On Saturday, Nov. 22, the Blugolds hosted the tournament at the McPhee Physical Education Center, where they competed against six teams.
Alongside winning the tournament, the Blugolds had seven winners of their respective weight classes. Third-year Landon Church of the 149 Gold bracket and third-year Ryder Depies of the 184 Gold division clinched back-to-back tournament wins.
Third-year All-American Ian Pepple, the champion of the 197 Gold division said a big factor that goes into athlete performance is the home crowd.
“Being able to compete in front of our friends, fans (and) families means a lot because it shows them the type of work we’ve been putting in for them,” Pepple said.
Pepple is the only returning All-American from last year, as Zach Sato and Jared Stricker graduated in the spring of 2025. Head Coach Tim Fader said Pepple has done a good job in a leadership role.
“A lot of people keep their eyes on him,” Fader said. “When he talks, the younger guys will listen.”
Pepple said when wrestling, he likes to ride the highs whenever he can.
“It’s really fun just being able to go out there and do what I love,” Pepple said.
With the style of the tournament, Fader said the Blugolds were able to weigh in 29 wrestlers with over half the team wrestling. They were also able to form flights with other programs, which is a round-robin style tournament.
First-year Blakely Bastian won his flight off an 11-second pin and an eight-second pin.
“It’s possible the eight-second fall might be a school record,” Fader said.
Eight more Blugolds finished in third place or higher with first-years Gavin Haranham, Briar Ivey and Jackson Peak all taking third place in their respective weight divisions.
With the Blugolds having the biggest group wrestling on Saturday, Pepple said it’s good for the first years and underclassmen on the team to get experience.
“For those guys who are filling vacant spots, it’s really important for them to dip your toes in a little bit,” Pepple said.
The tournament had three mats for the male wrestlers and two for the female wrestlers. At some points during the day, the Blugolds had three wrestlers competing at the same time.
“Our guys do a really good job of stepping in there and taking a corner if we have a lot of guys wrestling at the same time,” Fader said.
So far this season, the Blugolds have participated in four tournaments. One of them was a dual match when the Blugolds defeated UW-Oshkosh 49-0 on Nov. 12.
Fader said the team set up the tournament the way it was so the younger wrestlers could get matches this time of the year before they compete in more dual matches.
“As the season goes on, your opportunities for your entire group gets smaller and smaller,” Fader said. “It’s honestly a good situation because it shows you have a strength in numbers.”
The Blugolds will keep their next tournament in Eau Claire when they wrestle in the Super Quad tournament at The Sonnentag on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Benes can be reached at [email protected].
