UWEC's Balsiger, Unger earn All-American honors in wrestling

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds took four wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships this weekend.

And the Blugolds will return home with a pair of All-American finishes.

True freshman Wyatt Unser placed seventh at 133 pounds and senior Izzy Balsiger finished eighth at 125 pounds.

Unser, a two-time state champion for Glenwood City, was competing at his national tournament.

Unser finished strong with a win in his final bout Saturday.

Balsiger was an NCAA All-American for UW-La Crosse in 2013. He placed fourth at nationals that year.

Balsiger then was away from wrestling for more than 10 years before joining the UWEC program two years ago.

Now 33 years old, he qualified for NCAAs in 2024 before landing a spot on the medal podium in the final competition of his career.

Juniors Ian Pepple (197) and Sloan Welch (285) were eliminated on the first day of competition Friday.

Pepple was a returning All-American.