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This Weekend in Peacock Wrestling... The #6 Upper Iowa wrestling program will travel to northwest Minnesota for their first Northern Sun Conference dual of the season. The Peacocks will visit Moorhead, Minn. on Saturday, Jan. 17, to line up against the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead at 2 p.m. in Alex Nemzek Hall. UIU heads into the dual with a 5-2 record this season, while MSUM is 1-2 overall this year and 0-1 in the NSIC following a loss to Minnesota State University, Mankato last Saturday.
Peacock Probables versus the Dragons...| WT | YR | | Rank | W | L | FALL | TF | MD | HOMETOWN |
| 125 | So. | Garrett Wangsness | | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Albert Lea, Minn. |
| 125 | Sr. | Chris Paulus | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | New Hampton, Iowa |
| 133 | R-Jr. | Matt Paulus | | 13 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | New Hampton, Iowa |
| 133 | R-Jr. | Mitch Funk | | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Elkader, Iowa |
| 141 | R-So. | Jordan Roths | | 13 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0 | New Hampton, Iowa |
| 149 | R-Sr. | Duane Richardson | | 11 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Council Bluffs, Iowa |
| 149 | R-Sr. | Trevor Duke | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Burlington, Iowa |
| 157 | R-Jr. | Jordan Rinken | #6 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | Denver, Iowa |
| 165 | R-So. | Colbey Vance | | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| 174 | R-So. | Dalton Westerlund | | 17 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 | Albert Lea, Minn. |
| 184 | Sr. | Blake Sorensen | #6 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | Denver, Iowa |
| 184 | R-Jr. | Brock Gobin | | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cannon Falls, Minn. |
| 197 | R-Fr. | Richard Briggs | | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | St. Michael, Minn. |
| 285 | R-So. | Logan Hopp | #7 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | New Hampton, Iowa |
| | | Team Totals | | 345 | 246 | 154 | 13 | 37 | |
Second Best Finish at NWCA National Duals… Upper Iowa competed in their eighth straight NWCA National Duals last weekend, Jan. 9-10, as one of twelve nationally-ranked teams in the field of sixteen. The Peacocks went into the tournament as the #17 team in the country, but after claiming fourth place at the duals with matches against #5 Mercyhurst University, #6 McKendree University, #1 Notre Dame College and #7 St. Cloud State, UIU is now ranked #6 in the nation. Upper Iowa has now placed in the top eight in seven of the last eight years at the National Duals with the only higher placing coming in 2012 as the Peacocks placed third. UIU defeated #5 Mercyhurst 33-8 and #6 McKendree 18-15 to reach the semifinals, but lost to #1 Notre Dame 22 -12 and #7 St. Cloud State 26-6 in semis and third-place match, respectively.
A Closer Look at the Dragons… MSU Moorhead sophomore wrestler Blake Bosch is ranked sixth in the nation at 133 pounds and has an 11-5 record after recording a pin in the Dragons' dual against Minnesota State on Jan. 10. He is also ranked second in the Super Region 3 rankings behind Ouachita Baptist's Nate Rodriguez. MSUM's probable lineup includes 125-Shane Novak (So., 4-2), 133-Blake Bosch (So., 11-5), 141-Philippe Walker (Sr., 6-6), 149-Isaac Novacek (So., 6-5), 157-Garret Hoffner (So., 5-2), 165-Dan Murakami (So., 1-8), 174-Michael Joseph (Sr., 7-6), 184-Shawn Porter (Sr., 8-6), 197-Chris Bascon (Jr., 1-7) and 285-Nader Abdullatif (So., 9-7).
In the Rankings… Upper Iowa is currently ranked #6 in the country and is led by three nationally-ranked wrestlers including
Jordan Rinken (157, #6),
Blake Sorensen (184, #6) and
Logan Hopp (285, #7). Rinken is enjoying a fine return to the varsity mat this season with a 21-6 record at 157 pounds. Rinken has earned 12 bonus-point wins with 6 by fall, 4 by technical fall and 2 by major decision. Sorensen returned the national ranking after a brief absence on the last release; the senior 184-pounder went 3-1 at the National Duals with his only loss coming to the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation from Notre Dame. Sorensen is 16-5 and is tied for the team lead in falls with 9. Hopp is 20-3 on the year and went 2-1 at the National Duals; the sophomore heavyweight has 5 wins by fall in addition to a tech fall and a major decision.
NWCA Top 20 Poll – Jan. 14, 2015… | Rank | School (State) | Points | Last Ranking |
| 1. | Maryville (Mo.) | 160 | 2nd |
| 2. | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 152 | 1st |
| 3. | Nebraska-Kearney | 141 | 3rd |
| 4. | St. Cloud State (Minn.) | 136 | 7th |
| 5. | Mercyhurst (Pa.) | 123 | 5th |
| 6. | Upper Iowa | 118 | 17th |
| 7. | McKendree (Ill.) | 112 | 6th |
| 8. | Central Oklahoma | 99 | 11th |
| 9. | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 91 | 4th |
| 10. | Lindenwood (Mo.) | 88 | 10th |
| 11. | Western State (Colo.) | 83 | 8th |
| 12. | Newberry (S.C.) | 52 | 14th |
| 13. | Kutztown (Pa.) | 49 | 12th |
| 14. | North Carolina-Pembroke | 47 | 13th |
| T15. | Fort Hays State (Kan.) | 39 | 19th |
| T15. | Lake Erie (Ohio) | 39 | NR |
| 17. | Augustana (S.D.) | 34 | NR |
| 18. | Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) | 30 | 16th |
| 19. | Colorado Mesa | 25 | 20th |
| 20. | Shorter (Ga.) | 24 | 9th |
| | | | |
| Others receiving votes: California Baptist, Central Missouri, Coker (S.C.), Findlay (Ohio), Tiffin (Ohio). |
Who's Up Next... Upper Iowa will host the University of Mary and Northern State University next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24, in Dorman Gym. The duals will be UIU's first time back in Fayette for competition since the Mike Olson Duals on Nov. 6 when the Peacocks defeated Waldorf (42-3) and Truman State (28-17). Both duals are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts. Upper Iowa will celebrate Military Appreciation Day on Friday and is calling for a Black Out on Saturday night versus the Wolves. Both duals will be televised live on KCRG 9.2 and KCRG 9.3 in eastern Iowa. Live stats and a webcast will also be available for both duals.
