THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WRESTLING… Upper Iowa will open the Northern Sun  Conference portion of their dual schedule this Saturday and Sunday with a long road trip to North Dakota. The Peacocks will being by lining up against the No. 23 Marauders of the University of Mary on Saturday at 2 p.m. and then head farther west to challenge the Beavers of Minot State University on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG… Live options are available for both duals including live results and a webcast. The video is available online and also can be streamed through the Stretch Internet app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. All the live option links are available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
 
BY THE NUMBERS… Upper Iowa has recorded 232 wins this season through a dual and four tournaments. The Peacocks have registered 111 bonus-point wins including 75 by fall, 9 by tech fall and 27 major decisions. Tucker Black holds the team-lead in wins with 15, while Triston Westerlund is close behind with 14. Brock Benitz has punctuated 8 of his wins by fall to lead the Peacocks in that category.
 
PEACOCKS IN THE RANKINGS… Upper Iowa is currently ranked No. 9 in the NWCA Division II Top 25 Poll. UIU boasts five young men in the individual rankings including seniors Logan Hopp and Josh Walker, juniors Maleek Williams and Damian Penichet and freshman Brock Benitz. Hopp ranks second in the heavyweight weight class and will return to the Peacocks in just a few weeks for his final semester with UIU. Walker is currently ranked 5th at 133 pounds and is 8-2 with 4 wins by fall despite wrestling at 141 pounds so far this season. Williams ranks 6th at 125 lb with a 6-3 record wrestling up at 133 pounds; the Miami, Fla. product has also picked up four wins by fall. Benitz is ranked 11th in the 157-pound weight class, while Penichet is ranked 9th at 149 pounds.
 
SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS… UMary is currently tied at No. 23 in the NCWA Division II rankings with a 1-0 (0-0 NSIC) dual record. Seven Marauders placed in the Dragon Open last weekend including four in the upper division and three in the lower. UMary's 33-12 win over the #21 Concordia College Cobbers last Wednesday was the first time that the Marauders have defeated Concordia since the 1988-89 season. Five of the seven Marauder wins in that dual came by bonus points.  Rudy Guillen leads UM and is currently ranked second in the nation at 149. He won his lone match of the week with a 15-3 major decision. Two different Marauders picked up wins by fall against the Cobbers including Nate Humann and Hunter Eckert. Tate Barnhardt and Dominic Tudor picked up wins by tech fall against Concordia.
 
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS… Minot State currently sits with a 1-4 (0-0 NSIC) record on the season. Their lone dual win came last week in a 27-17 victory over Eastern Oregon University at The Battle of the Rockies. The Beavers picked up four wins by decision while the Mountaineers forfeited at 125 lb and 174 lb. Zach Berry posted a 5-1 record in the Battle of the Rockies tournament and finished third in the 157-pound division at the Heritage Inn Open. Mitchell Eull finished fourth in the heavyweight division with a 4-2 record in the Heritage Inn Open. Eull and Dean Arevalo (125) each went 3-0 at the Battle of the Rockies Duals. Minot State University will host Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday before Sunday's dual with the Peacocks.
 
PROBABLE LINEUPS FOR UPPER IOWA, UMARY AND MINOT STATE…
 

WT	Wrestler	YR	W	L	F	TF	MD	Hometwon	Prev. School
125	Maleek Williams	R-Jr.	6	2	4	0	0	Miami, Fla.	South Dade HS
125	Ryan Schmalen	R-So.	6	7	1	0	0	Clear Lake, Iowa	Clear Lake HS
133	Josh Walker	R-Sr.	8	2	4	1	1	Tulsa, Okla.	U. of Central Oklahoma
141	Hunter Slifka	R-So.	4	4	0	0	1	Cresco, Iowa	Crestwwod HS
141	Aaron Baker	R-Fr.	8	6	4	0	3	Chillicothe, Mo.	Chillicothe HS
149	Damian Penichet	R-Jr.	7	1	3	1	1	Miami, Fla.	Columbus HS
149	Zach Bruns	R-So.	7	6	4	0	0	West Union, Iowa	North Fayette Valley HS
157	Brock Benitz	R-Fr.	11	1	8	0	0	Mosinee, Wis.	Lincoln HS
165	Tucker Black	Jr.	14	4	0	1	3	Batavia, Iowa	North Iowa Area CC
165	Cody Nelson	R-Jr.	8	5	5	0	0	Greene, Iowa	North Butler HS
174	Jordan Gundrum	Jr.	7	2	7	0	0	West Bend, Wis.	Ellsworth CC
184	Dalton Hahn	Fr.	10	4	1	1	3	Loganville, Wis.	Reedsburg HS
184	Jamie Gehling	R-So.	7	6	1	0	1	Stewartville, Minn.	Stewartville HS
184	Connor Williams	Fr.	9	5	3	0	1	La Crosse, Wis.	Central HS
197	Nick Baumler	So.	10	4	2	1	2	West Union, Iowa	North Fayette Valley HS
285	Triston Westerlund	R-So.	13	4	4	1	0	Albert Lea, Minn.	Albert Lea HS
	2017-18 Team Totals				75	9	27

 
 

UMary Marauders
125	Nate Humann	R-Jr.	Bismarck, N.D.
133	Tate Barnhardt	Jr.	Bismarck, N.D.
141	Hunter Eckert	Jr.	Bismarck, N.D.
149	Rudy Guillen	R-So.	Duluth, Ga.
157	Jakob Weisbrod	R-Jr.	Clark, S.D.
157	Jordan Hegel	R-Sr.	Missoula, Mont.
165	Phillip Springsteen	R-Fr.	Graham, Wash.
174	Austin Eichmann	So.	Hastings, Minn.
184	Jackson Schichel	Fr.	Hastins, Minn.
184	Jake Green	Jr.	The Colony, Texas
197	Emmitt Brooks	Fr.	Vista, Calif.
197	Gerardo Jaime	Fr.	Spring Valley, Calif.
285	Dom Tudor	So.	Peoria, Ill.
Minot State Beavers
125	Dean Arevalo	So.	Riverside, Calif.
125	Nick Pereira	R-Fr.	Chino, Calif.
133	Michael Rangel	So.	Whittier, Calif.
133	Liam Hayden	So.	Lancaster, N.H.
141	Marco Ramirezlazos	Fr.	Vista, Calif.
141	Jeseb Mogen	R-Fr.	Velva, N.D.
149	Tanner Crissler	Jr.	Belcourt, N.D.
157	Zachary Berry	So.	Federal Way, Wash.
157	Max Miller	Fr.	Meridian, Idaho
165	Carlos Toledano	Sr.	Duvall, Wash.
165	Tyler Sharron	Fr.	Unity, N.H.
174	Parker Osterman	So.	Wilcox, Ariz.
174	Joshua Juarez	Fr.	San Diego, Calif.
184	Keegan Berry	So.	Casper, Wyo.
184	Bryce Broome	Sr.	Port Orchard, Wash.
197	Briley Crissler	Sr.	Belcourt, N.D.
197	Blake Johnston	Fr.	Colstrip, Mont.
285	Mitch Eull	Sr.	Buffalo, Minn.
285	Joshua Vigil-Harrison	Fr.	Centennial, Colo.
285	Austin Moen	So.	Foxholm, N.D.

 
NEXT UP… The Peacocks will head to Indianapolis, Ind. next Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17 to compete in the Midwest Classic. Upper Iowa placed 10th at the Midwest Classic last year and placed four wrestlers in the top eight of their respective weight classes.