THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WRESTLING… No. 6 Upper Iowa will travel to St. Cloud State University on Thursday, Feb. 8 to battle the No. 1 Huskies at 7 p.m. UIU will return to Fayette and Dorman Gymnasium on Sunday, Feb. 11 and toe the line against Augustana University. The Peacocks will recognize alumni in attendance on Sunday as part of the Mike Olson Alumni Day Dual.
LIVE OPTIONS... Live options are available for both duals including video and live stats at UIUPeacocks.com/Live along with a live stream on the Stretch Internet App on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple and Android TV.
PEACOCKS IN THE RANKINGS... Upper Iowa is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation along with the Bearcats of McKendree University.
Logan Hopp, who is ranked second nationally at heavyweight, is 8-1 this season with four bonus-point wins including a fall, two tech falls and a major under his belt through eight matches.
Josh Walker is ranked sixth at 133 pounds nationally with a 26-6 this season and is riding an eight-match win streak. The redshirt senior has 17 bonus-point victories including 8 wins by fall, 5 by technical fall and 4 major decisions.
Maleek Williams is carrying a 22-6 record this season with 11 bonus-point victories thanks to 8 falls, a tech fall and a pair of majors.
Jordan Gundrum is ranked No. 8 with a 20-6 record and 16 bonus-point wins. The junior 174-pounder has notched 12 falls and 4 major decisions.
Brock Benitz moved up to No. 7 at 157 pounds; the redshirt-freshman is 21-4 this season with a team-high 13 falls and a major.
UIU PROBABLE LINEUP…
SCOUTING THE NO. 1 HUSKIES… SCSU Is ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA DII Top 25 poll. Individually,
Larry Bomstad (157) is ranked No. 1 in the nation, while
Brett Velasquez is No. 5 at 125.
James Pleski is ranked No. 1 at 149 and
Jarred Oftedahl is ranked No. 3 at 141.
Travis Holt is now ranked No. 6 at 165, Kolton Eischens is ranked No. 3 at 174 and
Brady Nelson is ranked No. 8 at 184. At 197,
Vince Dietz earned a No. 6 ranking and
Lawrence Phillips is ranked No. 10 at 285. SCSU captured its second consecutive NWCA DII National Duals championship on Jan. 4-5 in Fort Wayne, Ind. SCSU is the six-time defending NSIC champions and have won league titles in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012. SCSU has not lost a dual match in NSIC action since an 18-13 loss at Augustana on Jan. 27, 2011. SCSU owns a 17-0, 6-0 NSIC record this season. The Huskies have now won 26 consecutive dual matches dating back to 2016-17.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS… The Vikings dual against the Peacocks will be their second to last dual of the season as they fight for the top spot in the NSIC. Augustana sits in a tie atop the NSIC with No. 1 St. Cloud State, both still unbeaten in conference duals. Augustana is 11-2 (6-0 NSIC) in duals on the year. Senior
Aero Amo leads Augustana as the lone Viking ranked in the NWCA DII Individual Rankings that came out on Jan. 18. Amo sits at No. 7 at 184 pounds with a record of 8-2 and a dual record of 8-1 (6-0 NSIC) on the season. As a team, Augustana is receiving votes in the NWCA DII Top-25 Poll.
Clayton Wahlstrom leads the team with 21 wins at 197 pounds and
Oscar Ramirez Jr. has the top dual record of 12-1 at 149 pounds. Amo, Ramirez Jr. and
Regan Bye (165) are each perfect in NSIC duals this season. Augustana won a pair of home NSIC duals last weekend, defeating Minot State (36-3) and U-Mary (26-10). Augustana finished its home dual schedule with a record of 7-1.
NEXT UP… Following the final two regular season duals, the Peacocks will rest up and train for the NCAA Super Region III Tournament on Feb. 24-25 in St. Cloud, Minn. One Peacock per weight class will head to the regional looking to place fourth or better and earn a berth to the NCAA Division II Championships. Upper Iowa is hosting this year's Championships at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Mar. 9-10.
