THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WRESTLING... The No. 8 Peacock wrestling program is on the road in Louisville, Kentucky to compete in their 13th straight NWCA National Duals this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11. UIU is one of 19 teams competing in the NCAA Division II bracket; all 19 squads are ranked or receiving votes in the most recent NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. Upper Iowa will face No. 24 Gannon University at 11 a.m. ET on Friday at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it Louisville, Kentucky can use the link above or at
http://UIUPeacocks.com/Live to watch the duals on a pay-per-view basis or follow the live scoring of each dual for free.
SETTING THE SCENE... The National Duals are a two-day annual tournament featuring 19 teams from NCAA Division II, 24 from Division III and 16 from NAIA, as well as 8 NJCAA teams.
COMPETING IN THE DIVISION II BRACKET… All 19 teams in competition on Friday are in the latest NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 or receiving votes. Fourteen teams are in the Top 25 including No. 1 St. Cloud State University, the No. 2 University of Pitt-Johnstown, No. 3 Notre Dame College, the No. 4 University of Nebraska-Kearney, No. 5 McKendree University, the No. 6 University of Central Oklahoma, No. 7 Tiffin University, No. 8 Upper Iowa, No. 10 Newberry College, No. 13 Limestone College, No. 14 Mercyhurst University, No. 16 Lindenwood University, No. 18 Colorado School of Mines, No. 24 Gannon University, while Maryville University, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Bellarmine University, the University of Mary and Seton Hill University are all receiving votes.
UIU PROBABLES…
UPPER IOWA'S RECENT HISTORY AT THE DUALS... Upper Iowa has placed in the top eight in eleven of the last twelve years at the National Duals.
| 2008 – 8th place |
2009 – 7th place |
2010 – 5th place |
| 2011 – Did not place |
2012 – 3rd place |
2013 – 6th place |
| 2014 – 7th place |
2015 – 4th place |
2016 – 5th place |
| 2017 – 7th place |
2018 – 7th place |
2019 – 8th place |
Upper Iowa claimed 8th place twelve years ago, improved to 7th place the next year, and then claimed 5th place ten years ago. After a 1-2 record in 2011, the Peacocks returned in 2012 with their best-ever finish at the duals. Upper Iowa claimed third-place after dropping a tight match in the semis to St. Cloud State and then defeating Nebraska-Kearney. In 2013, the Peacocks placed sixth with a 3-2 record, and six years ago, UIU posted a 3-1-1 record to place seventh. The tie in 2014 came in the quarterfinals against Central Oklahoma and UIU moved the consolation side instead of the semifinals based on criteria in their match with the Bronchos. Five years ago, UIU upset the Mercyhurst Lakers and the McKendreee Bearcats on the first day, but lost to Notre Dame and St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon to place fourth. In 2016, the Peacocks placed fifth with a 4-1 record after defeating four ranked teams along the way including Wheeling Jesuit (24-15), Newberry (24-13), Tiffin (29-15) and Nebraska-Kearney (21-20) in an unreal finish in the fifth-place match. The lone loss for UIU came in the championship quarterfinals to the No. 1 Saints of Maryville University (33-10). In 2017, Upper Iowa placed seventh with a 3-2 record thanks to wins over Mercyhurst, Tiffin and Maryville, while wins over reigning NCAA DII Champion Notre Dame, Lake Erie and Colorado State-Pueblo fueled a seventh place finish two seasons ago. Last year, Upper Iowa defeated West Liberty University (RV) 36-12 and Gannon University (RV) 24-12 around a 27-12 loss to No. 2 St. Cloud State University on Friday, but went 0-2 on Saturday losing to No. 8 Lindenwood University (26-21) and the No. 13 University of Central Oklahoma (24-12) to claim eighth place.
A QUICK GLANCE BACK… After opening their season at four tournaments in which the Peacocks posted 251 victories and a combined winning percentage of .686 in their 366 bouts, the team has registered a 7-0 record in duals including a 3-0 start to the NSIC season. The team went 4-0 at the Desert Duals in Las Vegas, Nevada highlighted by a 26-12 win over then-No. 14 University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
PEACOCKS IN THE RANKINGS… Upper Iowa is ranked No. 8 in the country in the latest national poll and boasts four individuals in the rankings as well.
Nick Baumler, a two-time All-American at 197 pounds, remained at No. 1. Baumler is now 19-1 with 12 bonus-point wins including nine majors, two falls and a tech fall. Early in the season, the Peacock senior scored a 5-3 decision over Connor Corbin of the Univeristy of Iowa. Baumler is the reigning NSIC Wrestler of the Week after a 3-0 record in Las Vegas.
Justin Folley, ranked No. 4 at 133 pounds for the second poll in a row, is also 19-1 on the year. The senior has registered 14 bonus-point wins including five wins by fall, a pair of tech falls and seven majors. His only loss came in the first place match at the Auggie-Adidas Invite to Victor Gliva of Augsburg, a 2019 NCAA Division III All-American.
Dalton Hahn, a junior with the Peacocks, is ranked No. 10 at 184 pounds. The Loganville, Wis. native is 17-2 on the season with five wins by fall and three by major. Earlier in the year, Hahn won his bracket at the Millikin Open, claimed third at the Luther Open and fifth place at the Auggie-Adidas Open. He is currently riding an eight-match win streak and is a perfect 6-0 in duals for the Peacocks with two falls and a major.
Triston Westerlund is ranked No. 12 at heavyweight with a 15-4 mark on the year. The senior has won two matches by fall, but claimed 10 of his remaining 13 wins by decision grinding out his seven-minute battles. Westerlund is 5-1 in duals for UIU with his lone loss coming in a 4-1 decision to Minot State's Jordan Will, who is ranked No. 8 in the heavyweight group.
GETTING TO KNOW THE NO. 24 GOLDEN KNIGHTS… Gannon University comes into the NWCA National Duals with a 2-2 record in duals this season. The Golden Knights defeated Long Island University 46-0 and Millersville University 41-6, but dropped a pair of matches competitions against NCAA Division I foes in the University of Buffalo (31-10) and Edinboro University (39-0). Gannon scored 74 points at the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, Ind. prior to the Holiday Break and placed fifth out of 37 teams at the prestigious event. Five wrestlers earned a place on the awards podium including No. 12 Jacob Dunlop (125, 7th), Austin Hertel (133, 7th), No. 11 Dom Means (149, 5th), No. 7 Alex Farenchak (165, 4th) and No. 7 Freddie Nixon (197, 4th).
