The Peacock wrestling team is currently tied for 13th place at the 2021 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at the America's Center in St. Louis, Mo. Upper Iowa's four national qualifiers each won a match in Session I and two Peacocks have earned All-American honors and advanced to Session II on Saturday.
 
Zach Ryg earned an NCAA All-American honor and improved to 10-0 on the season winning his only match of the day. After a bye in the opening round, the redshirt freshman posted a 6-3 victory over Bryce Walker of the University of North Carolina-Pembroke thanks to a pair of takedowns in the first and third periods. The win pushed Ryg into the championship semifinals on Saturday, where he will face Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree University.
 
Tate Murty posted a 1-1 mark on the day and grabbed an NCAA All-American honor as well thanks to his 9-3 win over Austin Hertel of Gannon University. The 141-pounder controlled the match with Hertel racking up three takedowns on the way to the big win. Murty dropped his opening bout by a 10-6 score to Kelan McKenna of Notre Dame College. McKenna jumped out to a big early lead, but Murty dominated the second and third rounds accumulating four minutes of ride time, but couldn't get any turns to even the score. Murty will toe the line with Branson Proudlock of Findlay University in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
Chase Luensman's day started on a high note; UIU's sophomore posted a 10-0 major decision over Colby Teague of the University of Mount Olive. Luensman lost a tough 7-3 decision in the championship quarterfinal match to Ty Lucas of Central Oklahoma to move to the consolation side of the bracket. The Monticello, Iowa product opened his consolation second round match well against Will Evans of Newberry University. Luensman got an early takedown and was leading 2-1 when Evans hit on a huge throw and converted his position into a fall (1:14) to suddenly end Luensman's season.
 
Eric Faught posted a 1-2 record in his first trip to the NCAA Division II Championships. The redshirt freshman lost his first bout of the day to Noah Hermosillo of Adams State College by decision 6-1, but rallied for a victory in his second match over Craig Cook of Davis & Elkins College. Faught scored the bout's first point on an escape in the second period and then secured the win with a takedown late in the third period to win 3-1. Faught's run at the championships came to an end in the consolation second round when he was pinned (2:04) by Sam Turner of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
 
The University of Nebraska-Kearney holds the team lead with 58 points after Session I, while St. Cloud State University is second with 51.5 points. Lindenwood University (43.5), McKendree University (42.5) and the University of Central Oklahoma (42) round out the top five in the team standings.
 
Session II will start at 12 p.m. on Saturday with both consolation quarterfinals and championship semifinals.
 
NCAA Division II Championships Session I Results for Upper Iowa
141 - Tate Murty (8-6) scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Kelan McKenna (Notre Dame (OH)) 10-0 won by decision over Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) 8-6 (Dec 10-6)
Cons. Round 1 - Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) 8-6 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) 8-6 won by decision over Austin Hertel (Gannon) 5-3 (Dec 9-3)
 
149 - Eric Faught (8-4) scored 0.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Noah Hermosillo (Adams St.) 9-1 won by decision over Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) 8-4 (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Round 1 - Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) 8-4 won by decision over Craig Cook (Davis & Elkins) 11-7 (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Sam Turner (Neb.-Kearney) 10-4 won by fall over Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) 8-4 (Fall 2:04)
 
157 - Chase Luensman (9-3) scored 2.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) 9-3 won by major decision over Colby Teague (Mount Olive) 8-7 (MD 10-0)
Quarterfinal - Ty Lucas (Central Okla.) 10-1 won by decision over Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) 9-3 (Dec 7-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Will Evans (Newberry) 11-3 won by fall over Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) 9-3 (Fall 1:14)
 
197 - Zach Ryg (10-0) scored 8.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Zach Ryg (Upper Iowa) 10-0 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Zach Ryg (Upper Iowa) 10-0 won by decision over Bryce Walker (UNC Pembroke) 11-6 (Dec 6-3)