THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WRESTLING... The No. 14 Peacock wrestling program returns to the mat in Northern Sun Conference action this Friday night. Upper Iowa travels to Marshall, Minn. to battle the No. 25 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University. UIU is currently 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC, while SMSU is 0-1 on the season after a 24-19 conference loss at Northern State University. The Mustangs have not been on the mat competitively since their loss in Aberdeen on Dec. 10; SMSU was scheduled to be at the NWCA National Duals, but withdrew due to COVID-19 protocols.

LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make the trip to Marshall, Minnesota on Friday for the dual have a few options to follow the action in real time. Using the links above or at http://UIUPeacocks.com/Live, fans can watch a webcast online or follow live scoring through TrackWrestling. Fans can also stream the dual using the NSIC Network app on their favorite streaming device.
 
NATIONAL DUALS REWIND… The No. 14 Peacocks completed their competition on day one of the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals on Thursday with a 1-2 record. UIU started the day with an impressive 30-13 win over Tiffin University, before dropping a pair of duals to Newberry College and Fort Hays State University by scores of 25-18 and 24-15, respectively. Both Tiffin and Fort Hays State were receiving votes in the latest NWCA Division II Top 25. Upper Iowa had great three-win days at both 133 pounds and heavyweight with Kaden Anderlik (2-0) grabbing two decisions, Donny Schmit (1-0) claiming a win by fall in his match against Newberry, and Jordan Baumler (3-0) posting a pair of tight decisions after winning by forfeit in Upper Iowa's opening dual of the day. Chase Luensman (157) scored a pair of one-point decisions to pace a group of three Peacocks that went 2-1 on the day. Colter Bye (174) registered a two-point win against Tiffin before dropping a decision to Newberry before recording a win by fall (2:28) in his final match of the day. Myron Crawford (184) claimed two decisions in his first two matches, but lost in his bout against Fort Hays State to close out the day.
 
PEACOCK LEADERS… Chase Luensman leads the Peacock varsity squad in wins with 13, while five other UIU wrestlers have posted double-figure victories including 11 by Anderlik and Baumler and 10 by Schmit, Eric Faught, and Ryan Steffen. Three Peacocks, Schmit, Faught and Steffen, have scored six bonus-point victories to tie for the high total on the team. Schmit has a team-high four falls, while Chase Luensman has recorded two tech falls and Steffen and Myron Crawford have a team-high four major decisions. Chase Luensman and Ryan Steffen have posted 138 and 120 points, respectively, in their matches this season; Luensman is averaging 9.2 per bout and Steffen in scoring 8 per match.
 
IN THE RANKINGS… The New Year brought a second set of regular season rankings from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Upper Iowa is ranked No. 14 in the Division II Coaches Poll that was released on Dec. 31, 2021. Three Peacocks are ranked in the individual rankings as well with Kaden Anderlik, Eric Faught and Chase Luensman all earning a spot in the top 12 in their respective weight classes. Luensman claims the No. 4 ranking at 157 pounds in the latest release. The Monticello, Iowa product is 11-1 this season with four bonus-point wins including a fall, two tech falls and a major decision. Anderlik returns to the rankings for the first time this season at 133 pounds claiming the No. 6 spot. Currently 9-1, the former Crestwood prep has five bonus-point wins thanks to three falls, a tech fall and a major. Faught suffered his first loss of the season in UIU's rout of Central Missouri, but remains one of the top wrestlers in the country at 149 pounds. The Clear Lake, Iowa native is 9-1 on the year with a pair of falls and three major decisions.
 
INSIDE THE TEAM STATS… This season, Upper Iowa wrestlers (including unattached matches) have won 216 bouts in 337 matches claiming a win percentage of 64.1%. The squad has posted 101 bonus-point wins including 60 falls, 12 tech falls and 29 major decisions.

 

UIU Probable Lineup
WT	Peacocks	W	L	F	TF	MD	DEC
125	Dakota Henry	4	8	0	0	0	3
	Colby Lopez	3	6	0	0	1	2
133	Kaden Anderlik (No. 6)	11	1	3	1	1	5
	Donny Schmit	10	2	4	0	2	2
141	Connor Manderfeld	6	3	0	1	0	4
	Tate Murty	1	0	0	1	0	0
149	Eric Faught (No. 7)	10	2	3	0	3	4
157	Chase Luensman (No. 4)	13	2	1	2	1	7
	Chance Throndson	7	5	2	0	1	3
165	Ryan Steffen	10	5	1	1	4	3
	Cameron Lopez	1	2	1	0	0	0
174	Colter Bye	3	4	1	0	0	2
184	Myron Crawford	8	3	0	0	4	4
197	Bodie Garnier	5	10	0	1	1	3
285	Jordan Baumler	11	4	0	0	0	9
SMSU Probable Lineup
WT	Mustangs	W	L	F	TF	MD	DEC
125	Jackson Stauffacher	6	0	2	0	1	3
133	Hunter Pfantz	9	6	1	3	1	3
141	Luke Peterson	2	3	0	0	1	1
149	Sean Howk	3	5	0	0	0	3
157	Lucas Hodges	6	7	2	1	0	2
165	Jace Paplow	2	4	0	1	0	1
	Elijah Sterner	2	6	1	0	0	1
174	Carter Marx	9	4	3	0	0	4
184	Caden Steffen (No. 4)	9	1	3	1	2	3
197	Dillon McEachran	8	5	1	0	2	5
285	Jacob Dykes	6	5	5	0	0	1
	Neil Hanson	8	3	3	0	2	3

 



































ON THE HORIZON… Upper Iowa will be at home for a pair of Northern Sun Conference duals in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21-22. The Peacocks will host the University of Mary on Saturday and Minot State University on Sunday; both duals are slated to begin at 2 p.m.