THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WRESTLING... The No. 15 Upper Iowa wrestling program returns to the mat on Thursday night at No. 2 St. Cloud State University. The Peacocks have not wrestled since Jan. 6 at the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals in Louisville, Kent. UIU cancelled three Northern Sun Conference duals since their run in Louisville due to COVID-19 and return to play protocols missing contests against Southwest Minnesota State University, the University of Mary and Minot State University. The Huskies also had to take a pause due to COVID-19 protocols from Jan. 7, when they placed second at the National Duals, until last Sunday when some of the Huskies competed in the North Country Open. UIU enters the dual with a 3-3 mark overall and an 0-1 mark in the NSIC, while SCSU is 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make the trip to St. Cloud, Minnesota on Thursday 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.
 
LAST TIME ON THE MAT... The Peacocks, ranked No. 14 at the time, completed their run 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… While Upper Iowa wrestling was nearing the end of their pause, a third set of regular season rankings from the National Wrestling Coaches Association was released. Upper Iowa is ranked No. 15 in the Division II Coaches Poll that was released on Jan. 21, 2022. Four Peacocks are ranked in the individual rankings as well with Kaden Anderlik, Tate Murty, Eric Faught and Chase Luensman all earning a spot in the top 12 in their respective weight classes. Anderlik is ranked No. 5 in the nation at 133 pounds with a record of 11-1. The Cresco, Iowa native has five bonus-point wins including three wins by fall, a tech fall and a major decision. Murty returned to action at the NUWAY Combat College Open on Jan. 6. The 2021 All-American is ranked No. 7 at 141 pounds with a 1-0 record. Murty's win came by a 17-2 technical fall; the Fountain City, Wis. product posted a 9-8 record last season and finished sixth in the country at the NCAA Championships. Faught is ranked No. 10 at 149 pounds with a 10-2 record highlighted by three wins by fall and three major decisions. The Clear Lake native shares in the team-high for bonus-point wins (6) with Donny Schmit (133) and Ryan Steffen (165). Luensman claims the No. 7 ranking at 157 pounds in the latest release. The wrestler from Monticello, Iowa is 13-2  and holds the team high-mark in wins. His five bonus-point victories have come in the form of two falls, one tech fall and two majors. Luensman has scored a team-high 138 points in his matches for an average of 9.2 per bout. 
 
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.
 

No. 15 UIU Probable Lineup
WT	Peacocks	W	L	F	TF	MD	DEC
125	Philip Ihde	2	8	2	0	0	0
133	No. 5 Kaden Anderlik	11	1	3	1	1	5
141	Connor Manderfeld	6	3	0	1	0	4
149	No. 10 Eric Faught	10	2	3	0	3	4
157	No. 7 Chase Luensman	13	2	1	2	1	7
165	Ryan Steffen	10	5	1	1	4	3
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
No. 2 SCSU Probable Lineup
WT	Huskies	W	L	F	TF	MD	DEC
125	No. 7 Paxton Creese	9	2	2	3	0	4
	Robby Horsman	11	4	3	1	2	5
133	No. 3 Garrett Vos	14	1	2	2	4	6
	Daniel Valeria	6	7	0	0	0	6
141	Cameron Riggs	8	2	1	1	2	4
	No. 1 Joey Bianchini	19	0	5	3	2	9
149	Jake Barzowski	12	5	1	2	0	9
	Nolan Throne	8	0	2	2	2	2
157	Anthony Herrera	10	1	0	1	1	8
	No. 2 Colby Njos	12	2	4	1	0	7
165	No. 12 Devin Donovan	14	6	1	3	2	8
	Jared Head	10	5	2	0	2	6
174	No. 5 Dominic Murphy	16	3	3	0	4	9
	Shaeden Scheidt	12	3	3	3	2	4
184	Cade Linn	4	2	2	1	0	1
	No. 7 Billy Pitzner	10	2	2	1	2	5
197	No. 2 Noah Ryan	14	0	2	1	2	9
	Grant Parrish	3	0	2	0	1	0
285	No. 2 Kameron Teacher	7	0	2	0	2	3
	Kaleb Haase	10	8	2	0	0	8

 






































ON THE HORIZON… Upper Iowa will be at home for a pair of Northern Sun Conference duals in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5. The Peacocks will host the Wolves of Northern State University and the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead. Friday's dual will begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday's action will start at 4 p.m.