THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WRESTLING... The No. 14 Peacock wrestling program is on the road in Louisville, Kentucky to compete in their 14th straight NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals this Thursday and Friday, Jan. 6-7. Upper Iowa is one of 15 teams competing in the NCAA Division II bracket. The bracket includes nine schools in the NWCA Division II Top 25, five others receiving votes in the national poll and one school that is not in the poll or receiving votes. Upper Iowa will face Tiffin University at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it Louisville, Kentucky can use the links 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 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals are a two-day annual tournament featuring 15 NCAA Division II teams, as well as several NCAA Division III teams, women's teams from NCAA schools, NAIA men's teams, NAIA women's teams and NJCAA teams. Each division will compete within their own bracket over the two days.
WHO'S ON THE INVITE LIST… The incredible list of teams competing include No. 1 University of Central Oklahoma, No. 2 St. Cloud State University, No. 3 McKendree University, No. 5 University of Nebraska at Kearney, No. 8 University of Indianapolis, No. 11 Ashland University, No. 14 Upper Iowa, No. 15 Colorado Mesa University, No. 18 Mercyhurst University. In addition to the ranked teams, Fort Hays State University, King University, Tiffin, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, who are all receiving votes in the poll, as well as Newberry College.
UPPER IOWA'S RECENT HISTORY AT THE DUALS... Upper Iowa has placed in the top eight in twelve of the last thirteen years at the National Duals.
| 2008 – 8th place |
2015 – 4th place |
| 2009 – 7th place |
2016 – 5th place |
| 2010 – 5th place |
2017 – 7th place |
| 2011 – Did not place |
2018 – 7th place |
| 2012 – 3rd place |
2019 – 8th place |
| 2013 – 6th place |
2020 – 7th place |
| 2014 – 7th place |
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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 2015, 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.
Scouting the Dragons… Tiffin competed in six tournaments during November and December, but have not wrestled a dual yet this season. In their latest action, the Dragons placed 15
th out of 41 teams at the prestigious Midwest Classic prior to the holidays. Bryan LaVearn was unbeaten after the first day of the Midwest Classic. Joining LaVearn in action on day two was Nicholas Mason at 197 pounds, as he lost just once in the quarterfinals. Mason is the lone Dragon in the NWCA Division II Individual Rankings; he is No. 8 at 197 pounds. Mason is a three-time NCAA Region Champion and was the 2019 NCAA National Champion at 197 pounds.
