THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WRESTLING... No. 15 Upper Iowa wrestling (5-5, 2-3 NSIC) will close out the 2021-22 regular season in Kenosha, Wis. on Wednesday as they battle the No. 8 Rangers of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (5-3, 5-2 NSIC). The two nationally-ranked teams will line up against each other at 7 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it to Kenosha for the dual on Wednesday can follow the dual through live scoring or a webcast through the links above or at
UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The dual is not available on the NSIC Network app because Parkside is an affiliate member of the Northern Sun Conference in the sport of wrestling only.
LAST WEEK ON THE MAT... The No. 15 Peacock wrestling team closed out their home schedule with a 36-8 victory over No. 17 Minnesota State University, Mankato on Senior Night in Fayette last Thursday night. The Peacocks won eight of the ten matches with one win by fall, three wins at open weights for the Mavericks and four decisions. Upper Iowa claimed a 16-11 advantage in takedowns on the night.
Dakota Henry opened the dual with Minnesota State on a high note thanks to a win by fall in the second period at 125 pounds over MSU's Tanner Cook. Henry took a 2-0 lead into the second frame and scored another takedown and then quickly got a turn and subsequent fall (3:39) just 39 seconds into the period.
Chase Luensman,
Ryan Steffen,
Myron Crawford and
Bodie Garnier all scored wins by decision in the dual. The win over Minnesota State secured two straight Northern Sun Conference wins for the Peacocks including a 34-9 win over Minnesota State University Moorhead.
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. 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 13-2. The Cresco, Iowa native has six bonus-point wins including four 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 an 8-1 record. Murty has six bonus-point wins with two falls, three tech falls and a major. Faught is ranked No. 10 at 149 pounds with a 12-2 record highlighted by four wins by fall and three major decisions. Luensman claims the No. 7 ranking at 157 pounds in the latest release. The wrestler from Monticello, Iowa is 16-3. 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 161 points in his matches for an average of 8.5 per bout.
BREAKING IT DOWN… This season, Upper Iowa wrestlers (including unattached matches) have won 274 of their 430 matches claiming a win percentage of 63.7%. The squad has posted 132 bonus-point wins including 77 falls, 19 tech falls and 36 major decisions.
SCOUTING THE NO. 8 RANGERS… Parkside comes into the dual after having a win streak of five-straight duals was snapped at No. 10 Augustana last Saturday. The Rangers lost a tight 21-19 affair in Sioux Falls marking their first loss since a 37-3 loss at St. Cloud State University in early December. UWP is led by four nationally-ranked wrestlers including No. 3 Shane Gantz, who is 25-0 this season at 165 pounds. The Rangers' nationally-ranked individuals also include No. 3 Joe Arroyo (125), No. 6 Job Ayala (174) and No. 9 Rodsean Graham (197). During their five-dual win streak, Parkside defeated Minot State University (28-9), the University of Mary (21-16), Northern State University (24-9), MSU Moorhead (31-3), and Southwest Minnesota State University (21-12).
THE REMAINING SCHEDULE… After Wednesday night's dual, the Peacocks will have nine days to train prior to the postseason getting underway. Upper Iowa will send 10 wrestlers to Moorhead, Minn. for the NCAA Division II Super Region V Championships on Feb. 26.
