THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WRESTLING… No. 9 Upper Iowa heads north to open their Northern Sun Conference schedule at Minnesota State University Moorhead and No. 21 Northern State University on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14-15. The Peacocks and Dragons will meet in Moorhead, Minn. for the first conference dual at 2 p.m. on Saturday, while UIU and NSU will get together in Aberdeen, S.D. for a Sunday match up at 2 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make the trip north into Minnesota and South Dakota can follow along through live scoring and a webcast will be available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, the games can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on your favorite streaming device.
NWCA RANKINGS REVIEW… Upper Iowa jumped into the NWCA Division II Top 25 at No. 9 following a great weekend in Indianapolis at the Midwest Classic; the Peacocks were receiving votes in the first poll of December. The NSIC teams in the top 25 include No. 3 St. Cloud State University, No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Parkside, No. 9 Upper Iowa, No. 11 University of Mary, No. 21 Northern State, and No. 24 Southwest Minnesota State University. One of six NSIC programs in the rankings, Upper Iowa has 34 points in the poll fueled by four nationally-ranked individuals. The Peacocks boast four nationally-ranked individuals in the NWCA rankings including No. 5
Tate Murty (141), No. 2
Chase Luensman (165), No. 9
Dalton Hahn (197), and No. 9
Zach Ryg (285).
PUTTING THE NATIONAL DUALS IN REARVIEW… Upper Iowa posted a 3-2 record at the NWCA National Duals in Louisville, Kent. last weekend to secure a sixth-place finish at the event. After defeating No. 12 McKendree University, 21-13, and No. 14 Fort Hays State University, 24-18, around a 28-7 loss to No. 3 St. Cloud State University on day one, UIU upset the No. 2 University of Nebraska at Kearney, 21-14, but dropped a 22-18 decision to No. 5 Lander University in the fifth-place match. Luensman posted a 4-0 record over the weekend to improve to 17-1 this season. The Peacock 165-pounder scored three decisions including a 10-8 win over No. 10 Anthony Herrera of St. Cloud State (5-4) and added a win by fall over Blaise Ronnau of Fort Hays State in a time of 6:10.
Dalton Hahn (197) and
Kaden Anderlik (133) registered 3-2 records in the five duals, while
Tate Murty (141) and
Eric Faught (157) each notched 3-1 records and
Ethen Doty and
Zach Ryg both won a pair of matches.
PACING THE PEACOCKS… While Luensman and Murty lead the team in wins (17), seven Peacocks have reached a double-figure win total including Anderlik and Faught with 14 wins apiece and Ryg (12),
Scott Kellenberger (11) and Doty (10). Murty has recorded a team-high eight wins by fall, while Anderlik has grabbed a pair of technical falls. Luensman's four major decisions are the highest tally on the team, as well as his total number of takedowns (56) and match points (173).
UIU'S PROBABLE LINEUP… As a team, Upper Iowa has posted 198 wins in 330 matches for a win percentage of 60% with 94 bonus-point wins including 61 falls, 11 tech falls and 22 major decisions. The following 17 individuals are prepped and ready to suit up this weekend in UIU's conference duals.
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS… MSU Moorhead is 1-3 in duals this season including an 0-2 mark in Northern Sun Conference action. The Dragons victory came in their first competition against Jamestown by a 23-16 count. MSUM has lost three straight including a pair of duals at Augustana (31-15) and at Southwest Minnesota State (22-12) to close out their 2022 schedule. Clayson Mele and Thomas Carrillo lead the team in wins with 11 apiece, while several Dragons have posted four wins by fall this season including Parker Benz, Caleb Vacura, Gunnar Mogen and Mele. Jonas Anez has a team-leading three major decisions followed closely by senior Anthony Castro, who has two major decisions on the year.
SCOUTING THE NO. 21 WOLVES… Northern State returns to action this weekend with a 3-2 record overall and 1-1 mark in the NSIC. NSU's victories include a 47-3 win over Carl Albert State College, a 25-10 win at then-No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State, a 29-13 win over Concordia College of Moorhead; the Wolves lost a 24-10 decision against the then-No. 11 Rangers of the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Three NSU wrestlers are 2-0 in NSIC action; Kelby Hawkins, Cole Huss, and Wyatt Turnquist. Turnquist leads the weekend's probable line-up with eight wins on the year, followed by Teagan Block and Tyson Lien with six and five wins, respectively. NSU is ranked No. 21 in the latest NWCA Poll with two individuals ranked among the nation's best with Cole Huss (197) ranked No. 2 and Turnquist (149) ranked No. 11.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA… Next weekend, the Peacocks return home for their first action in Fayette since Nov. 23. Upper Iowa will host the program's Alumni Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21-22 which culminates with the Mike Olsen Alumni Dual on Sunday. UIU hosts Augustana on Saturday at 4 p.m. and then welcomes No. 24 Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday at 2 p.m. for the Mike Olsen Alumni Dual. UIU's alumni in attendance will be recognized to the home crowd prior to the action.
