THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S WRESTLING… Upper Iowa is back on the mat this weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. The Peacocks are competing in the Augsburg Invitational hosted by Augsburg University on Saturday, Nov. 18. The Peacocks will be competing alongside ten other teams from the Midwest.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make the trip to Minneapolis can follow along through live scoring and a pay-per-view live stream through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
RECAP OF LAST WEEKEND… The Upper Iowa men's wrestling team opened up their season on the road last weekend as they competed at the Luther College Open in Decorah, Iowa. The Peacocks earned two fourth-place finishes in the Elite bracket with
Chase Luensman (165) and
Colter Bye (174), while
Cael Meyer came in eighth.
Luensman picked up three wins on the day before falling to Drake Rhodes (University of Iowa). He fell in the third-place match to Cooper Willis of Augsburg by decision 13-7. Bye came out on top in his first three rounds of the day before falling to Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann of Augsburg. In the third-place match he fell to Kasey Ross (Wartburg), who won by tech fall. Meyer picked up two wins on the day as he won by fall over Devin Nobiling (Wartburg) and won by decision over
Lawson Losee (Upper Iowa).
AUGSBURG FORMAT… This Saturday's format will once again feature two sets of brackets featuring action from 10 weight classes. The top bracket is the Gold bracket and will feature collegiate veterans. The Freshmen bracket will be filled with freshmen and redshirt freshmen only to help make the transition into collegiate wrestling a bit smoother for the newest bunch of wrestlers on each team.
NWCA ATTENTION… The Upper Iowa men's wrestling program was tabbed fifth in the NWCA Preseason National Coaches Poll, tying with fellow GLVC affiliate McKendree University. The Lander Bearcats, who finished runner-up at the 2023 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, top the poll with 82 total points and a poll-high eight ranked wrestlers. West Liberty sits at #2 in the preseason poll, with 69 points behind five ranked wrestlers. Defending National Champion Central Oklahoma is in the three-spot with 63 points, with St. Cloud State (56 points) in fourth with its six ranked wrestlers and McKendree and Upper Iowa tied for the five-spot with 48 points each.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS… On the national scene, the Peacocks were represented by five individuals in the preseason rankings. Senior and returning National Champion
Chase Luensman was selected as the preseason top-ranked individual at 165lb. He was joined in the preseason rankings by his teammates
Tate Murty (fourth in 141 class),
Colter Bye (sixth in 184 class),
Eric Faught (eighth in 147 class) and
James Davis (10th in 133 class).
DOWN THE ROAD… Upper Iowa men's wrestling is set to compete next on Dec. 2 at the Parkside Open held in Kenosha, Wis.
