THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S WRESTLING… The Peacocks have traveled north to Minot, N.D. for the NCAA Super Region V Championships on Saturday March 2. Action begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday with the doors opening at 9 a.m. The Championship round with first-place, third-place and fifth-place matches is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans unable to attend the action in Minot, N.D. can follow the live results through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The regional tournament will have live video as well, but will require a subscription to FloWrestling.
TICKETS…. Tickets for this NCAA Championship event – the first hosted by Minot State – are $20 for adults and $10 for senior citizens (65-and-over) and kids (ages 5-to-17). All tickets are general admission and good for the full day of action with sessions scheduled to start at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. (championship and consolation semifinals and consolation 3rd round), and 5 p.m. (1st, 3rd, and 5th-place matches).
REGIONAL FORMAT… Across the country, the NCAA Division II wrestling programs are split into six regions. Each region will qualify 30 wrestlers for the NCAA Division II National Championships with the top three finishers from each weight class at each regional earning a berth. This year's NCAA Division II Championships are hosted inside Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. on March 15-16.
THE COMPETITION… The Upper Iowa men's wrestling team will be joined by 10 other teams (Augustana, Minnesota State, Minnesota State Moorhead, Minot State, Northern State, Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud, UMary and Wisconsin Parkside) for the single-day tournament with berths to the NCAA National Championships held March 15-16 in Wichita, Kansas at stake for the top 3 finishers in each weight class.
Six of these squads are ranked on the national scene by the NWCA, led by Augustana at No. 3, followed by St. Cloud State and UW-Parkside at No. 4 and 5, respectively. University of Mary is slotted No. 12, followed by the Peacocks at No. 16, and coming in right behind them is Northern State at No. 17.
PEACOCKS IN THE RANKINGS… The Peacocks are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation in the final regular season NWCA Division II Top 25. Upper Iowa boasts three wrestlers ranked nationally including 157-pounder
Eric Faught (No. 10), 165-pounder
Chase Luensman (No.3) and 184-pounder
Colter Bye (No. 11).
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN… Upper Iowa went 2-0 at the Final Site Duals in St. Louis, Mo. to claim a share of the GLVC crown, alongside McKendree and Maryville, in their debut season as a part of the league. The Peacocks finished 5-1 in the conference, two of those wins coming at the GLVC Championships against Quincy (48-3) and Indianapolis (29-15).
ALL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS... The Peacocks' regular season was punctuated by seven all conference selections.
Colter Bye and
Eric Faught were named First Team All-GLVC,
Tate Murty,
Chase Luensman,
Jordan Baumler and
James Davis earned All-GLVC Second Team honors, while
Treyton Ackman grabbed a spot on the All-GLVC Third Team.
GLVC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK… Upper Iowa wrestling senior
Eric Faught was tabbed as the final GLVC Wrestler of the Week. Faught went 2-0 at the GLVC championships, winning both matches by technical fall. In addition to recording the "most tech falls in least amount of time", he scored the "most total match points" (45) amongst all competitors.
The senior is 18-3 on the season and has recorded a team-high of 66 takedowns. He has tallied three wins by fall, seven tech falls and three major decisions so far this season.
PROBABLE LINEUPS… As a team, Upper Iowa has posted 312 wins in 550 matches with 208 bonus-point wins including 102 falls, 58 tech falls and 48 major decisions. The following individuals are prepped and ready to suit up this weekend in the final site duals.
FINAL DESTINATION … Any of UIU's wrestlers that place in the top three of their respective weight classes will earn a berth to the NCAA Division II Championships held in Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan.
