FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa men's wrestling team is back in action after a two-week hiatus. The Peacocks are competing at the Buena Vista Open in Storm Lake on Saturday, Dec. 6, with action beginning at 9 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks last competed at the Augsburg (Minn.) Auggie Open on Nov. 22. Lawson Losee took first place in the Gold 174 bracket, while Cale Nash took first place in the Freshman 149 bracket.
Losee recorded back-to-back first-place finishes, also winning the Luther Open the weekend prior. He won 4-2 over MSU Moorhead's Anthony Sykora in the quarterfinal. He then defeated Augsburg's Nick Alexander in the semifinal, 8-7, before winning by medical forfeit in the championship match.
The Peacocks had four second-place finishers in Treyton Ackman (Gold 125), Preston Klostermann (Gold 157), Braxten Westendorf (Gold 184) and Matthew Marcum (Gold 197). Ethen Doty (Gold 149), Griffin Luke (Gold 184) and Brock Shaha (Freshmen 133) took third place while Dawson Schmit (Gold 133), Owen Denstad (Gold 149), Reily Dolan (Gold 165) and Jose Del Toro (Freshmen 285) took fourth.
BUENA VISTA OPEN INFORMATION
The Open begins at 9 a.m. at the Lamberti Recreation Center in Storm Lake, Iowa. Spectator admission is $10. The event features 13 total teams, with 11 from Iowa.
Teams competing include Buena Vista, Ellsworth Community College, Hawkeye Community College, Indian Hills Community College, Iowa Lakes Community College, Iowa State, Iowa State Wrestling Club, Iowa Western Community College, Minnesota West, Simpson College, Southeastern Community College and Southwestern Michigan.
THE OPEN MAT RANKINGS
The Peacocks have three wrestlers ranked in The Open Mat Division II rankings. Losee is ranked No. 2 at 174 pounds, Doty is ranked No. 5 at 149 pounds and Geoffery Freeman is ranked No. 14 at 197 pounds.
As a team, Upper Iowa is No. 21 in the team dual rankings and No. 14 in the team tournament rankings.
NWCA POLL
In the NWCA Poll released on Nov. 20, Upper Iowa moved up six spots to tie for No. 16 in the nation. The Peacocks received 28 points in the poll, tying with Adams State (Colo.).
Losee, Doty and Freeman were all ranked in the NWCA as well. Losee came in at No. 2, Doty was No. 5 and Freeman was No. 12.
2024 BUENA VISTA OPEN
Upper Iowa had six Peacocks place at last season's Buena Vista Open. Nick Mueller finished the highest of any UIU wrestler in second at 165 pounds.
Cael Bridgewater took third at 149 pounds after posting three wins by tech fall and one win by fall. Tanner Arjes (141) took sixth and Kale Hansen (157) took eighth.
