FAYETTE, Iowa - No. 21 Upper Iowa men's wrestling (2-4) starts GLVC play against Maryville (Mo.) (4-7) on Friday, Jan. 16. The dual is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Moloney Arena in the Simon Athletic Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live scoring and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks competed this past weekend at the NWCA Duals, finishing 14th after competing against some of the nation's top competition. UIU picked up a win against No. 25 King (Tenn.), but fell to No. 6 Tiffin (Ohio), No. 8 McKendree (Ill.) and West Liberty (W.V.).
Redshirt freshman Braxten Westendorf and redshirt sophomore Dawson Schmit highlighted the weekend for the Peacocks. Westendorf finished a perfect 4-0 on the weekend at 184 pounds, including a win on Friday against No. 12 David Davis of Tiffin.
Schmit (133) went 2-0 on Saturday with a highlight win against No. 13 James Armstrong Jr. of West Liberty. Schmit defeated him, 9-8, after recording a takedown with 53 seconds left.
Ethen Doty went 2-1 at 149 pounds. Doty won via fall and tech fall to go undefeated on Friday. His loss was to Brennan Watkins, who is ranked No. 1 in The Open Mat, by a 6-0 decision.
Treyton Ackman (125) won both of his matches to go 2-0. Matthew Marcum also picked up two wins in his four matches, competing at both 197 and heavyweight. He won with a sudden victory and a tech fall.
No. 1 Central Oklahoma won the NWCA duals with a 22-12 victory over No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney.
GLVC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Westendorf earned GLVC Wrestler of the Week after his 4-0 weekend at the NWCA Duals. He became the third Peacock to earn the honor this season, joining teammates Lawson Losee and Matthew Marcum. This ties for the most GLVC Wrestlers of the Week in a single season for the Peacocks since joining.
THE OPEN MAT RANKINGS
The Peacocks have five wrestlers ranked in The Open Mat, their most this season. Doty leads the team, coming in at No. 8 at 149 pounds. Losee is No. 11 at 174 pounds.
Westendorf made his first appearance in rankings, coming in at No. 14. Preston Klostermann is No. 19 at 157, and Marcum is No. 20 at 197.
NWCA RANKINGS
Upper Iowa is tied for No. 21 as a team in the Dec. 18 edition of the NWCA poll. UIU received 16 points, tying Colorado Mines and Frostburg State (Md.). In the GLVC, McKendree (Ill.) is ranked No., and UIndy entered the rankings at No. 20. Central Oklahoma is No. 1 in the nation, receiving 96 points.
Doty and Losee are the two ranked wrestlers for the Peacocks in the NWCA rankings. Doty came in at No. 5 at 149 pounds, while Losee ranks No. 8 at 174 pounds.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Klostermann leads the team in takedowns this season with 68. Owen Denstad (149) has 49 takedowns, while Nick Mueller has 40 (165). Cael Bridgewater (149) and Collin Altensey (157) lead the Peacocks in four-point near falls with 15. Losee has 11 four-point near falls and Doty has 10.
ABOUT THE SAINTS
Maryville was the highest team in the receiving votes category of Dec. 18's NWCA rankings. The Saints earned 11 points in the poll. Maryville is not ranked as a team in The Open Mat.
The Saints went 1-3 at the NWCA Duals this past weekend, ending it with a 23-16 win over King. Before that, Maryville had lost six-straight duals after starting the season 3-1.
Maryville's top wrestler is Cole Ritter at 174 pounds, coming in at No. 9 in The Open Mat rankings and No. 7 in the NWCA Rankings. He did not wrestle at the NWCA Duals this past weekend, but has a 12-6 record this season.
At 197, Jeremiah Larson is ranked No. 9 in the NWCA. He went 2-1 this past weekend at the NWCA duals with one win by Major Decision. He has a 10-6 record this season.
Head coach Charlie Sherertz is in his third season with the Saints. The second coach in the program's history has a 20-23 record entering this weekend in dual action.
