No. 21 UNI Wrestling Preps for No. 16 Wisconsin

No. 21 UNI wrestling vs. No. 16 Wisconsin (NWCA rankings)
Noon Dec. 11, 2016
Madison, Wisconsin • UW Fieldhouse (12,000) – 1450 Monroe St.
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A seventh Panther debuted in the national rankings to push the Panthers up a spot heading into a noon Sunday dual against No. 16 Wisconsin.

Unranked last week, Taylor Lujan's win over No. 8 Zac Brunson of Illinois earned him a spot at No. 14 in Flowrestling's rankings released this week and MAC honors as the conference's Wrestler of the Week. He also took over the top spot in the MAC rankings released today.

The Panthers moved up a spot in the NWCA rankings to No. 21. UNI has seven wrestlers ranked in the top 20. The team held steady at No. 2 in the MAC rankings but saw wrestlers move up in their weight class.

Lujan, Max Thomsen and Drew Foster all earned their first career MAC rank in the latest poll:

125 pounds – Dylan Peters No. 1 (no change)
133 pounds – Josh Alber No. 3 (up from No. 4)
141 pounds – Jake Hodges No. 4 (replaces UNI's Jake Koethe at No. 3)
149 pounds – Max Thomsen No. 4 (previously unranked)
165 pounds – Bryce Steiert No. 2 (replaces UNI's Cooper Moore at same rank)
174 pounds – Taylor Lujan No. 1 (previously unranked)
184 pounds – Drew Foster No. 2 (previously unranked)
285 pounds – JJ Everard tied for No. 2 (did hold sole possession of No. 2)

Wisconsin had a strong showing at last weekend's Cliff Keen Invite. Seven Badgers medaled in Las Vegas. UW took second, edged out by No. 4 Ohio State. No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 8 Cornell rounded out the top five.

Wisconsin is led by heavyweight No. 2 Connor Medberry and No. 3 Isaac Jordan (165 pounds), who went 1-2 in last weekend's Cliff Keen, respectively. Cole Martin took third at 141 pounds. Ricky Robertson (197 pounds) and Hunter Ritter (184 pounds) were sixth. Andrew Crone placed seventh at 149 pounds, and Eli Stickley was eighth at 133 pounds.

MATCHUPS (UNI vs. Wisconsin – Flowrestling rankings):

125: No. 4 Dylan Peters or Jay Schwarm vs. Michael Cullen or Jens Lantz

Peters: Now tied for No. 5 among all Panthers with most falls with 37. One more pin will give him sole possession of the fifth-place spot. Peters' only loss this year is to No. 3 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech.
Schwarm: He earned bonus points in 19 of his 20 wins last season wrestling unattached.
Cullen: He finished eighth at the Wolfpack Open this year. Cullen wrestled unattached in 2015-16 with a record of 9-8. He was three-time Illinois Freestyle State Champion in high school.
Lantz: Finished third at the Wolfpack Open this season. Lantz wrestled at 133 pounds in 2015-16 with a record of 4-4. He was a four-time state champion in Wisconsin.

133: No. 19 Josh Alber vs. Eli Stickley

Alber: Has scored bonus points in all eight of his wins this year and is undefeated in duals.
Stickley: Finished eighth at last weekend's Cliff Keen Open, sixth at the Wolfpack Open and won a dual against Duke. Stickley wrestled unattached at 141 pounds in 2015-16.

141: Jake Hodges or Tyler Willers vs. No. 18 Cole Martin or Luke Rowh

Hodges: Took fourth at the 2015 MAC championships at 149 pounds. He moved down last year to wrestle at 141 pounds. He was second at this year's Grand View Open and is 3-1 in duals.
Willers: Took sixth at this year's Grand View Open and has earned bonus points in five of his six wins this year.
Martin: Finished third at last weekend's Cliff Keen Open and took third at the Wolfpack Open. Martin competed unattached at 141 pounds for the Badgers in 2015-16 finishing with a 19-4 season record.
Rowh: Started eight times in 2015-16 while posting a 9-13 overall record and a 3-5 dual record at 141 pounds. He recorded two falls, one technical fall and two major decisions.

149: No. 11 Max Thomsen vs. Andrew Crone

Thomsen: Thomsen's only loss is to No. 6 Solomon Chisko of Virginia Tech. He has two open titles this year – Grand View and UNI Open. He has five major decisions and two falls. He is the 24^th prep wrestler to win four state championships in Iowa.
Crone: Medaled at this year's Cliff Keen, placing seventh. He won the Wolfpack Open and a dual against Duke. Crone finished the 2015-16 season with a 13-11 record competing at 149 pounds. He finished 5-3 in Big Ten play and 6-4 in duals, including an upset over Minnesota's No. 16-ranked Jake Short in sudden victory, 9-7 (Feb. 7).

157: Paden Moore or Seth Stetzel vs. Izaec Quintanilla or TJ Ruschell or Jared Scharenbrock

Moore: Won the Grand View Open this year and has wrestled at two different weights in duals this season.
Stetzel: Took second at the Grand View Open this year.
Quintanilla: Moved down a weight from last year. He went 9-4 wrestling unattached at 165 pounds in 2015-16. He was a three-time state champion in the state of Washington.
Ruschell: Went 9-19 last year as Wisconsin's starter at 157 pounds. He was 2-10 in duals.
Scharenbrock: competed at 157 pounds for the Badgers in the 2015-16 season while finishing with a 12-7 record.

165: Isaiah Patton or No. 15 Bryce Steiert vs. No. 3 Isaac Jordan

Patton: Placed at four open tournaments competing unattached last year.
Steiert: Knocked off No. 16 Seldon Wright of Old Dominion as an unranked wrestler at 165 pounds. Steiert started the year at 157 pounds, earning a national ranking at that weight. Now a sophomore, he is the first true freshman from UNI to qualify for the national tournament since 2003.
Jordan: The three-time All-American was second at last week's Cliff Keen Invite. His only loss last year was to the eventual national champ at 165 pounds. He took second to Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State. He took seventh as a redshirt freshman at 157 pounds and as a sophomore at 165 pounds at nationals.

174: No. 14 Taylor Lujan vs. Ryan Christensen

Lujan: Was the first Panther to be named the MAC's Wrestler of the Week this year. His win over No. 8 Zac Brunson of Illinois earned him a UNI Open title, MAC honors and spot in the national rankings for the first time in his career.
Christensen: Qualified for the NCAA tournament at 184 pounds last year. Won the Wolfpack Open this year. He finished with an 18-20 while wrestling at 184 pounds.

184: No. 16 Drew Foster or Jacob Holschlag vs. Hunter Ritter

Foster: Earned a spot in the national rankings with a decision over No. 10 Jack Dechow of Old Dominion. Foster is undefeated in duals at two weights. He was second at the UNI Open.
Holschlag debuted in the Panther dual lineup with a decision against Zach Stodden of Nebraska-Kearney. He won his first two matches this year by fall and tech fall. He took third at the UNI Open.
Ritter: Finished sixth at the Cliff Keen Open and fifth at the Wolfpack Open.

197: Jared Bartel vs. Ricky Robertson

Bartel: He is no stranger to top-20 matchups. He's faced 10 in his career and two already this year. He was sixth at the MAC Championships in 2014.
Robertson: The two-time NCAA qualifier finished sixth at the Cliff Keen Invite and was second at the Wolfpack Open. He was ranked as high as 10th at 174 pounds by Intermat and FloWrestling in 2015-16.

HWT: No. 20 JJ Everard vs. No. 2 Connor Medbery

Everard: Qualified for the 2015 NCAA tournament competing for South Dakota State. He transferred to UNI, where he redshirted last season. Everard is ranked second in the MAC.
Medbery: Medbery's fourth-place finish earned him All-American honors in 2014-15 before taking an Olympic redshirt last year. He was last weekend's Cliff Keen Invite. He is a three-time NCAA qualifier and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2013.

MAC RANKINGS

The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches announced the December weight class individual rankings in conjunction with the league office today.

Eight Panthers made the top four rankings.

2016-17 MAC December Wrestling Rankings
1.            Missouri (30)
2.            Northern Iowa (20.5)
3.            Central Michigan (18.0)
4.            Northern Illinois (8)
5.            Ohio (7)
6.            Old Dominion (6)
7.            Eastern Michigan (5.5)
8.            Buffalo (4)
9.            Kent State (1)

The rankings will be released each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) in January and February. The 2016-17 December rankings, voted on by the league's head coaches in an open forum are as follows:

2016-17 MAC December Weight Class Rankings:

125 – 1. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, Senior); 2. Barlow McGhee (Missouri, Junior); 3. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan, Junior); 4. Shakur Laney (Ohio, Sophomore).
133 – 1. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri, R-Freshman); 2. Corey Keener (Central Michigan, Senior); 3. Josh Alber (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 4. Cameron Kelly (Ohio, Sophomore).
141 – 1. Matt Manley (Missouri, Senior); 2. Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 3. Noah Forrider (Ohio, Junior); 4. Jake Hodges (Northern Iowa, Junior).
149 – 1. Lavion Mayes (Missouri, Senior); 2. Justin Oliver (Central Michigan, Sophomore); 3. Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois, Sophomore); 4. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman).
157 – 1. Joey Lavalle (Missouri, Junior); 2. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Caden McWhirter (Northern Illinois, R-Freshman); 4. Casey Sparkman (Kent State, Sophomore).
165 – 1. Daniel Lewis (Missouri, Sophomore); 2. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 3. Austin Reese (Ohio, Sophomore); 4. Seldon Wright (Old Dominion, Sophomore).
174 – 1. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman); 2. C.J. Brucki (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois, Senior); 4. Dylan Wisman (Missouri, R-Freshman).
184 – 1. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan, Junior); 2. Drew Foster (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 3. Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, Senior); 4. Willie Miklus (Missouri, Junior).
197 – 1. J'den Cox (Missouri, Senior); 2. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion, Junior); 3. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois, Senior); 4. Bailey Faust (Ohio, R-Freshman).
HWT – 1. Jake Gunning (Buffalo, Sophomore); t-2. JJ Everard (Northern Iowa, Senior); t-2. Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 4. Austin Myers (Missouri, R-Freshman).

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