#18 UNI Wrestling to Face ISU on Road, EMU at Home

Friday, January 20

Ames, IA

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Iowa State University

WR - 2016 Old Dominion - Drew Foster 184 pounds

#18 UNI Wrestling to Face ISU on Road, EMU at Home

1/19/2017 11:56:00 AM | Wrestling

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FULL NOTES - PDF

No. 18 UNI wrestling vs. Iowa State

7 p.m. Jan. 20, 2017
Ames, Iowa • Hilton Coliseum
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Eastern Michigan vs. No. 18 UNI wrestling

1 p.m. Jan. 22, 2017
Cedar Falls, Iowa • West Gym
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI wrestling will hit the road for a dual against Iowa State before defending its perfect MAC record Sunday against Eastern Michigan.

UNI dropped duals to both teams last year. It was the Panthers' first loss to the EMU Eagles. UNI is 17-57 against Iowa State with the last win coming in 2014.

"The last couple of times, they have taken it to us pretty good," Schwab said of Iowa State. "It's a big meet for a lot of reasons. For us, we have to respond to that. We have to get up for this meet. I don't think that will be much of an issue. We'll be ready to wrestle."

Three matches could potentially be a face-off between two wrestlers in the top-20:

133 pounds – No. 12 Josh Alber vs. No. 11 Earl Hall (ISU)
174 pounds – No. 12 Taylor Lujan vs. No. 8 Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU)
184 pounds – No. 15 Drew Foster vs. No. 10 Patrick Downey (ISU)

Last time out against Iowa State:
FEB. 5, 2016: Iowa State 18, UNI 16
    197 - Patrick Downey (ISU) dec. Cody Krumwiede, 5-2
    285 - #16 Blaize Cabell (UNI) dec. Marcus Harrington, 9-4
    125 - #7 Dylan Peters (UNI) dec. Kyle Larson, 9-7
    133 - #8 Earl Hall (ISU) pinned #12 Josh Alber, 4:17
    141 - Nathan Boston (ISU) dec. #28 Trevor Jauch, 5-0
    149 - Adam Perrin (UNI) maj. dec. Dante Rodriguez, 14-4
    157 - #19 Bryce Steiert (UNI) dec. Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, 12-6
    165 - #19 Cooper Moore (UNI) dec. #8 Tanner Weatherman, 3-1 SV1
    174 - #19 Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) dec. Kyle Lux, 6-2
    184 - #26 Dane Pestano (ISU) dec. Drew Foster, 8-2

Schwab grabbed a win in his 100^th dual with UNI. The Panther leader has 59 wins since taking over the program in the 2011-12 season. He will have three more home duals left this season. UNI also hosts the MAC Championships March 4-5 in the McLeod Center.

"We are getting down there in the opportunities to see our team compete," Schwab said. "We'd love to see a packed house Sunday."

UNI is 7-1 against EMU in series that dates back to 1967.

Last time out against the Eagles:
JAN. 6, 2016: Eastern Michigan 22, UNI 14
    285 – #15 Blaize Cabell (UNI) dec. Gage Hutchinson, 9-4
    125 – Armando Torres (EMU) maj. dec. Leighton Gaul, 11-1
    133 – #18 Josh Alber (UNI) TF Blake Caudill, 18-2 (5:40)
    141 – Trevor Jauch (UNI) dec. Kyle Springer, 6-3
    149 – Nick Barber (EMU) dec. Jake Hodges, 4-1
    157 – #20 Bryce Steiert (UNI) dec. Devan Marry, 9-5
    165 – Dakota Juarez (EMU) dec. Taylor Berger, 8-3
    174 – Jake Davis (EMU) dec. Drew Foster, 2-1 (TB-1)
    184 – Derek Hillman (EMU) dec. Cody Caldwell, 8-4
    197 – #14 Anthony Abro (EMU) Jared Bartel, 4:27

MATCHUPS (FloWrestling rankings)

125 pounds:

UNI – Tanner Rohweder is coming off a Pat "Flash" Flanagan Open title.
Jay Schwarm moved up a weight two weeks ago to wrestle a dual at 133 pounds and notched a 46-second fall at the Southern Scuffle to start the year.
ISU – No. 18 Markus Simmons pinned Schwarm in 47 seconds earlier in the season to hand Schwarm his only loss at the Grand View Open. Simmons took eighth at the Cliff Keen Invite this season.
Kyle Larson is a returning 2016 NCAA qualifier and took sixth at the 2016 UNI Open.
EMU – Noah Gonser bounced between 125 pounds and 133 pounds wrestling unattached in his first season.

133 pounds:

UNI – No. 12 Josh Alber has earned bonus points in 10 of his 14 wins so far this season. He has one top-15 win with a decision over No. 13 Kevin Devoy of Drexel. He's a 2016 NCAA qualifier and the MAC leader in rankings. Last week he avenged two losses from last year against MAC opponent Corey Keener.
ISU – No. 11 Earl Hall leads the series against Alber, 3-0, extending his lead each time. Hall won by 9-7 decision and 17-7 major decision at the 2015 Cliff Keen Invite. He pinned Alber in 4:17 at last year's dual. He is undefeated in duals this year.
EMU – Sa'Derian Perry moved down from 141 pounds after wrestling unattached last year.

141 pounds:

UNI – Jake Hodges and Tyler Willers both knocked off top-10 opponents in the first round of the Southern Scuffle. Willers beat No. 4 Randy Cruz of Lehigh, and Willers took down No. 7 Matt Manley of Missouri.
Hodges is tied for No. 3 in the MAC rankings. Hodges is tied in the MAC rankings with EMU's Kyle Springer.
ISU – John Meeks took second at the UNK Holiday Inn Open earlier in the year. He holds the 2-0 lead in the series with Willers, winning by decision both times. He beat Willers 9-3 at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open in the 2012-13 season and again at the 2014 UNI Open in the championship match to win the tournament.
EMU – Kyle Springer is tied with Hodges for No. 4 in the MAC rankings.

149 pounds:

UNI – No. 8 Max Thomsen's only three losses are to top-10 opponents. He has beaten four wrestlers ranked in the top 20, including Northern Illinois' Steve Bleise ranked third in the MAC. Thomsen is ranked fourth. He finished third at the Southern Scuffle. He beat Chase Straw 8-2 for the Grand View title in November.
ISU – Chase Straw took eighth at the Cliff Keen Invite earlier this season.
EMU – Nick Barber took third at last year's MAC Championships to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

157 pounds:

UNI – Dan Kelly is coming off a win at the Pat "Flash" Flanagan Open and wrestled his first dual last weekend. He started the year at 165 pounds.
Paden Moore has wrestled duals at two weights this year. He won the Grand View Open.
ISU – Colton Diblasi is 2-4 in duals so far this year and took third in the UNK Holiday Inn Open.
EMU – Zac Carson was 18-8 wrestling unattached last year.
J.J. Wolfe moved up from 149 pounds after wrestling unattached last year. Both EMU wrestlers have split their time in the dual lineup.

165 pounds:

UNI – Isaiah Patton grabbed three wins at the Southern Scuffle this year.
No. 9 Bryce Steiert knocked off a top-10 opponent en route to a third-place finish at the Scuffle. He has three wins over two top-20 opponents so far this year. He has two wins over Nick Wanzek, who was ranked ninth in the 174-pound weight class at the time. His only two losses have been to top-five wrestlers. Steiert is ranked No. 2 in the MAC. Steiert beat Marry 9-5 in their dual meet last season.
ISU – Dane Pestano is a 2016 NCAA qualifier. He opened his tournament season with a win at the Cyclone Open.
Logan Breitbach moved up a weight after taking sixth at the 2016 Big 12 Championships. He was third at the Pat Flanagan this year. Both Cyclones are looking for their first dual win of the season.
EMU – Devan Marry was the primary starter at 157 pounds. He and Steiert both moved up this year. Marry wrestled at 165 pounds two years ago as a sophomore.

174 pounds:

UNI – No. 12 Taylor Lujan is the dual point leader for the Panthers. He has racked up 23 points overall with a fall, a tech fall and four decisions. He has two wins over top-20 opponents and was seventh at the Southern Scuffle. His only losses are to wrestlers ranked in the nation's top 20. He will be defending his top ranking in the MAC.
ISU – No. 8 Lelund Weatherspoon is a three-time NCAA qualifier and took sixth last year to earn All-American honors. He competed at 184 pounds in his first NCAA appearance.
EMU – David Kasper is up a weight from 165 pounds.
Jacob Davis was 10-5 as the starter last year in duals.

184 pounds:

UNI – No. 15 Drew Foster is only one of two Panthers undefeated in duals. He finished sixth at the Southern Scuffle. He has knocked off No. 13 Jack Dechow of Old Dominion and MAC leader No. 14 Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan. Foster moved up from 174 pounds mid-January last year. He also has wrestled at 197 pounds this year.
ISU – No. 10 Patrick Downey was undefeated at Iowa Central Community College before transferring to Iowa State. He earned an NJCAA title at 197 pounds and took fifth at the Division I Championships last year at 197 pounds. He is undefeated this year at 6-0 overall and 4-0 in duals.
Carson Powell is 2-3 in duals and was fifth at this year's Cyclone Open.
EMU – Kayne MacCallum moved up last year to wrestle unattached at 184 pounds. He started at 174 pounds at EMU.

197 pounds:

UNI – Last weekend, Jacob Holschlag became the fifth Panther to wrestle duals at two different weights this season. Holschlag started the year at 184 pounds after competing at 174 pounds in his freshman year. He's 2-2 in duals at 184 pounds and 197 pounds this year.
Chase Shedenhelm entered the dual lineup for the first time against Northern Illinois. He moved up a weight to take on No. 13 Shawn Scott. Last year, he wrestled at 174 pounds, and he started the year at 184 pounds.
ISU – Marcus Harrington was third at the 2015 Junior World Team Trials. He jumped between 197 pounds and heavyweight last season.
EMU – Derek Hillman moved up after being the starter at 184 pounds last year.

285 pounds:

UNI – JJ Everard transferred from SDSU after qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2015. He earned bonus points in eight matches last year. Last weekend he knocked off Central Michigan's Newton Smerchek, who is ranked fourth in the MAC.
ISU – Quean Smith took eighth at the 2016 Cliff Keen.
EMU – No. 19 Gage Hutchinson is one of two Eagles ranked in the MAC's top four. He is ranked second. He led EMU with 21 wins last year.