Upper Iowa Competes in Kaye Young Open to Begin 2009-10
Peacocks Place Six including Two Champions

Peacock Results at Kaye Young Open
The Upper Iowa wrestling team traveled to Mason City on Saturday to open their season at the Kaye Young Open hosted by North Iowa Area Community College. The Peacocks finished the day with two champions, three third place finishes, and one fourth place finish; no places beyond fourth were awarded.
Kyle Pedretti (133) and Nick Shandri (197) were the Peacocks' two champions on the day. Pedretti won his title in dominant fashion going 4-0 with a pair of decisions, a technical fall and pin. Pedretti opened his day with an 18-1 tech fall victory and then moved to the semifinals with a pin (3:45). In the semis, the redshirt sophomore earned an 8-2 decision over Ben Cash of Iowa State to advance to the finals. Pedretti defeated Ty Costa, an NAIA National Qualifier, by decision 12-7 to earn the open title.

Shandri won three matches to earn his title at the open. The UIU newcomer earned a fall (3:13) in his first match before posting a pair of one-point decisions to win the title at 197.

Three Peacocks earned third place finishes; Wade Gobin (174), Mitch Schultz (184), and Quinn Meirick (197). Gobin used a 3-1 record to earn his place. The young man collected a win by fall (6:50) in one of his matches and was winning the third place match when his opponent could not continue giving Gobin the victory.

Schultz earned a 4-1 record to get to third at 184 pounds. He opened his day with a win by fall (3:00) before defeating two Iowa State wrestlers by decision. He received a win in the third place match when fellow Peacock 84-pounder, Carl Broghammer, could not continue.

Meirick posted the most wins on the day by a Peacock; although he wrestled unattached at the open. He earned his third place finish thanks to a 5-1 record. The five wins included two wins by decision and three wins by fall in the consolation bracket. The pins came at 1:10, 3:39, and 1:01. Meirick won the third place match handily, 12-5.
The final Peacock to place was newcomer Carl Broghammer. The freshman wrestled unattached for the day while earning his 4-1 record. The four wins included a 6-0 decision, a fall (3:31), and a major decision 11-2.

Other Peacocks that found success on the mats at the open included Derek Stolarzyk (157 /2-1), Arron Cramer (285 / 3-2), J.R. Baker (141 / 2-2), and Winston Robbins (157 / 2-2). Upper Iowa also had some additional unattached wrestlers compete well including Colby Kriegel (149 / 2-2), Darren Manning (174 / 2-2), Jordan Franzen (174 / 1-0), Luke Stika (285 / 2-2), and Alex Schmidt (285 / 2-2).

The wrestling team will compete at the Pointer Open in Stevens Point, Wisconsin hosted by UW-Stevens Point this coming Saturday, Nov. 14. The Pointer Open is a great early season open tournament because it features two brackets per weight class. The gold brackets feature wrestlers in their sophomore, junior and senior years of wrestling, while the silver brackets are home for all freshman in attendance.
 Starter From Division III Champs Transfers To Upper Iowa

Nick Shandri to compete for Peacock Wrestling Team

July 13, 2009

Upper Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Heath Grimm announced today that Nick Shandri has signed an athletic scholarship to complete his wrestling and academic career as a Peacock.
Shandri, a native of Urbandale, Iowa, competed for Wartburg College last season at 197 pounds and fell just one match short of earning All-American honors at last season's NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Wartburg went on to win the NCAA's Division III title last season.
A graduate of Southeast Polk High School, Shandri avenged a third-place finish at state in 2005 by winning a state title in 2006. The grappler compiled a 122-18 record as a Ram.
He is the son of Ken and Barb Shandri and plans to continue pursuing a degree in communications at Upper Iowa.
 
 
Howie Thompson
Director of Sports Communication Services
Upper Iowa University
Fayette, IA  52142
563-425-5307
thompsonh@uiu.edu

Upper Iowa's Travis Eggers Claims Runner Up Spot at NCAA Championships

Monona-native pushes finals match to second overtime before falling by two points.

Travis Eggers took his shot at the 157 pound title tonight at the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas. Eggers toed the line against Todd Meneely of Nebraska-Omaha. Meneely claimed the title at 149 pounds in the last two NCAA Championships before moving up a weight class this year.

Near the end of the first period Meneely scored a takedown, but Eggers picked up an escape before the period ended. The only other point scored in regulation was an escape by Eggers in the third period after opening the period on bottom. The match moved to its first sudden victory period where both wrestlers were unable to score. Both wrestlers then rode the other out during the tie breaker periods to send the match to a second overtime. In the second sudden overtime period Meneely picked up his third National Championship title thanks to a takedown. Eggers was defeated in the end 4-2.

Eggers' season ends with the junior's second All-American honor and second top three finish at the National Championships in as many years. The 157-pounder finished the year with a 22-9 record on the year.

Peacock Review at the Championships
Travis Eggers - Runner Up at 157 (All-American)
Mitch Norton - 5th Place at 174 (All-American)
Tony Gehling - 8th Place at 184 (All-American)
Trevor Franklin - 1-2 at 133
Kyle Pedretti - 1-2 at 125
J.R. Baker - 1-2 at 141
Three Upper Iowa Earn Academic All-American Honors

Tony Gehling Earns Fourth Academic All-American Honor

Three members of the Upper Iowa University wrestling team have earned Academic All-American honors presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

In order for a student-athlete to be nominated for the Division II Academic All-American Team, he needs to have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale. He must also be in at least his second full year at his school, be a varsity member on his team or a key reserve, demonstrate a degree of skill and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation (academic advisor and coach) submitted on his behalf.

Senior Tony Gehling (Stewartville, Minn.) earned his fourth Academic All-American award when he was named to the First Team. Gehling was one of three student-athletes to earn their fourth Academic All-American honor this year. The 184-pounder graduated with a degree in Psychology from Upper Iowa last year and came back to UIU this year to earn an MBA. Gehling's combined GPA between his undergraduate and graduate work was 3.71. He was named to the second team in 2007 and 2008 and he was on the honorable mention team in 2006.

Redshirt Freshman Kyle Pedretti (Monona, Iowa) earned his first Academic All-American honor after being named to the Second Team. The 125-pounder is majoring in education at Upper Iowa and posted a 3.04 GPA.

Senior Jacob Pedersen (Hudson, Iowa) was named an Honorable Mention Academic All-American for the third straight year. The 141-pounder has a 3.26 GPA and will graduate from Upper Iowa this spring with a degree in Sports Communication.

The UIU wrestling team is at the NCAA Division II Championships in Houston, Texas. Six wrestlers, including Gehling and Pedretti, will begin wrestling tomorrow, Mar. 13, morning.