Upper Iowa has five All-Americans

Upper Iowa University placed five of its seven wrestlers on the awards stand for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Saturday at Kearney, Neb.

The Peacocks were led by 125-pound finalist Trevor Franklin. Upper Iowa leads Newberry, 62-60, for fourth place, attempting to win its second straight NCAA team trophy. Franklin faces Alex Meger of Augustana (S.D.) for the championship. Newberry's William Young faces top-ranked Todd Wilcox of Grand Canyon University in the 133 championship. A win in the finals is worth a minimum of four points with a maximum of six if won by pin.

Peacocks' 197-pounder Carl Broghammer, a 2009 state champion for West Delaware, placed third. Broghammer was the lone Upper Iowa wrestler to fall in the first round, but battled for five straight wins in the consolation bracket, beating Augustana's (S.D.) second-ranked Ty Copsey by injury default. Broghammer, a red-shirt freshman, became the first freshman All-American for Upper Iowa since 1969, according to The Predicament, when heavyweight Steve Exline placed third in the NAIA national tournament.

A pair of former Postville preps earned medals. Mark Mueller, 27, a two-time state champion for the Pirates who previously wrestled for Luther after spending his first two college seasons at the University of Iowa, going 2-3 for the Hawkeyes as red-shirt freshman in 2003-04, placed fifth at 174. Mitchell Schultz, also of Postville, placed sixth at 184.

Upper Iowa's Kyle Pedretti made his third NCAA tournament appearance and captured his third All-American finish. Pedretti, a two-time state champion at MFL MarMac, placed sixth at 133.