The Peacock wrestling team opened their 2014-15 season in Fayette with the inaugural Mike Olson Duals. Upper Iowa hosted Waldorf and Truman State in a triangular to kick off the year at home. Truman State defeated Waldorf in the opening dual, 34-9, prior to the Peacocks taking the mat for a pair of duals. Upper Iowa dominated their bouts with the Warriors earning a 42-3 win, and then had to fight for a 28-17 victory over the Bulldogs.
UIU won nine of the ten matches against Waldorf including four by fall thanks to pins by
Lincoln Monroe (125, 2:03),
Matt Paulus (141, 0:13),
Jordan Roths (149, 3:14) and
Dalton Westerlund (174, 1:38).
Jordan Rinken (157) punished his opponent registering a 16-1 technical fall victory with four seconds to spare in the opening period.
Ricky Briggs picked up the sixth bonus point victory for UIU with a 17-8 major decision at 197 pounds.
Mitch Funk (133),
Brock Gobin (184) and
Logan Hopp (HWT) all claimed decisions in their matches. Waldorf's lone win came at 165 pounds, when D'Monte Aursby defeated
Nick Georgean by a 7-4 count.
In the Peacocks' second dual of the night, UIU took a 3-0 lead after the 125 pound match when Monroe posted a 3-1 win over J.J. Dorrell of Truman. The Bulldogs got right back into the match at 133 when Ethan Rentschler pinned Funk while trailing on the scoreboard midway through the second period (4:05). Trailing 6-3, Paulus toed the line and got back the six points and the three-point advantage back for the home team with a pin at the 5:46 mark.
The teams continued to exchange wins over the next four matches with each squad picking up two wins. Truman State won the 149 pound match as Andrew Still earned a 4-2 sudden victory over
Duane Richardson to tie the match at 9-9. Rinken once again went to work on his opponent claiming a 15-3 major decision win. In his two matches, the Denver, Iowa product outscored his two opponents 31-4 on the night.
Colbey Vance returned to the mat for the first time since an injury ended his first varsity season last February. The redshirt sophomore lost a 6-5 decision that pulled the Bulldogs back within one, 13-12. Upper Iowa closed out the dual with three wins in the final four matches including a win by fall and a win by forfeit. Westerlund earned his second win by fall of the night (0:47) to tie Matt Paulus for the most team points (12) supplied on the night; both grapplers won by fall twice.
Blake Sorensen (184) got his first action of the season and won by decision 6-3.
Truman State won their final match of the night at 197 pounds when Helmut Rentschler controlled his match with Briggs. The Bulldog grappler earned a 16-0 technical fall victory in 3:57 to pull TSU within five, 22-17. Hopp was awarded the final win of the night when Truman State forfeited the heavyweight bout to Hopp.
In total, the Peacocks claimed a 32-8 advantage in takedowns while winning 15 of the 20 matches they competed in. The 15 wins included 6 victories by fall.
Upper Iowa will head to Luther College on Saturday, Nov. 15, for an open tournament.
