Upper Iowa won both of their matches on Saturday at the NWCA National Duals in Fort Wayne, Ind. to place fifth overall thanks to their 4-1 record over the weekend.  The Peacocks defeated four ranked teams along the way including #14 Wheeling Jesuit (24-15), #18 Newberry (24-13), #12 Tiffin (29-15) and #3 Nebraska-Kearney (21-20) in an unreal finish in the fifth-place match.  The lone loss for UIU came in the championship quarterfinals to the #1 Saints of Maryville University (33-10). The Peacocks, ranked #11 in the latest NWCA Top 20 Poll, are now 9-1 on the year in duals.
 
After dominating their dual with Tiffin in the consolation semifinals, the Peacocks earned a shot at fifth place in a dual with the #3 Lopers of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.  UNK entered the dual with a 3-1 mark at the National Duals thanks to wins over #12 Tiffin (26-19), Minnesota State (27-19) and #9 Lake Erie (25-13); the Lopers lone loss came to #7 University of Pitt-Johnstown (37-7) in the quarterfinals.
 
The Lopers used a major decision at 125 pounds to jump out to an early lead and added a pair of decisions at 133 and 141 to take a 10-0 advantage.  Damian Penichet scored a 9-4 decision at 149 pounds to put the Peacocks on the board, but UNK didn't let momentum get away as they picked up a decision at 157 and 165 and added a major decision at 174 to take a 20-3 lead into the final three bouts.  UIU Head Coach Heath Grimm had pulled five starters from the first seven spots in the lineup to give some deserving wrestlers the opportunity to get on the mat in a big dual. 

Trailing by 17 points, the Peacocks would need a special and thrilling ending to pull off the upset and place fifth.  Dalton Westerlund (184) gave the team hope with a win by fall just 45 seconds into his match and after the Lopers forfeited the match at 197, the Peacocks trailed by only five points, 20-15, with the heavyweight match remaining. Avery Jacobs, a true freshman from New London, Iowa, rose to the occasion and completed Upper Iowa's comeback with a win by fall just 31 seconds into the final match giving UIU six points, the 21-20 victory and fifth place at the NWCA National Duals.
 
In the consolation semifinal against Tiffin, the Peacocks won all seven matches from 133 through 184 pounds including a fall and a technical fall to post a 29-15 victory.  The Dragons won at 125 pounds with a second period pin, but the Peacocks quickly tied the contest at 6-6 when Matt Paulus picked up a forfeit win at 133 pounds for the first of seven consecutive UIU victories. Jordan Roths (141) won by technical fall as he dominated his bout 15-0.  Damian Penichet (149) and Jordan Rinken (157) followed with 2-0 and 3-0 decisions pushing Upper Iowa's lead to 17-6.  Zak Benitz (165) and Colbey Vance (174) continued their successful weekend with a 9-3 decision for Benitz and a first period pin (2:54) for Vance.  Dalton Westerlund capped off UIU's run of wins with a 6-4 decision in the second sudden death period giving Upper Iowa a 29-6 advantage.  The Dragons got a 5-3 decision at 197 and UIU forfeited the heavyweight match as Tiffin closed to a final score of 29-15.
 
Upper Iowa has now placed in the top eight in eight of the last nine years at the National Duals. Upper Iowa claimed 8th place six years ago, improved to 7th place the next year, and then claimed 5th place four years ago. After a 1-2 record in 2011, the Peacocks returned in 2012 with their best-ever finish at the duals. Upper Iowa claimed third-place after dropping a tight match in the semis to St. Cloud State and then defeating Nebraska-Kearney. In 2013, the Peacocks placed sixth with a 3-2 record, and two years ago UIU posted a 3-1-1 record to place seventh.  The tie in 2014 came in the quarterfinals against #4 Central Oklahoma and UIU moved the consolation side instead of the semifinals based on criteria in their match with the Bronchos. Last January, UIU upset the #5 Mercyhurst Lakers and the #6 McKendree Bearcats on the first day, but lost to #1 Notre Dame and #7 St. Cloud State to place fourth.
 
The Peacocks will return to Dorman Gym this coming Friday night, Jan. 15.  The dual at home is a Northern Sun Conference matchup with the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead and will begin at 7 p.m.  UIU has not appeared in front of their home crowd since the Second Annual Mike Olson Duals on Nov. 5.
 
Match #4 Consolation Semifinal: Upper Iowa defeated Tiffin University 29-15
125 - Giuseppe Penzone (Tiffin University) over Lincoln Monroe (Upper Iowa) Fall 4:37
133 - Matt Paulus (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf 
141 - Jordan Roths (Upper Iowa) over Travis Salyer (Tiffin University) TF 15-0
149 - Damian Penichet (Upper Iowa) over Michael Screptock (Tiffin University) Dec 2-0
157 - Jordan Rinken (Upper Iowa) over Samphanh Viengmany (Tiffin University) Dec 3-0
165 - Zak Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Jett Hurt (Tiffin University) Dec 9-3
174 - Colbey Vance (Upper Iowa) over Jacob Carrisales (Tiffin University) Fall 2:54
184 - Dalton Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Jared Chambers (Tiffin University) SV-2 6-4
197 - Jacob Cramer (Tiffin University) over Ryan Parmely (Upper Iowa) Dec 5-3
285 - Garrett Grey (Tiffin University) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf 
 
Match #5 5th Place Match: Upper Iowa defeated Nebraska-Kearney 21-20
125 - Connor Bolling (Nebraska-Kearney) over Lincoln Monroe (Upper Iowa) Maj 11-3
133 - Daniel DeShazer (Nebraska-Kearney) over Mitch Funk (Upper Iowa) Dec 4-2
141 - Keith Surber (Nebraska-Kearney) over Jordan Roths (Upper Iowa) Dec 8-5
149 - Damian Penichet (Upper Iowa) over Brett LaBudda (Nebraska-Kearney) Dec 9-4
157 - Chase White (Nebraska-Kearney) over Cody Nelson (Upper Iowa) Dec 9-3
165 - Devin Aguirre (Nebraska-Kearney) over Nick Georgean (Upper Iowa) Dec 8-5
174 - Calvin Ochs (Nebraska-Kearney) over Douglas Perrin (Upper Iowa) Maj 13-5
184 - Dalton Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Mike Lambert (Nebraska-Kearney) Fall 0:45
197 - Ryan Parmely (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf 
285 - Avery Jacobs (Upper Iowa) over Luke Petersen (Nebraska-Kearney) Fall 0:31