This Weekend in Peacock Wrestling... The Peacock wrestling program returns home for the first of three straight Northern Sun Conference duals in Dorman Gym. No. 10 Upper Iowa will line up with the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead on Thursday at 7 p.m. Thursday night is Salute to Service Night; all military, police, fire and paramedic personnel and veterans will be admitted free. The Dragons are receiving votes in the latest NCAA DII Wrestling Coaches Association Poll. For fans not in attendance, UIU is offering live results, a webcast and a television broadcast on KCRG 9.3.
 
UIU Probable Lineup vs. MSU Moorhead…

Weight	Wrestler	Year	W	L	F	TF	MD	Hometown	Prev. School
125	Maleek Williams	R-Jr.	19	5	8	0	2	Miami, Fla.	South Dade HS
	Ryan Schmalen	R-So.	12	13	3	0	1	Clear Lake, Iowa	Clear Lake HS
133	Josh Walker	R-Sr.	22	6	8	4	3	Tulsa, Okla.	U. of Central Oklahoma
141	Hunter Slifka	R-So.	10	10	2	0	4	Cresco, Iowa	Crestwood HS
149	Damian Penichet	R-Jr.	17	8	9	1	2	Miami, Fla.	Columbus HS
157	Brock Benitz	R-Fr.	20	4	13	0	1	Mosinee, Wis.	Lincoln HS
	Mac Spotts	R-Fr.	15	13	1	2	1	Nora Springs, Iowa	Mason City HS
165	Tucker Black	Jr.	21	13	2	2	5	Batavia, Iowa	North Iowa Area CC
	Cody Nelson	R-Jr.	11	10	7	0	1	Greene, Iowa	North Butler HS
174	Jordan Gundrum	Jr.	17	5	10	0	4	West Bend, Wis.	Ellsworth CC
184	Dalton Hahn	Fr.	18	11	1	1	5	Loganville, Wis.	Reedsburg HS
	Jamie Gehling	R-So.	16	10	2	0	2	Stewartville, Minn.	Stewartville HS
197	Nick Baumler	So.	23	7	2	1	7	West Union, Iowa	North Fayette Valley HS
HWT	Logan Hopp	R-Sr.	6	1	1	2	1	New Hampton, Iowa	New Hampton HS
	Triston Westerlund	R-So.	21	10	7	2	0	Albert Lea, Minn.	Albert Lea HS
	2017-18 UIU Totals		337	207	118	17	53

 
 
Seventh Place at NWCA National Duals… Upper Iowa placed seventh at the NWCA National Duals in Fort Wayne, Ind. thanks to a win over No. 7 Colorado State University-Pueblo in their final dual of the tournament. The Peacocks went 3-2 over the two days to improve to 5-3 overall with wins over No. 8 Notre Dame College (2016-17 NCAA DII Champion), No. 15 Lake Erie College and CSU-Pueblo. Upper Iowa's losses came to No. 25 Seton Hill University on Thursday in the quarterfinals and to the No. 13 University of Central Oklahoma to open Friday's action. UIU has now placed in 10 of the last 11 NWCA National Duals and the last 7 straight tournaments. Josh Walker (133) led the Peacocks in the five duals with a perfect 5-0 mark thanks to a tech fall, two majors and two decisions. Walker defeated David Bavery (#9 NWCA) of Notre Dame by decision 2-0 to open his run and then scored a 7-4 decision in UIU's dual against Seton Hill. The Peacock senior got a major decision in UIU's elimination match against Lake Erie and then dominated his two matches on day two. Walker posted an 18-3 tech fall (4:38) over Blake Dauphin of Central Oklahoma and a 13-3 major over Tanner Terry of CSU-Pueblo. Jordan Gundrum (174) also went without a loss in his four matches with two major decisions, a decision and a win by forfeit. Nick Baumler (197) went 4-1 in the two days with three decisions and an 11-3 major in his final bout, while Maleek Williams (125) was 3-1 in four duals thanks to three decisions and Dalton Hahn (184) posted a 3-2 mark with a pair of decisions and a win by forfeit.
 
Peacocks in the Rankings… Upper Iowa is ranked No. 10 in the country in the latest national poll and boasts four individuals in the rankings as well. Logan Hopp is ranked second nationally at heavyweight with a 6-1 record on the season with a fall, a pair of technical falls and a major. Josh Walker is ranked fifth at 133 pounds nationally and is 22-6 this season. The redshirt senior has fifteen bonus-point victories including 8 wins by fall, 4 by technical fall and 3 major decisions. Maleek Williams is 19-5 this season and ranked fifth in the 125-pound weight class and has 10 bonus-point victories with 8 falls and a pair of majors. Brock Benitz continues to be mentioned among the nation's best as the twelfth-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. The redshirt freshman is 20-4 this season with a team-high 13 falls and a major.
 
Scouting the Dragons… The Dragons last competed at the Midwest Classic, where senior Tommy Walton was the lone wrestler to make it to the second day. He went 3-1 to open the tournament at 141 pounds, before injury defaulting out of his first match of the second day. Three Dragons went 2-2 at the tournament, including sophomore Zach Scott, who picked up a 6-0 win over Dawson Sickmeier of Lidenwood and Alex Rhine of Bellarmine University. Sophomore Preston Lehmannpicked up a win via fall over Dominique Hampton of Central Missouri before his day came to an end. Redshirt freshman Jordan Magnuson almost advanced to the second day, byt was eliminated by McKendree University's Christian Boyles. The Dragons are led by junior Adam Blees, who is ranked eighth in the nation at 174 pounds in the latest NCAA DII Wrestling Coaches Association rankings. Blees is the second-highest NSIC wrestler at 174 pounds behind only Kolton Eschews of St. Cloud State, who is seventh. Blees, a Bismarck, N.D. native is 12-4 on the season, which is the best record on the team.
 
Who's Up Next... The Peacocks will host the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato next Friday, Jan. 19 in Dorman Gym at 7 p.m.