The No. 6 Peacock wrestling team (7-3, 3-1 NSIC) rallied from a late, three-point deficit to win 18-12 over No. 16 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Upper Iowa picked up six wins on Donate Life Night in Dorman Gym. The Peacocks recognized the family of the late Logan Luft prior to the match and dedicated their effort in his memory. Head Coach Heath Grimm presented the Luft family with a Peacock singlet as a tribute to the young man's gift of life to so many others through organ donation. Read more about Logan Luft and #LuftTuff at https://www.facebook.com/wendy.luft or http://www.iowadonornetwork.org/.

Minnesota State drew first blood with an 8-1 decision at 125 pounds as Andrew McFall scored a late takedown and four nearfall points to defeat #6 Maleek Williams.

Josh Walker, ranked #6, won a hard fought 4-0 decision at 133 pounds fueled by a first period takedown, a second period escape and a ride time point.

MSU's Louie Sanders made it 6-3 in favor of the visitors with an 8-2 decision at 141 pounds thanks to three takedowns of UIU's Hunter Slifka.

Upper Iowa bounced back with a pair of wins at 149 and 157 pounds to pull ahead of their guests 9-6. At 149, Damian Penichet got a takedown in the sudden victory period to break a 1-1 tie over the Mavericks' #11 Kyle Rathman. At 157, Brock Benitz scored a 7-2 win over Daniel Close highlighted by an early takedown and a late reversal with two nearfall points.

Minnesota State rallied with two wins of their own at 165 and 174 to retake their three-point advantage, 12-9. At 165, Seth Elwood got a reversal and a ride time point to win 3-0 over Cody Nelson. At 174, #7 Zach Johnston controlled the bout against #8 Jordan Gundrum; Johnston picked up two takedowns in the first period, a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third to pull away with a 9-2 win.

After the teams returned from the final media break, Upper Iowa sent a pair of young wrestlers to the mat at 184 and 197 pounds against nationally-ranked Mavericks looking for an upset to get back on track for the win.

Freshman Dalton Hahn scored an early takedown on #6 Corey Abernathy and then brought back a move to Dorman Gym that Peacock fans haven't seen since three-time, All-American Carl Broghammer used to use it on his opponents. Hahn got Abernathy off his feet and and then threw him to the mat on his back to pick up four nearfall points. Hahn nearly got the fall, but outlasted his opponent for the remainder of the match to win 6-0 and pull the Peacocks even, 12-12.

Sophomore Nick Baumler scored an escape in the second period of his 197-pound bout, but #9 Matt Blome scored the equalizer in the third period. With time running out in the third period, Baumler scored the winning takedown on a double leg shot to win 3-2 after a final escape by Blome.

Logan Hopp, ranked #2 in the latest poll, secured the dual victory with a 5-3 win over Chris Zimmer in the heavyweight match. Hopp picked up two takedowns and an escape in the match.

Upper Iowa will close out their three-match home stand next Thursday with a dual against Southwest Minnesota State University on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.

#6 Upper Iowa defeats #16 Minnesota State 18-12
125: Andrew McFall (MSU) over #6 Maleek Williams (UIU) (Dec 8-1)
133: #6 Josh Walker (UIU) over George Farmah (MSU) (Dec 4-0)
141: Louie Sanders (MSU) over Hunter Slifka (UIU) (Dec 8-2)
149: Damian Penichet (UIU) over #11 Kyle Rathman (MSU) (SV-1 3-1)
157: #7 Brock Benitz (UIU) over Daniel Close (MSU) (Dec 7-2)
165: Seth Elwood (MSU) over Cody Nelson (UIU) (Dec 3-0)
174: #7 Zach Johnston (MSU) over #8 Jordan Gundrum (UIU) (Dec 9-2)
184: Dalton Hahn (UIU) over #6 Corey Abernathy (MSU) (Dec 6-0)
197: Nick Baumler (UIU) over #9 Matt Blome (MSU) (Dec 3-2)
285: #2 Logan Hopp (UIU) over Chris Zimmer (MSU) (Dec 5-3)