The No. 6 Upper Iowa wrestling team lost a 33-6 decision at No. 1 St. Cloud State University on Thursday night. The top-ranked Huskies won eight of the ten matches including two by fall, one by tech fall and one by major decision. The loss dropped the Peacocks' record to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the Northern Sun, while SCSU improved to 18-0 and 7-9 in the NSIC.
Josh Walker (No. 6) opened the dual with a 6-0 win over Shiquan Hall thanks to a takedown in the first period and another in the second. Walker recorded a massive amount of ride time en route to his win.
After Jarred Oftedahl (No. 3) got a first period fall for the home team,
Damian Penichet lost a tough 3-2 decision to top-ranked James Pleski (No. 1) at 149 pounds. Pleski scored the only takedown in the bout to outduel Penichet. Larry Bomstad (No. 1) made it 12-3 in favor of the Huskies with a 10-5 win over
Mac Spotts at 157 pounds. Spotts recorded a pair of reversals in the match.
The Huskies jumped the lead up to 22-3 after the 165 and 174-pound bouts. Devin Fitzpatrick outscored
Cody Nelson by major decision 23-9; the Husky grappler recorded 7 takedowns over the three periods. Kolton Eischens (No. 3) registered SCSU's second fall of the dual at 174. Eischens got an early takedown and worked his position into a win by fall (3:00) over UIU's
Jordan Gundrum (No. 8).
True freshman
Dalton Hahn scored a 7-4 upset over Brady Nelson (No. 8) fueled by a big final period. Hahn picked up a pair of takedowns in the first period, but Nelson answered with two escapes and a takedown as the wrestlers moved to the second period tied at 4-4. After a scoreless second period, Hahn recorded an escape and a takedown to win 7-4.
Vince Dietz (No. 6) and
Nick Baumler locked up in a solid bout at 197 pounds. The match went to the third period without any scores, but Dietz edged Baumler 2-1 in the third period. Both grapplers got an escape in the period, but a ride time point for Dietz was the difference.
Lawrence Phillips (No. 10) outlasted UIU's
Triston Westerlund at heavyweight posting a 7-4 decision. Phillips scored a pair of takedowns around a reversal by Westerlund to lead 4-3 coming out of the first period. Both wrestlers scored an escape in the second and third periods, but a final takedown by Phillips provided the cushion needed to win.
The final match of the dual featured SCSU's Brett Velasquez (No. 5) and UIU's
Maleek Williams (No. 6). Velasquez claimed a 22-7 technical fall (6:28) fueled by 7 takedowns, a reversal and a pair of two-point nearfalls. Williams scored five escapes and one reversal in the match.
Upper Iowa will host Augustana University on Sunday afternoon in Fayette. The Peacocks and Vikings will line up for the Mike Olson Alumni Dual in Dorman Gym at 2 p.m. The dual will be UIU's final action of the regular season.
No. 1 St. Cloud State 33 - No. 6 Upper Iowa 6
133: No. 6
Josh Walker (UIU) over Shiquan Hall (SCSU) (Dec 6-0)
141: No. 3 Jarred Oftedahl (SCSU) over
Aaron Baker Jr (UIU) (Fall 0:43)
149: No. 1 James Pleski (SCSU) over
Damian Penichet (UIU) (Dec 3-2)
157: No. 1 Larry Bomstad (SCSU) over
Mac Spotts (UIU) (Dec 10-5)
165: Devin Fitzpatrick (SCSU) over
Cody Nelson (UIU) (MD 23-9)
174: No. 3 Kolton Eischens (SCSU) over No. 8
Jordan Gundrum (UIU) (Fall 3:00)
184:
Dalton Hahn (UIU) over No. 8 Brady Nelson (SCSU) (Dec 7-4)
197: No. 6 Vince Dietz (SCSU) over
Nick Baumler (UIU) (Dec 2-1)
285: No. 10 Lawrence Phillips (SCSU) over
Triston Westerlund (UIU) (Dec 7-4)
125: No. 5 Brett Velasquez (SCSU) over No. 6
Maleek Williams (UIU) (TF 22-7 6:28)
