The No. 6 Peacock wrestling team closed out an undefeated run at the Desert Duals hosted by Wartburg College in Las Vegas, Nev. on Sunday. Upper Iowa posted four victories including a pair over NCAA Division foes, one against a community college and one against a NAIA opponent. The four victories pushed UIU's dual record to 7-0 on the season. In total, the Peacocks won 47-9 in the matches fought with four more wins coming by forfeit for a winning percentage of .850.
 
The Peacocks opened their day with a 33-7 win over Simon Fraser University and a 26-12 victory over No. 14 University of North Carolina Pembroke. Following the two wins over NCAA Division II teams, the Peacocks put together a 48-0 shutout against Cloud County Community College and a 34-10 win over Embry-Riddle University of Arizona, which is ranked No. 9 in NAIA.
 
Round One versus Simon Fraser… Upper Iowa jumped out to a 12-0 lead after a pair of forfeits against Simon Fraser. Connor Manderfeld kept the points coming with a 5-3 decision at 141 pounds, but the Clan broke the run of points with a major decision at 149 pounds when Chase Tebbits defeated Chance Throndson. Mac Spotts and Brock Benitz (No. 4) posted back-to-back decisions by scores of 5-3 and 6-3, respectively, to push UIU's lead out to a 21-4 margin. SFU's Logan Nelson earned a 6-3 win over Jamie Gehling, who wrestled for the first time this season in the 174-pound bout. UIU closed out the dual with three straight wins started by a 7-0 decision for Dalton Hahn (No. 11) at 184 pounds. Nick Baumler (No. 1, 197) grabbed a win by fall in less than two minutes (1:58), and Triston Westerlund scored a 6-4 decision to secure the team's 33-7 victory.
 
Round Four versus No. 14 UNC Pembroke… In UIU's match against the No. 14 Braves of UNC Pembroke, the Peacocks got ahead 6-0 after a forfeit at 125 pounds and Justin Folley (No. 4) made it 9-0 with a 9-3 decision at 133 pounds. The Braves got their first win at 141 pounds when Jonathan Miller earned a 9-5 decision over Ryan Schmalen. UIU's Tate Murty made the most of his start at 149 pounds posting a win by fall in 2:01 to push the Peacocks out to a 15-3 lead. The Braves began to rally with three wins in the next four bouts including victories at 157, 174 and 184 pounds as Spotts (157) and Dalton Nelson (174) came up on the short end of decisions while Gehling (184) dropped a major to Brandon Sloop. Benitz won his third straight match at 165 pitching a 6-4 win in his match. Baumler continued his dominance with a 17-2 technical fall to extend UIU's lead from six to eleven, 23-12. Westerlund scored the final win at heavyweight with a 10-4 decision to lock in the final score at 26-12.
 
Round Five versus Cloud County… The Peacocks won all 10 matches against Cloud County to post a 48-0 shutout in round five. Jared Hensley (125) and Jacob Niichel (157) each scored a 7-1 decision, while Donny Schmit (133) and Manderfeld (141) both picked up 16-1 technical falls. Jordan Baumler also recorded a technical fall; the redshirt freshman posted a 19-4 win at heavyweight. Three Peacocks registered wins by fall. All three came in the first period. The trio included Throndson (149, 2:24), Hahn (184, 2:57) and Bodie Garnier (197, 1:37). UIU scored a forfeit at 165, while Gehling scored his first win of the season with a 4-3 win in the second tiebreaker at 174 pounds.
 
Under Head Coach Heath Grimm, now in his twentieth season at the helm of the UIU program, the Peacocks have posted 13 shutouts in ten different seasons. Upper Iowa defeated Knox College 54-0 and Illinois College 57-0 in Grimm's first year at the helm. The Peacocks defeated UNC Pembroke 47-0 at the National Duals in 2006, Northern State University 45-0 in an NSIC dual in 2007, a perfect 60-0 shutout of Wagner in 2009 at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals and a 41-0 NSIC dual win over MSU Moorhead in 2010. During the 2012-13 season, the Peacocks defeated Waldorf College, 53-0, and in 2013-14, UIU claimed three shutouts including wins over Hannibal-LaGrange, 58-0, Calumet College, 57-0, and Northern State, 47-0. In January 2015, the Peacocks claimed a 45-0 victory over the University of Mary. Most recently, the Peacocks opened their home slate in November 2018 with a 56-0 win over Truman State University.
 
Round Six versus Embry-Riddle… In UIU's final dual of the day, the Peacocks scored eight wins including three wins by fall and a major decision. The Peacocks opened the dual with a pair of wins by fall at 125 and 133 pounds. Philip Ihde earned his fall in 4:23, while Folley scored a pin just before the final buzzer (6:58). The wins put the Peacocks ahead 12-0 early in the match. The Eagles bounced back with a quick ten points thanks to a fall at 141 when Jayce Cunha defeated Schmalen and an 11-1 major at 149 as Tate Murty was beaten by Berit Sturgeon. With UIU's lead cut to two, 12-10, Spotts kicked off a six-match win streak as Upper Iowa pulled away for the win. Spotts (157) and Benitz (165) posted decisions by scores a 6-0 and 5-2, respectively. Nelson came up with a second-period fall (3:22) at 174, and Hahn secured a 10-2 major at 184. Baumler completed his day with a 5-1 win at 197 pounds and Westerlund posted his third win of the day with an 8-1 decision.
 
Up Next… The Peacocks will return to action in the New Year at the NIACC Open in Mason City on Saturday, Jan. 4. Upper Iowa will then travel to Louisville, Kent. To compete in the NWCA National Duals on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11.
 
Upper Iowa defeated Simon Fraser (B.C.) 33-7
125 - Jared Hensley (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
133 - Donny Schmit (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
141 - Connor Manderfeld (Upper Iowa) over Randy McDonald (SFU) Dec 5-3
149 - Chase Tebbits (SFU) over Chance Throndson (Upper Iowa) Maj 11-3
157 - Mac Spotts (Upper Iowa) over Taber Spray (SFU) Dec 5-3
165 - Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Zachary Stratton (SFU) Dec 6-3
174 - Logan Nelson (SFU) over Jamie Gehling (Upper Iowa) Dec 6-3
184 - Dalton Hahn (Upper Iowa) over Doug Peyser (SFU) Dec 7-0
197 - Nick Baumler (Upper Iowa) over Conner Pattison (SFU) Fall 1:58
285 - Triston Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Taniela Feliciano-Takafua (SFU) Dec 6-4
 
Upper Iowa defeated UNC Pembroke 26-12
125 - Philip Ihde (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
133 - Justin Folley (Upper Iowa) over Logan Seliga (UNC Pembroke) Dec 9-3
141 - Jonathan Miller (UNC Pembroke) over Ryan Schmalen (Upper Iowa) Dec 9-5
149 - Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) over Sammy Peticos (UNC Pembroke) Fall 2:01
157 - Tyler Makosy (UNC Pembroke) over Mac Spotts (Upper Iowa) Dec 5-2
165 - Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Kaleb Warner (UNC Pembroke) Dec 6-4
174 - Garrett Hill (UNC Pembroke) over Dalton Nelson (Upper Iowa) Dec 3-1
184 - Brandon Sloop (UNC Pembroke) over Jamie Gehling (Upper Iowa) Maj 12-3
197 - Nick Baumler (Upper Iowa) over Marcus Montgomery (UNC Pembroke) TF 17-2
285 - Triston Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Ryan Monk (UNC Pembroke) Dec 10-4
UNC Pembroke's team score was adjusted by -1.0 for UNC
 
Upper Iowa defeated Cloud County Community College 48-0
125 - Jared Hensley (Upper Iowa) over Blayne Harris (CCCC) Dec 7-1
133 - Donny Schmit (Upper Iowa) over Albert Werden (CCCC) TF 16-1
141 - Connor Manderfeld (Upper Iowa) over Aiden Connors (CCCC) TF 16-1
149 - Chance Throndson (Upper Iowa) over Nate Normandin (CCCC) Fall 2:24
157 - Jacob Niichel (Upper Iowa) over Tristin Hauck (CCCC) Dec 7-1
165 - Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
174 - Jamie Gehling (Upper Iowa) over Quentin Jiner (CCCC) TB-2 4-3
184 - Dalton Hahn (Upper Iowa) over Micah Sterling (CCCC) Fall 2:57
197 - Bodie Garnier (Upper Iowa) over Kevin Murry (CCCC) Fall 1:37
285 - Jordan Baumler (Upper Iowa) over Jose Lopez (CCCC) TF 19-4
 
Upper Iowa defeated Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 34-10
125 - Philip Ihde (Upper Iowa) over Joshua Nira (ERAU) Fall 4:23
133 - Justin Folley (Upper Iowa) over Collin Anderson (ERAU) Fall 6:58
141 - Jayce Cunha (ERAU) over Ryan Schmalen (Upper Iowa) Fall 0:53
149 - Berit Sturgeon (ERAU) over Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) Maj 11-1
157 - Mac Spotts (Upper Iowa) over Sheldon Cole (ERAU) Dec 6-0
165 - Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Taylor Owens (ERAU) Dec 5-2
174 - Dalton Nelson (Upper Iowa) over Stone Aguirre (ERAU) Fall 3:22
184 - Dalton Hahn (Upper Iowa) over Oliver Myers (ERAU) Maj 10-2
197 - Nick Baumler (Upper Iowa) over Tyler Hall (ERAU) Dec 5-1
285 - Triston Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Garrette Branson (ERAU) Dec 8-1