No. 22 Upper Iowa wrestling improved to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the Northern Sun Conference with a 30-6 win over No. 25 Northern State University in UIU's annual Mike Olson Alumni Dual. The Peacocks claimed wins in eight of the ten bouts with the Wolves including four with bonus points. UIU registered three major decisions and a win by fall.
 
Prior to the dual, Upper Iowa recognized all of the Peacock wrestling alumni in Dorman Gymnasium for the dual.
 
Nick Baumler (No. 10) opened the dual with an 11-3 major decision over Diego Gallegos thanks to five takedowns for the West Union native.
 
Triston Westerlund followed at heavyweight with a strong first period. The Albert Lea product used a headlock to toss Harrison Townsend and score a takedown and a pair of nearfall points. Townsend answered with a takedown in the second period cutting the gap to 5-3 after Westerlund escaped.In the final period, Westerlund added a takedown and a ride time point (1:10) to get the 8-5 decision and push UIU's lead to 7-0.
 
Dayne Morton scored the first three points of the 125 pound bout against Maleek Williams on a late first-period takedown and an early escape in the second period. A pair of stall warnings gave Williams his first point and a takedown at the end of the second frame tied the match at 3-3. Another stall call and an escape for UIU's 125-pounder resulted in a 5-3 lead. A takedown in the third period led to four nearfall points and an eventual pin at 6:51.
 
Justin Folley (No. 6) toed the line at 133 pounds against Kenny Jones looking to build on UIU's 13-0 lead. Folley posted the first points on a takedown and then recorded two minutes of ride time. A second takedown pushed the lead to 4-0, and the ride time climbed above three minutes. Two more takedowns and a ride time point (3:43) secured the 9-1 major decision for Folley.
 
Ryan Schmalen challenged Nate Rodriguez at 141 pounds used a pair of takedowns to build a 6-0 lead midway through the second period. Rodriguez used a pair of escapes to cut the gap to 6-2, but Schmalen sealed the victory with a final takedown to win 8-3.
 
Caden Moore (No. 7) scored Northern State's first points of the dual with a 9-6 decision over Ryan Steffen at 149 pounds. Moore used four takedowns to get the win over Steffen, who picked up a reversal in the final seconds to pull within three.
 
Walker Carr kept the momentum with the Wolves at 157 pounds with a 5-3 decision over Tucker Black. Black had a 2-1 lead at the beginning of the final frame, but Carr used a pair of takedowns to rally for the win.
 
Brock Benitz (No. 10) took advantage of four takedowns including two in the first period to score a 9-4 decision and put UIU back in the win column.
 
At 174 pounds, Jordan Gundrum took control early with a takedown and two-point nearfall in the first period and a reversal and two-point nearfall in the second. An escape and a ride time point earned Gundrum a 10-2 major decision over Tanner Wiese to move UIU's advantage to 27-6.
 
In the final match of the dual, Dalton Hahn (No. 11) posted a pair of takedowns in the first period and then battled through an injury to outlast Riley Lura and win 7-5. UIU's eighth win set the final score at 30-6.
 
Upper Iowa notched 23 takedowns and 3 two-point nearfalls in the match.
 
Upper Iowa will use the next two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Regional in Moorhead, Minn. UIU will join the rest of the Northern Sun Conference along with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Alex Nemzek Hall on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead on Feb. 23.
 
#22 UIU 30 - #25 NSU 6
197: Nick Baumler (UIU) over Diego Gallegos (NSU) (MD 11-3)
285: Triston Westerlund (UIU) over Harrison Townsend (NSU) (Dec 8-5)
125: Maleek Williams (UIU) over Dayne Morton (NSU) (Fall 6:51)
133: Justin Folley (UIU) over Kenny Jones (NSU) (MD 9-1)
141: Ryan Schmalen (UIU) over Nate Rodriguez (NSU) (Dec 8-3)
149: Caden Moore (NSU) over Ryan Steffen (UIU) (Dec 9-6)
157: Walker Carr (NSU) over Tucker Black (UIU) (Dec 5-3)
165: Brock Benitz (UIU) over Billy Holtan (NSU) (Dec 9-4)
174: Jordan Gundrum (UIU) over Tanner Wiese (NSU) (MD 10-2)
184: Dalton Hahn (UIU) over Riley Lura (NSU) (Dec 7-5)