Upper Iowa's wrestling team made a clear statement on Thursday night as the No. 20 Peacocks (1-1) dominated a Northern Sun Conference dual with the No. 25 Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead (0-2). UIU dropped the first match of the night, but then claimed the final nine matches of the dual including six with bonus-points to post a 38-4 win in Moorhead, Minn. Following the dual, the Peacocks and Dragons competed in eight extra matches. UIU won six of the extra matches adding four more bonus-point wins.
 
How the Action Broke Down…
Upper Iowa's Scott Kellenberger opened the match against No. 12 Braydon Ortloff at 165 pounds. Kellenberger came out strong taking a 6-1 lead into the midpoint of the second period, but Ortloff found his footing and rallied with a pair of takedowns followed by four-point nearfalls for a 15-6 major decision. The setback was UIU's only loss in the dual.
 
No. 12 Myron Crawford answered the bell at 174 pounds with a 6-5 decision over Evan Foster thanks to a takedown in each of the first two periods and an escape to win in the final frame.
 
No. 8 Dalton Hahn was impressive for the second straight dual at 184 pounds. Hahn posted a 13-4 major decision fueled by a pair of takedowns and two four-point nearfalls against Steven Abbott.
 
At 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Zach Ryg scored a fall just eight seconds before the first period horn sounded. Ryg took advantage of his position after a takedown and two nearfall points giving UIU a 13-4 advantage on the scoreboard.
 
UIU's Jordan Baumler toed the line in the heavyweight match against Andrew Baguma. Baumler took a 2-0 lead into the final period after a takedown in the first three minutes. In the final period, the redshirt sophomore scored an escape and then followed it with three straight takedowns to register a 10-2 major decision.
 
Redshirt freshman Kaden Anderlik improved to 2-0 on the season with a dominating 9-4 win over No. 6 Cole Jones of MSUM. Anderlik scored a pair of takedowns on the Dragon All-American in the first period, added a third takedown in the second frame and then recorded a reversal after starting down in the third period.
 
Donny Schmit notched his first win of the season at 133 pounds with a win by fall over Joey Nerdahl in the second period. Prior to the pin, Schmit picked up three takedowns and an escape before securing the six points and a 25-3 team lead for UIU.
 
No. 9 Tate Murty joined his teammates in the win column at 141 pounds. Murty posted an 11-0 major decision shutout of No. 11 Mason Schulz. Murty scored a takedown in the first and third periods around a reversal and four nearfall points in the second period.
 
Chance Throndson and Angel Rios battled in the 149-pound bout. Throndson led 4-2 heading into the final period, but Rios answered with a takedown in the third period to send the match into overtime. In overtime, UIU's redshirt sophomore was able to outlast his opponent for a 6-5 win.
 
In the final match of the dual, UIU's Chase Luensman, No. 8 at 157 pounds, produced 8 takedowns and a four-point nearfall to score a 21-6 technical fall over Ethan Kiehm.
 
In the extra matches, the Peacocks were able to win six of the eight bouts including four bonus-point wins.
 
Bodie Garnier (197) and Philip Ihde (125) both scored wins by fall; Ihde used an early takedown for a pin at 1:22, while Garnier had a 4-0 lead in the second period when he ended the match early at 4:57.
 
Mac Spotts (165) and Colter Bye (174) each registered decisive majors as well. Spotts scored two takedowns and three reversals on the way to an 11-3 win, while Bye used four takedowns to fuel his 10-1 victory.
 
After the Dragons' Gage Roaldson defeated both Jamie Gehling (174) by decision 6-1 and Dalton Nelson (184) by decision 3-2, the Peacocks claimed the final two matches of the evening. Dalton Schams (149) used a reversal and two nearfall points in the second period toward his 5-3 decision, while Eric Faught made his debut for Upper Iowa. The redshirt freshman notched three takedowns in the first period and added a takedown in each of the final two periods on the way to a 10-3 win.
 
Quotables…
Head Coach Heath Grimm after the victory…
"We got back to wrestling an Upper Iowa style tonight! We attacked. We rode hard. And we exploded up from the bottom. Coach Nelson runs a solid program with some dangerous wrestlers here at MSU Moorhead. Very happy that we won 15 of the 18 matches with the highlight of the night coming from redshirt freshman Kaden Anderlik, who defeated All-American Cole Jones. Wins like that let everyone know you don't have to wait to do big things. Now is the time!"
 
Up Next…
The Peacocks will host the No. 12 Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato next Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.
 
No. 20 Upper Iowa 38 – No. 25 MSU Moorhead 4
165: No. 12 Braydon Ortloff (MSUM) over Scott Kellenberger (UIU) (MD 15-6)
174: No. 12 Myron Crawford (UIU) over Evan Foster (MSUM) (Dec 6-5)
184: No. 8 Dalton Hahn (UIU) over Steven Abbott (MSUM) (MD 13-4)
197: Zach Ryg (UIU) over Jake Erckenbrack (MSUM) (Fall 2:52)
285: Jordan Baumler (UIU) over Andre Baguma (MSUM)                (Dec 10-2)
125: Kaden Anderlik (UIU) over No. 6 Cole Jones (MSUM) (Dec 9-4)
133: Donny Schmit (UIU) over Joey Nerdahl (MSUM) (Fall 4:16)
141: No. 9 Tate Murty (UIU) over No. 11 Mason Schulz (MSUM) (MD 11-0)
149: Chance Throndson (UIU) over Angel Rios (MSUM) (TB-1 6-5)
157: No. 8 Chase Luensman (UIU) over Ethan Kiehm (MSUM) (TF 21-6 5:00)
 
Extra Matches
165: Mac Spotts (Upper Iowa) over Justin Dravis (MSUM) (MD 11-3)
174: Gage Roaldson (MSUM) over Jamie Gehling (Upper Iowa) (Dec 6-1)
174: Colter Bye (Upper Iowa) over Cody Dravis (MSUM) (MD 10-1)
197: Bodie Garnier (Upper Iowa) over Brett Graham (MSUM) (Fall 4:57)
125: Philip Ihde (Upper Iowa) over Cameron Williams (MSUM) (Fall 1:22)
184: Gage Roaldson (MSUM) over Dalton Nelson (Upper Iowa) (Dec 3-2)
149: Dalton Schams (Upper Iowa) over Angel Rios (MSUM) (Dec 5-3)
149: Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) over Ethan Kiehm (MSUM) (Dec 10-3)