The No. 16 Peacock wrestling team escaped Sioux Falls, S.D. with a victory to improve to 3-2 on the season thanks to five wins that included a fall at 165 pounds. Upper Iowa's 18-16 decision on Thursday night was highlighted by Scott Kellenberger's win by fall. After the teams split the 10 bouts of the official dual, the Peacocks got the upper hand on the night with three wins in the five extra matches.
 
The dual opened at 125 pounds and No. 11 Kaden Anderlik posted a 9-3 win over Ethan Cota behind a takedown and reversal in the opening frame, an escape and takedown in the second period and then a stalling and ride time point in the third to secure the six-point decision.
 
Donny Schmit took to the mat for the 133-pound bout against Brandon Carroll. Schmit grabbed a 9-3 lead in the second period thanks to an escape, takedown and four-point nearfall. Unfortunately, for the Peacock grappler, Carroll stormed back in the third with two takedowns and a four-point nearfall to edge Schmit 12-11.
 
Jack Huffman kept the momentum on the home team's side during the 141-pound match, but not before No. 11 Tate Murty jumped out to a 4-0 lead midway through the second period. Huffman used a reversal in the second period to get on the board and then moved ahead with a takedown and four-point nearfall en route to an 8-4 decision.
 
Trailing 6-3, UIU's Eric Faught put together another strong outing with a dominant first period that included three takedowns. Faught kept the pressure on with a tough ride in the second period and then added an escape, a takedown and a ride time point for a 10-4 decision over Jebben Keyes.
 
No. 6 Chase Luensman quickly took control of the 157-pound match posting a 10-2 lead in the first period fueled by three takedowns and four nearfall points. Luensman controlled the ties for majority of the match and recorded a 12-5 win and pushed the Peacocks back into the lead, 9-6.
 
At 165 pounds, Scott Kellenberger came out for the Peacocks against Dylan Schuck. Kellenberger got in on an underhook and bulled his way into a takedown and pin of Schuck just 1:39 into the match. The fall gave Upper Iowa three bonus-points and proved to be the difference in the dual.
 
Augustana began to rally with wins at 174 and 184 pounds over a pair of ranked Peacock wrestlers. Cade Mueller defeated No. 8 Myron Crawford, 4-2, at 174 thanks to a pair of escapes and a takedown. Kolby Kost used four takedowns and a two-point nearfall to build a 12-1 major decision of No. 8 Dalton Hahn. After the two upsets, the Peacock lead was down to just two points, 15-13.
 
UIU turned to Zach Ryg at 197 pounds to break the streak and give the visitors a little cushion going into the final bout. Ryg did just that with a pair of reversals in the first two periods and the winning takedown in the final frame to secure a 6-4 decision. The win gave UIU an 18-13 lead going into the heavyweight bout.
 
No. 10 Steven Hajas claimed a 5-2 decision over UIU's Jordan Baumler thanks to a pair of takedowns, but the three points were not enough to erase UIU's lead as the Peacocks claimed the dual victory 18-16.
 
Upper Iowa's five wins in the dual were registered by four redshirt freshman and a true sophomore. Five Peacocks remained undefeated on the season with wins tonight including three in the dual, Faught (4-0), Luensman (5-0) and Ryg (5-0). Dalton Schams (149, 5-0) and Bodie Garnier (197/285, 4-0) also won their extra match to keep their record clean.
 
Schams dominated his match at 149 pounds posting a 10-0 major decision thanks to two takedowns around a reversal and four-point nearfall combination. Garnier secured the final win of the night at heavyweight against Edward Hajas; Garnier won 8-2 fueled by three takedowns. Jamie Gehling (174) put together a 5-2 decision behind a pair of escapes, a takedown and a ride time point. Ryan Steffen (165) lost his extra match 7-5 in the sudden victory period and Colter Bye (174) dropped a 3-2 decision in the first tiebreaker period.
 
Upper Iowa will take on the No. 1 Huskies of St. Cloud State University next Thursday, Feb. 11 in St. Cloud, Minn. The dual will be the final regular season dual for both teams.
 
No. 16 Upper Iowa 18 – Augustana 16
125: No. 11 Kaden Anderlik (UIU) over Ethan Cota (AUG) (Dec 9-3)
133: Brandon Carroll (AUG) over Donny Schmit (UIU) (Dec 12-11)
141: Jack Huffman (AUG) over No. 11 Tate Murty (UIU) (Dec 8-4)
149: Eric Faught (UIU) over Jebben Keyes (AUG) (Dec 10-4)
157: No. 6 Chase Luensman (UIU) over Tyler Wagener (AUG) (Dec 12-5)
165: Scott Kellenberger (UIU) over Dylan Schuck (AUG) (Fall 1:39)
174: Cade Mueller (AUG) over No. 8 Myron Crawford (UIU) (Dec 4-2)
184: Kolby Kost (AUG) over No. 8 Dalton Hahn (UIU) (MD 12-1)
197: Zach Ryg (UIU) over Daniel Bishop (AUG) (Dec 6-4)
285: No. 10 Steven Hajas (AUG) over Jordan Baumler (UIU) (Dec 5-2)

Extra Matches
149: Dalton Schams (UIU) over Brayden Curry (AUG) (MD 10-0)
165: Miles Fitzgerald (AUG) over Ryan Steffen (UIU) (SV-1 7-5)
174: Tanner Brengle (AUG) over Colter Bye (UIU) (TB-1 3-2)
174: Jamie Gehling (UIU) over Jacob Tvinnereim (AUG) (Dec 5-2)
285: Bodie Garnier (UIU) over Edward Hajas (AUG) (Dec 8-2)