Both Upper Iowa (5-2-1) and Minnesota State Moorhead (8-6) enter the dual with perfect 1-0 NSIC records. Both are ranked in the top-20 nationally. MSU Moorhead is 12th in the latest NCAA Division II rankings while Upper Iowa is 16th. After Thursday, each team will have only a conference dual with Southwest Minnesota State (3-5 overall, 0-0 NSIC) remaining. The Peacocks visit the Mustangs Saturday at 3 p.m. while MSU Moorhead will travel to Marshall, Minn., Friday, Feb. 17.
Upper Iowa will again rely on its veteran leaders. Two-time Division III All-American Brian Black is currently the seventh-ranked heavyweight. National qualifier C.J. MacNaught is ranked fourth at 174 pounds. Ralph Acosta, a 2002 All-American, will compete for the Peacocks at 133 pounds. Red-shirt freshman Tyler Mumbulo is ranked eighth at 125 pounds. Mumbulo, MacNaught and Black each won individual titles at the Midwest Classic, while MacNaught also claimed the Dubuque Spartan Open crown.
MSU Moorhead returns two All-Americans from a year ago. Heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer finished second and 141-pounder Ben Keen took eighth. Tuchscherer is currently the fourth-ranked heavyweight in Division II. The Dragons also feature the top-ranked 165-pounder in the country, Nate Baker. Baker transferred to Moorhead from the University of Minnesota, where he was a Division I national qualifier.
Tickets for the Thursday dual are $7 for adults and $4 for students. The doors open at 6 p.m. with the wrestling to begin at 7 p.m. Free snow cones will be given out from 6-6:55 p.m. As a special promotion, a 27-inch Panasonic flat screen television will be given to one lucky fan in attendance during intermission.
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