Penn (0-1) opened the night by falling 21-17 to Ellsworth CC in a dual that does not count towards the team's record (according to NAIA rules).  The Statesmen then lost 29-19 to host and #20 NCAA Division III nationally-ranked Luther.

Penn and Ellsworth exchanged the lead through the first six matches.

Matt Chustz (Sr., Manassas Park, Va., Manassas Park HS) won the night's opening match with an 8-3 decision victory at 125 pounds against Ellsworth.

After a loss at 133 pounds, Dustin Howa (Sr., Price, Utah, Carbon HS) gave the Statesmen the lead back with a 9-7 decision at 141 pounds. Penn lost at 149 pounds, but Josh Swanson (Jr., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) claimed an 8-0 major decision win at 157 pounds as Penn went back up 10-9.

A forfeited loss at 165 pounds placed the Statesmen back in the hole, but the squad went ahead for its last time with back-to-back wins at 174 pounds and 184 pounds. Chris Diaz (So., Montrose, Colo., Olathe HS) claimed a 13-2 major decision win at 174 and then Jesse Buchanan (Fr., Gilman, East Marshall HS) picked up his first win of the year with an 8-4 decision at 184 as Penn led 17-15 with two matches left.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen failed to close out the match with consecutive overtime losses at 197 pounds and heavyweight.

Taylor Louie (Jr., West Covina, Calif., West Covina HS) started the Statesmen in the right direction against the Norse with a 5-4 decision win at 125 pounds.

Penn then lost the next three matches before Swanson cut into the deficit with a 12-2 major decision victory at 157 pounds.

The Statesmen unfortunately lost the next three matches to eliminate any chance of victory. Although the last two weights did not affect the final outcome, Penn finished strong with falls by Karl Spain (Jr., Lafayette, La., Comeaux HS) at 197 pounds (3:44) and Ryan Groom (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) at heavyweight (1:42).

Next: Penn makes another long trip Saturday as it heads to Minneapolis, Minn. for the Augsburg Invitational.