University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI Wrestling: Blaize Cabell Earns Shot at 2016 Olympics
4/2/2016 4:04:00 PM | Wrestling
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Heavyweight Blaize Cabell won the Last Chance Qualifier tournament today to be the third Panther to earn a shot at the 2016 Olympics.
Cabell's collegiate career came to a disappointing end when illness knocked him out of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships late last month. His win today extended his wrestling career before the senior graduates from UNI.
Cabell advanced to the finals of the 125-kilo weight class with two 12-2 tech falls over Kevin Christman and Ben Durbin of the Cyclone Wrestling Club. He pinned David Zabriskie of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in 55 seconds to win the tournament and advance to the trials.
Cabell will join former Panther Joe Colon at the trials qualifier set for April 9-10 in Iowa City. Colon qualified for the trials mid-December at the U.S. Senior Nationals and Trials Qualifier in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jordan Holm won the Pan-American Games Qualifier to earn a spot in the Greco Roman division.
Future Panther Carter Isley also earned a tournament championship by winning the USA Wrestling / Cliff Keen Junior Folkstyle Nationals. Isley, a senior from Albia, Iowa, has committed to UNI starting in the 2016-17 season. He notched a first-period fall and four decisions en route to a heavyweight title.
Isley wrapped up a second consecutive undefeated year as a prep wrestler to earn his second Iowa state title. He earned two falls and a major decision at this year's state championship. Isley won the 2016 Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler Award. He ended his high school career ranked fourth in the nation by FloWrestling.
OTHER PANTHERS AT LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
Four other wrestlers with Panther ties competed for a shot at the trials today. Freshman Max Thomsen fell 10-2 in the 65-kilo quarterfinals to Nazar Kulchytskyy. He grabbed one more win with an 18-16 decision over Elroy Perkin before his run for third place ended with an 11-0 tech fall loss to Chance Pami.
Panther Wrestling Club member Andrew Sorenson made it to the semifinals of the 74-kilo weight class before an 11-0 loss to Anthony Valencia knocked him into the consolation round and Santiago Martinez bumped him from the tournament with a 12-5 decision.
Former All-American Ryan Loder notched three wins at the tournament but missed out on placing at 86K. He was joined at that weight by two-time NJCAA champion Tyler Hoffman, who will be transferring to UNI from Iowa Central Community College next season. He fell early in the tournament but bounced back with a win before his tournament run ended to the third-place finisher Nicholas Heflin.
FINAL RESULTS – LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
MAX THOMSEN – 65K freestyle
ANDREW SORENSON – 74K freestyle
RYAN LODER – 86K freestyle
TYLER HOFFMAN – 86K freestyle
BLAIZE CABELL – 125K freestyle - 1st place
FINAL RESULTS – USA Wrestling / Cliff Keen Junior Folkstyle Nationals
CARTER ISLEY – 285 pounds - 1st place
Cabell's collegiate career came to a disappointing end when illness knocked him out of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships late last month. His win today extended his wrestling career before the senior graduates from UNI.
Cabell advanced to the finals of the 125-kilo weight class with two 12-2 tech falls over Kevin Christman and Ben Durbin of the Cyclone Wrestling Club. He pinned David Zabriskie of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in 55 seconds to win the tournament and advance to the trials.
Cabell will join former Panther Joe Colon at the trials qualifier set for April 9-10 in Iowa City. Colon qualified for the trials mid-December at the U.S. Senior Nationals and Trials Qualifier in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jordan Holm won the Pan-American Games Qualifier to earn a spot in the Greco Roman division.
Future Panther Carter Isley also earned a tournament championship by winning the USA Wrestling / Cliff Keen Junior Folkstyle Nationals. Isley, a senior from Albia, Iowa, has committed to UNI starting in the 2016-17 season. He notched a first-period fall and four decisions en route to a heavyweight title.
Isley wrapped up a second consecutive undefeated year as a prep wrestler to earn his second Iowa state title. He earned two falls and a major decision at this year's state championship. Isley won the 2016 Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler Award. He ended his high school career ranked fourth in the nation by FloWrestling.
OTHER PANTHERS AT LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
Four other wrestlers with Panther ties competed for a shot at the trials today. Freshman Max Thomsen fell 10-2 in the 65-kilo quarterfinals to Nazar Kulchytskyy. He grabbed one more win with an 18-16 decision over Elroy Perkin before his run for third place ended with an 11-0 tech fall loss to Chance Pami.
Panther Wrestling Club member Andrew Sorenson made it to the semifinals of the 74-kilo weight class before an 11-0 loss to Anthony Valencia knocked him into the consolation round and Santiago Martinez bumped him from the tournament with a 12-5 decision.
Former All-American Ryan Loder notched three wins at the tournament but missed out on placing at 86K. He was joined at that weight by two-time NJCAA champion Tyler Hoffman, who will be transferring to UNI from Iowa Central Community College next season. He fell early in the tournament but bounced back with a win before his tournament run ended to the third-place finisher Nicholas Heflin.
FINAL RESULTS – LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
MAX THOMSEN – 65K freestyle
- Thomsen dec. Darrius Little (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club), 10-3
- Thomsen dec. Theautry Marion (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club), 2-2
- Nazar Kulchytskyy (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club) dec. Thomsen, 8-3
- Thomsen dec. Elroy Perkin (Eau Claire), 18-16
- Chance Pani (Sunkist Kids Wrestling) tech fall Thomsen, 11-0
ANDREW SORENSON – 74K freestyle
- Sorenson tech fall Raymond Mathewson (Team Hawaii), 18-7
- Sorenson dec. Dylan Ness (Minnesota Storm), 13-6
- Anthony Valencia (Sunkist Kids Wrestling) tech fall Sorenson, 11-0
- Santiago Martinez (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club) dec. Sorenson, 12-5
RYAN LODER – 86K freestyle
- Loder won by injury default James Allen (Allentown), 2:07
- Anthony Jones (Michigan Wrestling) tech fall Loder, 10-0
- Loder pinned Austin Morehead (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club), 2:07
- Victor Terrell (Army WCAP) tech fall Loder, 12-2
TYLER HOFFMAN – 86K freestyle
- Josh Asper (Navy-Marine Corps) tech fall Hoffman, 10-0
- Hoffman dec. Evan Hansen (Viking Wrestling), 6-5
- Nicholas Heflin (Princeton AWS) dec. Hoffman, 10-3
BLAIZE CABELL – 125K freestyle - 1st place
- Cabell tech fall Kevin Christman (unattached), 12-2
- Cabell tech fall Ben Durbin (Cyclone Wrestling Club), 12-2
- Cabell pinned David Zabriskie (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club), 0:55
FINAL RESULTS – USA Wrestling / Cliff Keen Junior Folkstyle Nationals
CARTER ISLEY – 285 pounds - 1st place
- Isley dec. Zachery Nemec (Bushido Storm), 7-2
- Isley dec. Chase Miller (Team Kansas), 2-1 TB1
- Isley fall Arath Rangel (Team Nevada), 1:26
- Isley dec. Gavin Nye (Northern California), 7-2
- Isley dec. Aaron Costello (Basement Boys Wrestling), 3-1
Players Mentioned
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