University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, Mo.
University of Northern Iowa
vs
NCAA Championship
Photo by: Mark Lundy
Parker Keckeisen Leads Panthers With 3rd-Place Finish at NCAAs
3/20/2021 12:10:00 PM | Wrestling
#15 UNI wrestling at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Parker Keckeisen's third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships makes him UNI wrestling's highest-placing freshman since 1952.
He outperformed his No. 4 seed to become the first redshirt freshman to earn all-America honors for UNI since 2017. Keckeisen is UNI's 129th wrestler to earn Division I all-American honors.
Keckeisen made a run through the tournament with a decision over Iowa State's Sam Colbray and a major decision over David Key of Navy.
Keckeisen took No. 5 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech into a second sudden victory after each scored a point in the first tiebreakers. A takedown gave Keckeisen the 4-2 decision. He was edged out by top-seeded Aaron Brooks of Penn State, 6-4.
In the medal rounds, Keckeisen turned up the offense and took down No. 7 seed Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, in a 6-2 decision.
In the bronze medal match, Keckeisen faced No. 6 seed John Poznanski of Rutgers, a true freshman. He grabbed two takedowns and an escape to win with a 5-4 decision.
Keckeisen finishes his season with an 18-1 record.
Max Thomsen took fifth at 149 pounds in St. Louis as a redshirt freshman in 2017. Keckeisen continues the medalist streak for the Panthers. UNI has had at least one all-American since 2016 and held the top spot at 184 pounds in 2020 and 2019:
Other Panther freshmen who placed (*true freshmen):
The team was in 19th place headed into the final championships.
Place / team / points:
1 - Iowa 125
2 - Penn State 97.5
3 - Oklahoma State 95.5
4 - Arizona State 74
5 - Michigan 69
6 - NC State 68
7 - Missouri 64
8 - MInnesota 60
9 - Ohio State 46.5
10 - Northwestern 45
11 - Pittsburgh 40.5
12 - Nebraska 38
13 - Rutgers 37.5
14 - Virginia Tech 36.5
15 - Iowa State 33.5
16 - North Carolina 32
17 - Stanford 31.5
18 - Illinois 25
19 - UNI 24.5
20 - Rider 22
Day 1:
Day 1:
149 | #23 Triston Lara (1-2)
Day 1:
165 | #33 Austin Yant (2-2)
Day 1:
174 | #29 Lance Runyon - medically forfeited
HWT | #15 Carter Isley (2-2)
Day 1:
- March 18-20, 2021
- The total attendance for all 7 sessions of the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships was 19,751.
- Media hub: https://unipanthers.com/ncaahub
- Final brackets and team scores
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Parker Keckeisen's third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships makes him UNI wrestling's highest-placing freshman since 1952.
He outperformed his No. 4 seed to become the first redshirt freshman to earn all-America honors for UNI since 2017. Keckeisen is UNI's 129th wrestler to earn Division I all-American honors.
Keckeisen made a run through the tournament with a decision over Iowa State's Sam Colbray and a major decision over David Key of Navy.
Keckeisen took No. 5 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech into a second sudden victory after each scored a point in the first tiebreakers. A takedown gave Keckeisen the 4-2 decision. He was edged out by top-seeded Aaron Brooks of Penn State, 6-4.
In the medal rounds, Keckeisen turned up the offense and took down No. 7 seed Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, in a 6-2 decision.
In the bronze medal match, Keckeisen faced No. 6 seed John Poznanski of Rutgers, a true freshman. He grabbed two takedowns and an escape to win with a 5-4 decision.
Keckeisen finishes his season with an 18-1 record.
Max Thomsen took fifth at 149 pounds in St. Louis as a redshirt freshman in 2017. Keckeisen continues the medalist streak for the Panthers. UNI has had at least one all-American since 2016 and held the top spot at 184 pounds in 2020 and 2019:
- 2020: Taylor Lujan (top seed) 184 pounds, Bryce Steiert (fifth seed) 174 pounds
- 2019: Drew Foster 1st, 184 pounds / Bryce Steiert 8th, 165 pounds
- 2018: Jacob Holschlag 5th, 197 pounds
- 2017: Max Thomsen 5th, 149 pounds / Drew Foster 7th, 184 pounds
- 2016: Dylan Peters 6th, 125 pounds
Other Panther freshmen who placed (*true freshmen):
- 2017: Max Thomsen 5th, 149
- 2014: Dylan Peters, 6th, 125
- 1996: Tony Wieland, 8th, 190 *
- 1986: Mark Schwab, 5th, 118 *
- 1979: Joe Gormally, 4th, 177 *
- 1978: Kirk Myers, 6th, 190 *
- 1952: Jim Harmon, 2nd, 147 *
- 1952: Bill Weick, 1st, 157 *
- 1947: Bill Nelson, 1st, 165 *
- 1946: Russ Bush, 3rd, 136 *
The team was in 19th place headed into the final championships.
Place / team / points:
1 - Iowa 125
2 - Penn State 97.5
3 - Oklahoma State 95.5
4 - Arizona State 74
5 - Michigan 69
6 - NC State 68
7 - Missouri 64
8 - MInnesota 60
9 - Ohio State 46.5
10 - Northwestern 45
11 - Pittsburgh 40.5
12 - Nebraska 38
13 - Rutgers 37.5
14 - Virginia Tech 36.5
15 - Iowa State 33.5
16 - North Carolina 32
17 - Stanford 31.5
18 - Illinois 25
19 - UNI 24.5
20 - Rider 22
MATCH RESULTS:
184 | #4 Parker Keckeisen (5-1)Day 1:
- W - #29 Sam Colbray (Iowa State), decision 2-1
- W - #20 David Key (Navy), major decision 16-5
- W - #5 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), decision 4-2 SV2
- L - #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), decision 6-4
- W - #7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois), decision 6-2
- W - #6 John Poznanski (Rutgers), decision 5-4
EARLIER RESULTS
125 | #5 Brody Teske (2-2)Day 1:
- W - #28 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), fall 2:40
- W - #12 Michael DeAustino (Northwestern), decision 2-0
- L - #4 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), decision 4-2 SV
- L - #15 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 9-2
149 | #23 Triston Lara (1-2)
Day 1:
- W - #10 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers), decision 12-7
- L - #7 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State), decision 9-8
- L - #8 Jaden Abas (Stanford), decision 4-1
165 | #33 Austin Yant (2-2)
Day 1:
- W - #32 Ricky Stamm (Hofstra), decision 5-2
- L - #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), major decision 19-6
- W - #16 William Formato (Appalachian State), major decision 11-2
- L - #18 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), decision 8-6 SV
174 | #29 Lance Runyon - medically forfeited
HWT | #15 Carter Isley (2-2)
Day 1:
- W - #18 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech), decision 3-1
- L - #2 Mason Parris (Michigan), tech fall 17-1 (5:27)
- W - #16 Luke Luffman (Illinois), decision 7-5
- L - #25 Nathan Traxler (Stanford), major decision 10-0
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