UNI's Austin Yant is first Panther to earn 2022 Big 12 wrestling honors

UNI's Austin Yant is first Panther to earn 2022 Big 12 wrestling honors

2/1/2022 11:00:00 AM | Wrestling

IRVING, Texas — Northern Iowa junior Austin Yant was voted Big 12 Wrestler of the Week by league coaches after picking up back-to-back victories in conference competition.

In a dual with No. 3 Oklahoma State, 17th-ranked Yant broke a three match losing streak against No. 4 Travis Wittlake in the 165-pound match. Yant took the lead with an escape in the second period. He then put a hard ride on Wittlake, returning him to the mat multiple times and earning the extra riding time point for the 2-0 win.

The Panthers rallied back from a 12-0 deficit to stun the then-undefeated Cowboys 19-15, handing Oklahoma State its first loss of the season.

Yant then took on Oklahoma's No. 29 Joe Grello, picking up a 3-0 decision for a second-straight ranked win. UNI grabbed a 17-15 victory over the No. 21 Sooners for its second-straight ranked win as well. Yant moved up nine spots in the InterMat rankings to No. 9 in the 165-pound weight class as a result of his performance.