Panther wrestling: Keckeisen earns All-American status as Biscoglia, Yant advance in consolations

TULSA, Okla. --- Parker Keckeisen became the 10th three-time All-American in UNI history and first since 2005 on Friday morning as the redshirt sophomore advanced to the 184-pound semifinals at the NCAA Championships at BOK Center. The three-time Big 12 champion, who has taken 3rd place at the last two national championship tournaments, will face off against 4-seed Trey Munoz of Oregon State tonight.

Four Panthers picked wins in the second round of the consolation brackets, with Kyle Biscoglia (133 pounds) and Austin Yant (165 pounds) earning third round victories to advance to tonight's blood rounds.

Opening with a scoreless first period quarterfinal bout against 9-seed Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota), Keckeisen broke the deadlock with a quick escape to begin the second period before Salazar tied the bout after escaping in the third. Keckeisen would respond with a takedown to take a 3-2 lead and hold off a tough challenger for his 19th consecutive win and earn a spot on the podium.

Biscoglia bounced back from his tough loss on Thursday night with an opening win over 16-seed Joe Heilmann of Rutgers with an impressive match from the opening whistle. Scoring an early takedown and riding Heilmann for much of the bout, Biscoglia scored 5 third period points on an escape, takedown and on riding time for a 6-1 decision.

Biscolgia followed up his win over Heilmann with another strong performance against 7-seed Michael Colaiocco (Penn). After scoring a first period escape, Biscoglia notched an escape and takedown in each of the final two periods for a 7-4 win to advance to the blood rounds tonight. The redshirt junior will take on 5-seed Kai Orine of North Carolina State tonight.

In the 165-pound bracket, 17th-seeded Yant avenged his loss to 31-seed Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) from earlier this season with an impressive second period, scoring off an escape and takedown after giving up a reversal to Sheets. Scoring an additional escape and takedown in the third, Yant held Sheets' attack in check to hold on for a 10-5 decision to advance in the consolation bracket.

Facing off against 25-seed Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) in his second match of the session, Yant applied the pressure and cruised to a 10-0 major decision to move on to the blood rounds. Scoring a takedown and four nearfall points in the first period, Yant maintained solid control over Wilson the entirety of the match, setting up a showdown with 3-seed Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) this evening.

Cael Happel (141 pounds) went back and forth early with 29-seed Jordan Titus (West Virginia), but pulled away in the second period. Picking up a takedown one minute into the opening frame, Happel gave up a reversal to Titus, but quickly turned the tables on a reversal of his own en route to a 10-5 win, his second over Titus this season.

Happel would struggle in his second match against 11-seed Cael Carlson (South Dakota State), giving up a pair of takedowns and an escape in each of the final two periods, with only 3 points scored in a 7-3 loss. The Lisbon, Iowa native finishes the season with an 18-8 record.

Tyrell Gordon (285 pounds) posted a big third period in his consolation match with 19-seed Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) as the Panther heavyweight picked up four nearfall points in the third period on top of riding time for a 6-1 decision. In his second bout with 12-seed Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville), Gordon tied the match at 1-1 on a stalling penalty, but gave up 61 seconds of riding time to drop his second match of the tournament by a score of 2-1. Gordon ends his season with a record of 21-14.

At 149 pounds, 15-seed Colin Realbuto struggled in the first period against the 33-seed Dom Demas (Cal Poly) as Demas grabbed a pair of takedowns and four nearfall points in the first three minutes of the match. Rallying in the final two periods, Realbuto scored on an escape in the second frame, followed by a stalling penalty and takedown in the third, but would be unable to catch Demas in a 10-7 loss. Realbuto finishes the season with a record of 20-8.

Derek Holschlag (157 pounds) also ran into a difficult challenge against 28-seed Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State). Giving up 4 first period takedowns to Gallagher, Holschlag scored a pair of escapes in a match where he struggled against Gallagher's speed and ability to pull him to the mat in a 17-9 major decision loss. Holschlag finishes the season with a final mark of 17-9.

The fourth session of competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT on Friday night with the semifinal round and blood rounds of the consolation brackets. Fans can watch the action live on the networks of ESPN.

UNI's Three-Time All-Americans

Bill Koll: 1946,47,48
Russ Bush: 1946,47,49
Bill Nelson: 1947,49,50
Keith Young: 1949,50,51
Kirk Myers: * 1978 (2), 79 (2), 80 (DII), 82 (DI)
Gary Steffensmeier: 1990,91,92
Rich Powers: 1990,91,92
Justin Greenlee: 1993,94,95
Sean Stender: 2003,04,05
Parker Keckeisen: 2021, 22, 23

                Freshmen were not allowed to compete until 1969
                * UNI's only six-time All-American
                        1978: 1st Division II / 6th Division I
                        1979: 1st Division II / 3rd Division I
                        1980: 1st Division II / DNP Division I
                        1981: redshirted
                        1982: 5th Division I - no longer in DII

UNI RESULTS (Thru Session III)
(Seed) #NCAA/RPI rank listed

133 | (15) #HM/18 Kyle Biscoglia (3-1)

Round 1 | W - (18) #17/(17 Jason Shaner (Oregon State), 6:02 Fall
Round 2 | L – (2) #2/2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 8-4
Cons. Round 2 | W – (16) #15/16 Joe Heilmann (Rutgers), 6-1
Cons. Round 3 | W – (7) #6/6 Michael Colaiocco (Penn), 7-4

141 | (14) #15/17 Cael Happel (2-2)

Round 1 | W - (19) #23/22 Matt Kazimir (Columbia), 3-2
Round 2 | L – (3) #3/3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 1-0
Cons. Round 2 | W – (29) #32/HM Jordan Titus (West Virginia), 10-5
Cons. Round 3 | L – (11) #10/13 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), 7-3

149 | (15) #16/17 Colin Realbuto (1-2)

Round 1 | W - (18) #18/22 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), 9-3
Round 2 | L – (2) #2/2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), 9-2
Cons. Round 2 | L – (33) #25/21 Dom Demas (Cal Poly), 10-7

157 | (22) #HM/24 Derek Holschlag (1-2)

Round 1 | W - (11) #9/11 Chase Saldate (Michigan State), 4-3
Round 2 | L - (6) #13/11 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), 6-2
Cons. Round 2 | L – (28) #25/20 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State), 17-9 MD

165 | (17) #17/17 Austin Yant (3-1)

Round 1 | W - (16) #NR/16 Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia), 8-1
Round 2 | L – (1) #1/1 David Carr (Iowa State), 15-4 MD
Cons. Round 2 | W – (31) #29/23 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 10-5
Cons. Round 3 | W – (25) #24/16 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska), 10-0 MD

184 | (1) #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (3-0)

Round 1 | W - (33) #HM/33 Anthony Carman (West Virginia), 12-3 MD
Round 2 | W – (17) #17/17 Tate Samuelson (Lehigh), 4-2
Quarterfinal | W – (9) #8/10 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota), 3-2

285 | (13) #14/12 Tyrell Gordon (2-2)

Round 1 | W - (20) #16/18 Konner Douchet (Oklahoma State), 2-1
Round 2 | L – (4) #3/3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 9-0 MD
Cons. Round 2 | W - (19) #20/HM Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), 6-1
Cons. Round 3 | L – (12) #14/21 Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville), 2-1

TEAM STANDINGS (Top-20 thru Session III)

1st – Penn State (78)
2nd – Iowa (48)
3rd – Cornell (45.5)
4th – Nebraska (44)
5th – Michigan (39)
6th – Missouri (34)
7th – Ohio State (31)
8th – North Carolina State (29)
9th – Iowa State (28)
10th – Arizona State (27)
11th – Lehigh (22.5)
T12th – UNI (22)
T12th – Princeton (22)
14th – Virginia Tech (21)
T15th – Air Force (20)
T15th – South Dakota State (20)
T17th – Minnesota (18)
T17th – North Carolina (18)
T17th – Oklahoma State (18)
20th – Wisconsin (17.5)

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