UNI wrestling: Keckeisen earns top seed for NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS --- UNI's Parker Keckeisen earned the top-seed at 184 pounds as the NCAA released seedings and brackets for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Wednesday night. The Panthers picked up 6 top-20 seeds for the national tournament, which will be held March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

UNI will send seven athletes to the national championships for the third time in the last 4 years after 8 wrestlers qualified a year ago in Detroit. This season marks the fifth year that the Panthers have sent at least 7 competitors to the national championships under head coach Doug Schwab.

The 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be broadcast on ESPN+, ESPNU and ESPN, with live results available via TrackWrestling. Fans can follow all the action during the three-day event through UNI's NCAA Championship Hub.

MATCHUPS (Seed)

133 | (16) Kyle Biscoglia vs. (17) Joe Heilmann (Rutgers)
Biscoglia will make his second consecutive NCAA appearance after finishing 4th at the Big 12 Championships last weekend. Carrying a 20-8 record on the season, the Waukee, Iowa native recorded 6 pins this season, and 6 wins over top-30 opponents, including then-No. 6 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) and No. 7 Chris Cannon (Northwestern), both who are seeded 12th and 13th respectively in this year's bracket. Heilman makes his second NCAA appearance with a 24-9 record this season after qualifying last year at North Carolina.

141 | (14) Cael Happel vs. (19) Matt Kazimir (Columbia)
The No. 3 seed at the Big 12 Championships, Happel will make his NCAA Championships debut after posting a 16-6 record this season with 4 pins. Happel, who was named an alternate at last year's national championships, notched 6 top-30 wins this year, including an upset over then-No. 5 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Kazimir posted a record of 20-9 with Columbia this season and took 5th place at the EIWA Championships, and will make his 3rd career trip to the NCAA Championships.

149 | (16) Colin Realbuto vs. (17) Jackson Arrington (North Carolina State)
After a 5th place finish at Big 12s, Realbuto returns to the NCAAs for the second time in his career with a 19-6 record and a pair of pins. Going an impressive 9-1 during duals this year, Realbuto notched 5 top-30 wins this season, most notably against then-No. 3 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), who is the No. 2-seed for this year's national tournament. Arrington posted a 20-7 record in his freshman season with the Wolfpack, and was the ACC runner-up as the tournament's No. 2-seed.

157 | (22) Derek Holschlag vs. (11) Chase Saldate (Michigan State)
Holschlag will make his 2nd NCAA Championship appearance next week after a 16-7 season and 9-3 record in duals. Earning his lone pin of the season at the Big 12 Championships, Holschlag knocked off his first two top-10 ranked challengers this year in then-No. 9 Jacob Wright of Wyoming (this year's No. 15-seed at NCAAs) and Big 12 runner-up Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State (this season's No. 10-seed at NCAAs). Saldate, who qualified last for the NCAAs in 2021, has posted a record 25-6, taking 5th place as the No. 4-seed at the Big Ten Championships.

165 | (17) Austin Yant vs. (16) Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia)
Making his 3rd trip to the NCAAs, Yant looks to capitalize on his opportunity after a 5th place finish at Big 12s. Yant won his first 13 matches of the season and heads to Tulsa with a record 19-6 overall. The Waverly, Iowa native picked up 2 top-25 wins this winter, including a 2-0 decision against Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma), the No. 21-seed for this year's national championships. Ogunsanya carries a record of 20-6 into his 2nd career NCAA Championship after finishing in 3rd place at the EIWA Championships as the No. 3-seed in the 165-pound field.

184 | (1) Parker Keckeisen vs. (32) Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) OR (33) Anthony Carman (West Virginia)
Fresh off becoming UNI's first-ever three-time Big 12 champion, Keckeisen makes his 3rd trip to NCAAs seeking All-American status for a 3rd consecutive season. Keckeisen has finished in 3rd place at the last two national championships. With a record of 22-1, Keckeisen has won 16 straight matches, and has recorded 8 top-30 wins this season, including 2 victories against Iowa State's Marcus Coleman (this year's No. 5-seed) and one against North Carolina State's Trent Hidlay, the No. 2-seed in the bracket. Anderson, the Southern Conference runner-up, carries a record 22-13 into his second NCAA Championship appearance. Carman makes his first NCAA appearance as well after a 17-14 campaign. Keckeisen is 2-0 against Carman this season.

285 | (13) Tyrell Gordon vs. (20) Konner Douchet (Oklahoma State)
Gordon makes his 2nd NCAA Championship appearance after taking 4th place at Big 12s. With an 18-11 record on the year, Gordon recorded 5 top-25 wins this season, including 2 victories of this year's NCAA No. 14-seed AJ Nevills (South Dakota State). Gordon also beat Ohio State's then-No. 7 Tate Orndorff in Las Vegas in December. Douchet. Making his NCAA Championship debut for the Cowboys, Douchet posted a 19-10 mark this year, and took 6th place in the heavyweight bracket at Big 12s as the No. 8 seed.

UNI at NCAAs under Schwab

2011: T46th - 3 qualifiers
2012: 34th - 5 qualifiers
2013: T15th - 4 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2014: 15th - 7 qualifiers / 3 All-Americans
2015: 34th - 4 qualifiers
2016: 25th - 5 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2017: 18th - 7 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2018: T24th - 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2019: T13 - 6 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2020: N/A - 7 qualifiers / 5 All-Americans *
2021: 19th - 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2022: T20th - 8 qualifiers / 1 All-American

* no tournament due to COVID-19 / seeded wrestlers earned all-America titles

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