Panther wrestling heads south to face Cowboys, Sooners

Friday, January 26

Stillwater, Okla.

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Oklahoma State

UNI wrestling vs. Utah Valley | Jan. 13, 2024 (Ames, Iowa)

Photo by: Allyson Schwab

Panther wrestling heads south to face Cowboys, Sooners

1/24/2024 2:30:00 PM | Wrestling

UNI NOTES WATCH (Oklahoma State) [ESPN+]WATCH (Oklahoma) [ESPN+]LIVE RESULTS (Oklahoma State)LIVE RESULTS (Pat Flanagan Open)LIVE RESULTS (Oklahoma)

UNI faces key Big 12 tests against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. Panthers to also send athletes to Pat Flanagan Open.

No. 22 UNI wrestling (3-4 / 2-0 Big 12) at No. 5 Oklahoma State (8-0 / 3-0 Big 12)

Jan. 26, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Watch)
TrackWrestling (Live Results)

No. 22 UNI wrestling (3-4 / 2-0 Big 12) at Pat Flanagan Open

Jan. 27, 2023 | 9 a.m. CT
Dubuque, Iowa | Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center
TrackWrestling (Live Results)

No. 22 UNI wrestling (3-4 / 2-0 Big 12) at No. 18 Oklahoma (5-3 / 2-2 Big 12)

Jan. 27, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
Norman, Okla. | McCasland Field House (5,000)
Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Watch)
TrackWrestling (Live Results)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- After two weeks away from competition, UNI wrestling will return to action beginning Friday night as the Panther Train rolls into the Sooner State to take on No. 5 Oklahoma State, as well as No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday night.

Live coverage of both duals can be found on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with live results available on TrackWrestling.

The Panthers will also send athletes to Dubuque for this year's Pat Flanagan Open. Last January, Trever Anderson (125 pounds) and Ryder Downey (149 pounds) both picked up first-place titles for UNI, while Cory Land placed second at 133 pounds.

Northern Iowa will look to stay perfect in Big 12 duals following a 32-6 win over Utah Valley on Jan. 13. Originally scheduled to be a home dual, competition was moved to Ames and the Iowa State wrestling training facility due to winter weather. UNI clinched victories in eight of ten weight classes, and scored bonus points in four matches against the Wolverines for its third overall dual victory of the season.

While Oklahoma State leads the all-time series against the Panthers, 29-4, UNI has won two of the last three against the Cowboys, including its last trip to Stillwater in 2022 in a 19-15 win. The Panthers' stunning upset of the then third-ranked Cowboys marked the second top-five dual victory for head coach Doug Schwab, and the first under his leadership on the road.

Against the Sooners, Northern Iowa heads into McCasland Field House with a 14-7 all-time record against Oklahoma. UNI has won its last six duals against the Sooners, including a 23-12 win last January at home.

UNI PANTHERS
Top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) has anchored Northern Iowa throughout the year with a perfect 7-0 record in duals, including six bonus-point victories. Keckeisen carries a 35-1 career dual record into Saturday's competition, including a 21-0 record in Big 12 duals. Keckeisen is also riding a 28-match regular season winning streak dating back to last season.

Julian Farber (133 pounds) looks to stay hot in the midst of a four-match winning streak, which included an 11-1 major decision over Kase Maguer (Utah Valley) in his last appearance. Cael Happel (141 pounds) also looks to continue his momentum into the weekend on a five-match winning streak, which included a top-ten win over No. 6 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) earlier this month.

At 157 pounds, Ryder Downey has won four straight bouts, including three bonus-point matches to sit at 10-4 on the year.

PROJECTED PANTHER LINEUP (NCAA ranking) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings

125 | (27) #30/22 Trever Anderson (7-7)
133 | (17) #23/21 Julian Farber (12-5)
141 | (7) #6/6 Cael Happel (12-4)
149 | Adam Allard (4-6) OR Cael Rahnavardi (8-6)
157 | (11) #14/11 Ryder Downey (10-4)
165 | RJ Weston (20-4) OR Jack Thomsen (8-3)
174 | (27) #31/29 Jared Simma (8-4)
184 | (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (16-0)
197| (20) #23/21 Wyatt Voelker (8-4) OR Kalob Runyon (5-5)
HWT | #16/15 Tyrell Gordon (5-1)

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
The Cowboys, the most decorated wrestling program in Division I history, look to stay unbeaten and atop the Big 12 standings (8-0 / 3-0 Big 12) as UNI visits Stillwater on Friday night.

Oklahoma State returns three All-Americans from last season, including Daton Fix (133), Izzak Olejnik (165) and Dustin Plott (174), as well as 2020 All-American Sammy Alvarez at 133 pounds. The Cowboys finished second at last year's Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, and return five Big 12 competitors from that squad, including Fix (133) and Plott, who has moved up to 184 pounds this season.

In their last dual, the Cowboys won eight matches, including the final seven of the night in a 27-9 win over then-No. 16 Oregon State at home on Jan. 21.

Potential UNI rematches include Wyatt Voelker against Luke Surber at 197 pounds from last year's UNI-Oklahoma State dual in Cedar Falls won by Surber in a 2-1 decision. The match was also Voelker's collegiate dual debut. Tyrell Gordon is also expected to face off against OSU's Konner Douchet at heavyweight, a rematch from last year's NCAA Championships won by Gordon, 2-1.

PROJECTED COWBOY LINEUP (NCAA ranking) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings

125 | (15) #20/11 Troy Spratley (13-4)
133 | #3/3 Daton Fix (6-0)
141 | (6) #9/9 Tagen Jamison (14-4)
149 | #17/25 Sammy Alvarez (15-4) OR (18) Jordan Williams (9-4)
157 | #18/15 Teague Travis (13-1)
165 | (4) #4/3 Izzak Olejnik (17-1)
174 | (24) #25/30 Brayden Thompson (6-4)
184 | (2) #2/2 Dustin Plott (18-1) OR Jersey Robb (8-2)
197 | #16/16 Luke Surber (9-2) OR Kyle Haas (10-5)
HWT | (7) #9/9 Konner Doucet (13-2)

OKLAHOMA SOONERS
One of UNI's longest running series' by years will be renewed on Saturday night in Norman as the Panthers battle the Sooners. Oklahoma was the first non-Iowa school to dual UNI (then known as the Iowa State Teachers College) back in 1926, a dual won by the Panthers by a score of 26.5 to 9.5. Only UNI's series with Iowa State is longer in program history in terms of years since it began.

Oklahoma returns six competitors from last year's fourth-place team performance at the Big 12 Championships, including Mosha Schwartz (141), Jared Hill (157) and Tate Picklo (174), with Gerrit Nijenhuis moving up one weight class to 174 pounds this year and Carson Berryhill dropped down to 184 pounds after competing at 197 in 2023. Schwartz, Hill, Picklo and Nijenhuis were alll NCAA qualifiers last season.

The Sooners split their last two duals held in Virginia in a 22-16 loss to Wisconsin and a 24-11 victory against No. 16 Navy back on Jan. 12. Oklahoma also finished second as a team and claimed two individual titles over New Year's at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, with Stephen Buchanan (197) and Josh Heindselman (HWT) topping the podium. n back on Dec. 10 by a score of 28-9

Tyrell Gordon faces the possibility of two rematches at heavyweight for UNI, likely set to meet Josh Heindselman for the fifth time in his career. Heindselman leads the series 3-1, but Gordon won the most recent matchup at last year's Big 12 Championships in Tulsa. Gordon is also 1-0 against Juan Mora from a 2022 UNI Open win.

PROJECTED SOONER LINEUP (NCAA ranking) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings