University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Parker Keckeisen to wrestle in NWCA All-Star Classic this November
10/1/2024 6:00:00 PM | Wrestling
Keckeisen to take on Penn State’s Carter Starocci in a battle of preseason top-two wrestlers and reigning national champions.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- For a third consecutive year, UNI wrestler Parker Keckeisen has been selected to participate in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's (NWCA) All-Star Classic, this year in the event's headline match, as announced by the NWCA on Tuesday.
A prestigious exhibition of college wrestling's finest, the event brought together some of the nation's best competitors during its original run from 1967 to 2017. The event made its return in 2022 in Austin, Texas after a four-year hiatus. This year's event will once again take place at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 16 with live coverage exclusively available on FloWrestling. All results from the event are exhibition only and will not affect official records or rankings.
Keckeisen, the reigning NCAA champion at 184 pounds, four-time All-American and four-time defending Big 12 champion will take on Carter Starocci of Penn State, the reigning 174-pound national champion, who is moving up a weight class this season. Starocci enters the 2024-25 season as the preseason number one ranked wrestler at 184 pounds by Intermat, with Keckeisen ranked second.
Keckeisen, a Glendale, Wisconsin native entering his final collegiate season with the Panthers, participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic in 2023, defeating Penn State's Bernie Truax in a 7-5 decision last November. In 2022, he took on another Penn State standout in Aaron Brooks, falling short in a 12-8 decision. Both Keckeisen and Brooks would meet later that season in the finals of the NCAA Championships, also won by Brooks.
Posting a perfect 31-0 record last season, Keckeisen was named the 2024 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year and runner-up for the Dan Hodge Trophy, the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He notched bonus point victories in 28 of his 31 matches, including in all of his postseason contests at the Big 12 and NCAA Championships.
This year will mark the 21st time a Panther has participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic, and first time that UNI has had a competitor appear in the event straight years.
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- 1967 - Don Parker (177 pounds)
- 1969 - Kent Osboe (HWT)
- 1974 - Jim Miller (134 pounds)
- 1975 - Jim Miller (134 pounds)
- 1984 - John Kriebs (HWT)
- 1988 - Mark Schwab (118 pounds)
- 1988 - Joel Greenlee (HWT)
- 1989 - Joel Greenlee (HWT)
- 1991 - Gary Steffensmeier (150 pounds)
- 1991 - Rich Powers (177 pounds)
- 1992 - Rich Powers (177 pounds)
- 1993 - Justin Greenlee (HWT)
- 2003 - Dylan Long (141 pounds)
- 2004 - Eric Hauan (174 pounds)
- 2004 - Dylan Long (141 pounds)
- 2004 - Sean Stender (197 pounds)
- 2017 - Max Thomsen (149 pounds)
- 2017 - Drew Foster (184 pounds)
- 2022 - Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
- 2023 - Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
- 2024 - Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
UNI wrestling action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (University of Northern Iowa Wrestling), X (@UNI_wrestling) and on Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling). Check out the latest Panther news and information online at UNIpanthers.com.
Players Mentioned
