University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Nebraska-Kearney
Panther Train to host Division II power Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday night
12/13/2024 6:01:00 PM | Wrestling
UNI looking for third straight dual win of the season. Tickets available for purchase.
No. 10 UNI wrestling (2-0 / 2-0 Big 12) vs. Nebraska-Kearney (3-1 / 1-0 MIAA)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Two of the Midwest's top wrestling programs will collide on Saturday night as the tenth-ranked UNI Panthers welcome Division II power Nebraska-Kearney in dual competition.
Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center, with additional coverage available on FloWrestling with a subscription.
Tickets for the dual can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or by emailing tickets@uni.edu. Fans can also gain free admission to Saturday's dual by bringing a toy to donate at the gate as part of the Panthers' annual Toys For Tots drive.
Saturday will be only the second all-time meeting between the Panthers and Lopers in dual competition. UNI bested UNK in its only other meeting on Nov. 11, 2016 in a 43-0 rout inside the McLeod Center.
Northern Iowa comes into their third dual of the season a perfect 2-0 after a pair of top-15 wins over Big 12 challengers South Dakota State and Missouri. UNI is back on its home mat after a pair of tournaments last weekend, which saw the Panther Train place sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with seven medalists, along with five earning titles at the BVU Open in Storm Lake.
Out in Nevada, Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) captured his second straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title with four major decision victories, plus an 8-3 decision over No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) in a rematch of last season's Big 12 and NCAA finals bouts. Ryder Downey also finished as the 157-pound runner-up in Las Vegas, with seventh-place finishes from Colin Realbuto (149 pounds), Jared Simma (174 pounds), Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) and Lance Runyon (heavyweight), while Cael Happel placed eight at 141 pounds.
Northern Iowa's five titles at the BVU Open came at 125 (Bowen Downey and Brandon Paez), 141 (Carter Freeman), 149 (Connor Thorpe), 184 (CJ Walrath) and heavyweight (Adam Ahrendsen).
While no Panther has faced any current Lopers previously in their college careers, Saturday's dual is expected to see the collegiate dual debuts of Garret Rinken (133 pounds) and Carter Freeman (141 pounds).
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Panthers in the rankings (Intermat/FloWrestling) [As of 12/10/24]
- 125 | Kyle Gollhofer (#32/NR)
- 133 | Cory Land (#21/28)
- 141 | Cael Happel (#8/8)
- 149 | Colin Realbuto (#16/15)
- 157 | Ryder Downey (#5/5)
- 165 | Jack Thomsen (#21/19)
- 174 | Jared Simma (#13/14)
- 184 | Parker Keckeisen (#2/2)
- 197 | Wyatt Voelker (#17/14)
- HWT | Lance Runyon (#17/17)
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SCOUTING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
Nebraska-Kearney takes on its second Division I dual opponent on Saturday night when it battles the Panthers at the McLeod Center. The Lopers have already faced Little Rock this season and will face off against Nebraska in Lincoln next Friday.Â
The Lopers return four of their eight NCAA Division II Championship qualifiers from last season, three of which earned All-American honors. Crew Howard placed third at heavyweight at last season's NCAA Championships, with Creston, Iowa native Jackson Kinsella finishing fourth and 125 pounder Zach Ourada placing fifth. Trenton Munoz also returns after qualifying at 165 pounds last season, now competing at 174 pounds.Â
Notably two of UNK's NCAA qualifiers from last year in Nick James and John Burger are now volunteer assistant coaches for the Lopers. James was the Division II national runner-up last season at 141 pounds, while Burger qualified at 149 pounds.Â
Nebraska-Kearney has captured dual wins over Ouachita Baptist, Western Colorado and Fort Hays Northwest Tech so far this season. In their last outing, the Lopers had five athletes make the podium at the Bob Smith Open in Hays, Kansas.Â
Under the leadership of ninth-year head coach Dalton Jensen, the Lopers have become one of the most dominant programs in Division II. Since taking over the program in 2016-17, Nebraska-Kearney has placed in the top-eight at the NCAA Championships each year (minus the canceled 2020 championships), had at least three All-Americans each season and captured a national team championship in 2022 with a runner-up finish in 2021.
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PROJECTED LINEUPS (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed for UNI only)
- 125 | #32/NR Kyle Gollhofer (UNI) vs. Zach Ourada (UNK)
- 133 | Garret Rinken (UNI) vs. Hector Serratos (UNK)
- 141 | Carter Freeman (UNI) vs. Joseph Airola (UNK)
- 149 | #16/15 Colin Realbuto (UNI) OR Connor Thorpe (UNI) OR Adam Allard (UNI) vs. Beau Hostler (UNK)
- 157 | Cael Rahnavardi (UNI) vs. Cael Robb (UNK)
- 165 | #21/19 Jack Thomsen (UNI) vs. Trenton Munoz (UNK)
- 174 | Nick Fox (UNI) vs. Dylan Vodicka (UNK)
- 184 | #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) vs. Jacobi Deal (UNK)
- 197 | Kalob Runyon (UNI) vs. Jackson Kinsella (UNK)
- HWT | Adam Ahrendsen (UNI) vs. Crew Howard (UNK)
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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
