University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Seven Panthers advance to day two of competition at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
12/6/2024 11:08:00 PM | Wrestling
Keckeisen, Downey move on to semifinal round with UNI sitting in fifth place in the team standings.
LAS VEGAS --- The UNI wrestling team rolled through day one of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday, with seven athletes advancing to the second day of action and two set to compete in the championship semifinals on Saturday.
No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, the reigning NCAA and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Tournament at 184 pounds, cruised into the semifinals with three straight technical fall victories, defeating Matthew Walsh (Harvard), Hunter Perez (Sacred Heart) and Seth Shumate (Ohio State). Keckeisen will face Iowa State's Evan Bockman in tomorrow's semifinal round.
At 157 pounds, No. 6 Ryder Downey dominated his first match, earning a technical fall with a 17-1 score against Daniel Manibog (Cal Baptist). Downey followed that up with another bonus-point victory, a 12-0 major decision over Jurius Clark (Hofstra), leading to a quarterfinal win over No. 11 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern). Downey would break a 1-1 tie with a sudden victory finish, defeating Chumbley by a 4-1 score to advance to Saturday's semifinals.
In action at 125 pounds, Kyle Gollhofer started off with a win against Nolan Wertanen of Michigan. Despite facing a tough loss in his next match, Gollhofer was able to stay alive in the consolation bracket to battle back. In his final match against Maximo Renteria, Gollhofer ultimately dropped the match by one point, ending his run in the tournament.Â
At 133 pounds, No. 27 Cory Land defeated No. 19 Brett Ungar (Cornell) in a 4-0 decision before withdrawing by medical forfeit. No. 6 Cael Happel (149 pounds) started his tournament off with a narrow 9-6 loss against Julian Tagg (South Dakota State), but was able to battle back in his next three matches to earn a spot in the second day of competition.Â
No. 17 Colin Realbuto (149 pounds), back in the varsity lineup for the Panthers for the first time in over a year, the mat for the Panthers this season, won his first two bouts of the tournament, including a win over No. 32 Koy Buesgens (North Carolina State) with a 4-2 decision. After a loss in the quarterfinals, Realbuto bounced back in the consolation bracket, securing a hard fought 13-12 win over No. 19 Gabe Willochel (Wyoming) to stay alive in the competition heading into day two.
No. 31 Jack Thomsen (165 pounds) kicked off his tournament with a stunning upset over No. 4 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) with a 10-5 decision. Thomsen would defeat Evan Canoyer (Cornell) to move on to the quarterfinals, where he fell to No. 9 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State) in a 4-1 loss, as well as #12 Brock Mantanona (Michigan) in a 19-4 technical fall.
At 174 pounds, No. 21 Jared Simma bounced back in the consolation bracket after a tough opening loss to No. 23 Garrett Thompson (Ohio). Simma rallied for three consecutive wins, including a strong 14-8 victory over No. 10 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), securing his spot in the second day of competition.
At 197 pounds, No. 16 Wyatt Voelker bounced back from a tough one-point loss in the first round to No. 20 Christian Caroll (Iowa State). Voelker quickly regained momentum with an 18-2 technical fall over Jake Trovato (Sacred Heart) and a 5-1 upset of No. 8 Zach Glazier (South Dakota State) in a rematch of their regular season dual just a few short weeks ago in Cedar Falls.
In heavyweight action, No. 20 Lance Runyon posted a 13-1 major decision win over No. 30 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly). Falling to No. 5 Isaac Trumble (North Carolina State), Runyon bounced back to defeat No. 14 Cory Day (Binghamton) with a pin in six minutes, 32 seconds.
Competition at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational will continue on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 12 p.m. CT with the championship semifinals, consolation semifinals and finals. The championship finals will begin at 5 p.m. CT.
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UNI RESULTS [Tournament Seed] (Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed)
125 | Kyle Gollhofer (2-2)
- W - Nolan Wertanen (Michigan), 6-1Â
- L - #4/4 Troy Sprately (Oklahoma State), 17-2 TF (4:40)
- W - Richard Sandoval (California State), 11-4
- L - #24/ Maximo Renteria (Oregon State), 5-4Â
133 | [11] #27/27 Cory Land (1-0)
- W - #19/17 Brett Ungar (Cornell), 4-0Â
- L - #19/10 Tyler Knox (Stanford), MFF
- L - Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State), MFF
141 | [3] #6/5 Cael Happel (3-1)
- L - Julian Tagg (South Dakota State), 9-6Â
- W - Aden Valencia (Stanford), 4-1Â
- W - #NR/29 Greyson Clark (Purdue), 7-3
- W - #9/13 Jordan Titus (West Virginia), 11-10
149 | [5] #17/13 Colin Realbuto (3-1)
- W - Gavin Brown (Ohio State), 2-0Â
- W - #32/29 Koy Buesgens (North Carolina State), 4-2
- L - #12/10 Jaden Abas (Stanford), 7-2Â
- W - #19/20 Gabe Willochel (Wyoming), 13-12Â
157 | [3] #6/6 Ryder Downey (3-0)
- W - Daniel Manibog (Cal Baptist), 17-1 TF (6:33)
- W - Jurius Clark (Hofstra), 12-0 MD
- W - #11/11 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), 4-1 SV
165 | #31/28 Jack Thomsen (2-2)
- W - #4/5 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley), 10-5
- W - Evan Canoyer (Cornell), 4-0Â
- L - #9/9 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State), 4-1
- L - #12/16 Brock Mantanona (Michigan), 19-4 TF (6:51)
174 | [8] #21/14 Jared Simma (3-1)
- L - #23/17 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), 8-1
- W - #NR/32 Sean Harman (Oregon State), 4-1
- W - Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State), 12-5Â
- W - #10/9 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), 14-8
184 | [1] #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (3-0)
- W - Matthew Walsh (Harvard), 19-4 TF (6:10)
- W - Hunter Perez (Sacred Heart), 19-4 TF (5:18)
- W - Seth Shumate (Ohio State), 19-3 TF (4:46)
197 | [10] #16/19 Wyatt Voelker (2-1)
- L - #20/14 Christian Carroll (Iowa State), 10-9
- W - Jake Trovato (Sacred Heart), 18-2 TF (3:47)
- W - #8/11 Zach Glazier (South Dakota State), 5-1
HWT | [7] #20/18 Lance Runyon (2-1)
- W - #30/28 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 13-1 MDÂ
- L - #6/5 Isaac Trumble (North Carolina State), 18-3 TF (4:26)
- W - #17/14 Cory Day (Binghamton), 6:32 Fall
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TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- 1st - Oklahoma State (105)
- 2nd - Nebraska (83.5)
- 3rd - Iowa State (71.5)
- 4th - Ohio State (69)
- 5th - UNI (62.5)
- 6th - Stanford (58)
- 7th - Virginia Tech (57.5)
- 8th - Michigan (55)
- 9th - South Dakota State (45.5)
- 10th - Purdue (42.5)
- 11th - Cornell (29)
- 12th - West Virginia (28.5)
- 13th - Ohio (28)
- 14th - Cal Poly (27)
- T15th - North Carolina State (26.5)
- T15th - Northwestern (26.5)
- T15th - Rider (26.5)
- T18th - Arizona State (25)
- T18th - Oregon State (25)
- T18th - Wyoming (25)
- 21st - Binghamton (23)
- 22nd - Navy (14.5)
- 23rd - Utah (13)
- T24th - Appalachian State (11)
- T24th - Hofstra (11)
- 26th - Columbia (10.5)
- 27th - Harvard (7.5)
- 28th - Cal State Bakersfield (4.5)
- 29th - Sacred Heart (4)
- 30th - Cal Baptist (3.5)
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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
