University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Parker Keckeisen wins second Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title
12/7/2024 9:28:00 PM | Wrestling
Seven Panthers earn podium finishes, contributing to the sixth-place team finish.
LAS VEGAS — The UNI wrestling team saw seven athletes make the podium, including one champion and one runner-up on Saturday during the final day of action at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Parker Keckeisen claimed the 184-pound title, dominating the tournament field with four bonus point bouts on the weekend. The reigning NCAA champion earned his second Cliff Keen title after an 8-3 win over No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) in the finals, a rematch of last season's Big 12 and NCAA finals bouts.
Ryder Downey (157 pounds) also put together a solid performance in the desert, just coming up short in the finals against No. 3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) in a narrow 4-3 loss. Downey, the reigning Big 12 champion at 157, recorded a pair of bonus point wins on his way to a runner-up finish.
No. 17 Colin Realbuto (149 pounds) fought his way to a seventh-place finish, defeating three ranked opponents in No. 32 Koy Buesgens (North Carolina State), No. 19 Gabe Willochel (Wyoming) and No. 14 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) Jared Simma (174 pounds) knocked off No. 3 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) in his final match of the tournament, winning a 11-9 decision to capture seventh place.
At 197 pounds, No. 16 Wyatt Voelker also battled his way to seventh place, defeating No. 20 Christian Carroll (Iowa State) and No. 8 Zach Glazier (South Dakota State) along the way. In the heavyweight class, No. 20 Lance Runyon finished 2-1 in the tournament, defeating two ranked challengers to secure seventh place, scoring a major decision against No. 30 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) and pinning No. 17 Cory Day (Binghamton) during his run to the podium.
At 141 pounds, Cael Happel started day two with a hard-fought victory over No. 9 Jordan Titus (West Virginia) with a one-point victory before ultimately withdrawing from the remainder of the tournament with injury to take eighth place.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Saturday, Dec. 14 as they host Nebraska-Kearney in dual competition inside the McLeod Center. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT, with live coverage available on FloWrestling and CFU Channel 15.
Tickets can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or by email at tickets@uni.edu. Fans can receive free admission to the dual by donating a toy during the Panthers' annual Toys For Tots drive at the gate.
UNI RESULTS [Tournament Seed] (Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed)
125 | Kyle Gollhofer (2-2) | DNP
- W - Nolan Wertanen (Michigan), 6-1
- 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), 5-4
133 | [11] #27/27 Cory Land (1-0) | DNP
- W - #19/17 Brett Ungar (Cornell), 4-0
- L - #19/10 Tyler Knox (Stanford), MFF
- L - Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State), MFF
141 | [3] #6/5 Cael Happel (3-1) | 8th Place
- L - Julian Tagg (South Dakota State), 9-6
- W - Aden Valencia (Stanford), 4-1
- W - #NR/29 Greyson Clark (Purdue), 7-3
- W - #9/13 Jordan Titus (West Virginia), 11-10
- L - Jacob Frost (Iowa State), MFF
- L - #7/6 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), MFF
149 | [5] #17/13 Colin Realbuto (4-2) | 7th Place
- W - Gavin Brown (Ohio State), 2-0
- W - #32/29 Koy Buesgens (North Carolina State), 4-2
- L - #12/10 Jaden Abas (Stanford), 7-2
- W - #19/20 Gabe Willochel (Wyoming), 13-12
- L - #20/21 Carter Young (Oklahoma State), 14-4 MD
- W - #14/30 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell), 8-3
157 | [3] #6/6 Ryder Downey (4-1) | 2nd Place
- 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
- W - #15/13 Joey Blaze (Purdue), 5-2
- L - #3/7 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 4-3
165 | #31/28 Jack Thomsen (2-2) | DNP
- W - #4/5 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley), 10-5
- W - Evan Canoyer (Cornell), 4-0
- 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 (4-2) | 7th Place
- L - #23/17 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), 8-1
- W - #NR/32 Sean Harman (Oregon State), 4-1
- W - Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State), 12-5
- W - #10/9 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), 14-8
- L - #15/13 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), 2-0
- W - #3/3 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State), 11-9
184 | [1] #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (5-0) | 1st Place
- 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)
- W - #14/17 Evan Bockman (Iowa State), 11-1 MD
- W - #3/3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 8-3
197 | [10] #16/19 Wyatt Voelker (3-2) | 7th Place
- 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
- L - #17/13 Joey Novak (Wyoming), 5-2
- W - #20/14 Christian Carroll (Iowa State), 6-1
HWT | [7] #20/18 Lance Runyon (3-1) | 7th Place
- W - #30/28 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 13-1 MD
- L - #6/5 Isaac Trumble (North Carolina State), 18-3 TF (4:26)
- W - #17/14 Cory Day (Binghamton), 6:32 Fall
- W - #16/16 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech), MFF
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
- 1st - Oklahoma State (192)
- 2nd - Nebraska (115)
- 3rd - Ohio State (110.5)
- 4th - Virginia Tech (90)
- 5th - Iowa State (89.5)
- 6th - UNI (85.5)
- 7th - Michigan (75)
- 8th - Stanford (72.5)
- 9th - South Dakota State (62)
- 10th - Purdue (53.5)
- 11th - West Virginia (40.5)
- 12th - Wyoming (38.5)
- 13th - Cal Poly (38)
- 14th - Oregon State (35)
- 15th - North Carolina State (34.5)
- T16th - Northwestern (33.5)
- T16th - Ohio (33.5)
- 18th - Cornell (32.5)
- 19th - Arizona State (31.5)
- 20th - Rider (31)
- 21st - Binghamton (28.5)
- 22nd - Navy (21.5)
- 23rd - Utah Valley (21)
- 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)
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
