University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI wrestling: Allocations for 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships announced
2/29/2024 3:00:00 PM | Wrestling
INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee on Thursday afternoon announced the pre-allocation spots for the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, due to take place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, March 21-23.
A total of 57 wrestlers will automatically qualify from the Big 12 Championships, scheduled to be held March 9-10 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The top-six finishers in seven weight classes (125, 133, 149, 157, 165, 174, 197) will punch their tickets to Kansas City, while the top-five in the 141, 184 and 285-pound weight classes will also advance.
2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship Allocations
| CONFERENCE | 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | HWT | TOTAL |
| Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
| Big 12 Conference | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 57 |
| Big Ten Conference | 9 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 85 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 53 |
| Mid-American Conference (MAC) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| Pacific-12 Conference | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Southern Conference (SoCon) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| PRE-ALLOCATIONS | 27 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 283 |
| AT-LARGE | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 47 |
HOW ALLOCATIONS WORK
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 26. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards, win percentage, coaches' rank, and RPI ranking; while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' ranking and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference is awarded a minimum of one automatic qualification per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.
After all the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 12, while brackets and seeding will be announced on March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
UNI IN THE RANKINGS (NCAA Coaches)/Intermat/FloWrestling
- 125 | (26) #26/24 Trever Anderson
- 133 | (18) #24/18 Julian Farber
- 141 | (9) #8/10 Cael Happel
- 157 | (8) #13/9 Ryder Downey
- 174 | (29) #22/24 Jared Simma
- 184 (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen
- 197 | (24) #24/21 Wyatt Voelker
- HWT | (16) #15/14 Tyrell Gordon
After becoming UNI's first-ever three-time Big 12 champion last year, top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) will look for his fourth conference title as he seeks to return to the NCAA finals, where he finished as national runner-up in 2023. The Panthers have won the Big 12 title at 184 pounds every season since joining the conference in 2018, the second-longest winning streak at one weight class behind only Oklahoma State winning at 149 pounds each year since 2015.
Last season, Northern Iowa sent five athletes via conference allocations to the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, along with two at-large selections. The Panthers have sent at least five wrestlers in total to the national championships every season since 2014.
UNI's 2023 NCAA Qualifiers
- 133 | Kyle Biscoglia (Fourth at Big 12s)
- 141 | Cael Happel (At-large selection)
- 149 | Colin Realbuto (Fifth at Big 12s)
- 157 | Derek Holschlag (At-large selection)
- 165 | Austin Yant (Fifth at Big 12s)
- 184 | Parker Keckeisen (First at Big 12s)
- HWT | Tyrell Gordon (At-large selection)
Seven Big 12 programs are ranked or receiving votes in the latest NWCA poll (Feb. 28):
- #4 - Oklahoma State
- #5 - Iowa State
- #10 - Missouri
- #11 - South Dakota State
- #15 - UNI
- #19 - West Virginia
- RV - Oklahoma
Eight wrestlers are returning to defend their Big 12 titles this year, including one reigning champion up a weight class:
- 125 | Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado)
- 133 | Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
- 141 | Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)
- 149 | Paniero Johnson (Iowa State)
- 165 | David Carr (Iowa State)
- 174 | Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) - Now competing at 184 pounds
- 184 | Parker Keckeisen (UNI)
- 197 | Rocky Elam (Missouri)
- HWT | Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)
Players Mentioned
