University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
West Virginia
Panther wrestling takes down West Virginia, 26-12
2/4/2024 6:13:00 PM | Wrestling
UNI stays undefeated against the Mountaineers in first home dual since December. Panthers visit Cal Baptist and Iowa State next weekend.
OFFICIALS - J.R. Blose, Jake Frias
ATTENDANCE - 3,303
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- A last second takedown at 174 pounds and sudden victory at heavyweight stirred the Panther faithful into a frenzy on Sunday afternoon as No. 18 UNI wrestling took down No. 17 West Virginia in a 26-12 dual win inside the McLeod Center in Big 12 competition.
Northern Iowa evened its overall record at 5-5 and improved to 4-1 against Big 12 challengers with three bonus-point victories to improve to 8-0 all-time against the Mountaineers, including 5-0 against WVU under head coach Doug Schwab.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Following Trever Anderson's tough 9-6 match-opening loss to No. 31 Julian Strickenberger, Julian Farber (133 pounds) put the Panthers on the board with a commanding win over Mason Mills. After two quick takedowns followed by escapes, Farber entered the second period ahead, and added on with two sets of back points, as well as a late takedown to secure a 23-5 technical fall win. With another takedown Farber catches Mills on his back for two sets of back points leading him to let up Mills for a final takedown securing his bonus point match with a 23-5 technical fall.Â
No.7 Cael Happel improved to 3-0 at 141 pounds against No. 10 Jordan Titus in a rematch from last year's NCAA Championships. The Panther junior picked up a takedown in the first period, and battled into the action-packed third round with a 3-2 lead. Scoring a second takedown late, Happel placed Titus in danger for an extra four back points to extend his lead and finish with an 11-3 major decision.Â
After a tough 8-0 major decision loss for Cael Rahnavardi at 149 pounds against No. 7 Ty Watters, No. 14 Ryder Downey (157 pounds) rallied against Alex Hornfeck after surrendering an early takedown. Scoring a pair of escapes, Downey jumped ahead in the final minute of the third period to secure the 5-3 decision for his seventh consecutive victory of the year and third straight against a ranked challenger.
RJ Weston would fall short in a 21-5 technical fall loss to No. 8 Peyton Hall at 165 pounds, but the Panthers would storm back with wins in the final four matches of the day, beginning with No. 27 Jared Simma against No. 17 Brody Conley. After a scoreless first period, Simma picked up an early lead on an escape and entered the third period tied at 1-1. After giving up a go-ahead takedown to Conley with less than a minute to go in regulation, Simma managed a quick escape and took down his opponent with one second remaining in a thrilling, come-from-behind 5-4 win. The victory was Simma's second consecutive win over a ranked opponent, and third overall of the year.
Top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) continued his dominant season with five takedowns of No. 31 Dennis Robin in an 18-3 technical fall win. Having won six of his last seven matches in bonus-points, Keckeisen extended his regular season winning streak to 31 matches dating back to last season.
No. 23 Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) kept things rolling for UNI, taking the lead on Austin Cooley with a second period takedown for a 3-1 advantage. The Panther redshirt freshman kicked off the third period with an escape, before adding another takedown and riding time to secure the 8-1 win and the dual victory for Northern Iowa.
No. 16 Tyrell Gordon capped the afternoon with a sudden victory against Tristan Kemp after a 1-1 tie forced overtime between the two heavyweights. Gordon would make his move quickly, taking Kemp down for the lone takedown of the match and also added two nearfall points for a 6-1 win.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the mat on Friday night as they head west to take on Cal Baptist in Riverside, California. Competition is slated to begin at 8 p.m. CT with live coverage available on YouTube.
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FINAL RESULTS (NCAA) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed
#18 UNI 26, #17 WEST VIRGINIA 12
- 125 | (31) Jett Strickenberger (WVU) dec. (27) #NR/28 Trever Anderson (UNI). 9-6
- 133 | (17) #25/22 Julian Farber (UNI) tech falls Mason Mills (WVU), 23-5 [5:24]
- 141 | (7) #6/6 Cael Happel (UNI) maj. dec. (10) #10/11 Jordan Titus (WVU), 11-3 MD
- 149 | (7) #7/9 Ty Watters (WVU) maj. dec. Cael Rahnavardi (UNI), 8-0 MD
- 157 | (11) #14/12 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. Alex Hornfeck (WVU), 5-3
- 165 | (9) #8/9 Peyton Hall (WVU) tech falls RJ Weston (UNI), 21-5 TF [6:20]
- 174 | (27) #31/30 Jared Simma (UNI) dec. (15) #17/21 Brody Conley (WVU), 5-4
- 184 | (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) tech falls (29) #30/28 Dennis Robin (WVU), 18-3 TF [7:00]
- 197 | (20) #23/20 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. Austin Cooley (WVU), 8-1
- HWT | #16/15 Tyrell Gordon (UNI) dec. Tristan Kemp (WVU), 6-1 SV-1
Players Mentioned
