Panther wrestling visits Cal Baptist, renews rivalry at Iowa State this weekend

Friday, February 9

Riverside, Calif.

8 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Cal Baptist

UNI wrestling vs. West Virginia | Feb. 4, 2024 (Cedar Falls, Iowa)

Photo by: Allyson Schwab

Panther wrestling visits Cal Baptist, renews rivalry at Iowa State this weekend

2/8/2024 12:21:00 PM | Wrestling

UNI NOTES WATCH (Cal Baptist)LIVE RESULTS (Cal Baptist)WATCH (Iowa State)LIVE RESULTS (TrackWrestling)

UNI hits the road for its final two road duals of the season, including a matchup with the fourth-ranked Cyclones.

No. 17 UNI wrestling (5-5 / 4-1 Big 12) at Cal Baptist (4-8 / 1-4 Big 12)

Feb. 9, 2024 | 8 p.m. CT
Riverside, Calif. | Van Dyne Gymnasium (1,000)
YouTube (WATCH)
TrackWrestling (LIVE RESULTS)

No. 17 UNI wrestling (5-5 / 4-1 Big 12) at No. 4 Iowa State (11-2 / 4-1 Big 12)

Feb. 11, 2024 | 1 p.m. CT
Ames, Iowa | Hilton Coliseum (14,267)
Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (WATCH)
TrackWrestling (LIVE RESULTS)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI wrestling will make its final road trip through the Big 12 this weekend with its final road duals of the season, heading west for a Friday night matchup at Cal Baptist, and matching up with in-state rival Iowa State on Sunday in the renewal of the longest running rivalry in program history.

The Panthers are scheduled to take on the Cal Baptist Lancers at 8 p.m. CT from Van Dyne Gymnasium on Friday night with live coverage available on YouTube and TrackWrestling. Sunday's dual against the fourth-ranked Cyclones will kick off at 1 p.m. CT at Hilton Coliseum with live coverage available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and TrackWrestling.

UNI will look to take a 2-0 lead in the all-time series after rolling past the Lancers last February in Cedar Falls in the first-ever meeting. Northern Iowa shutout Cal Baptist a year ago by a score of 44-0 with four pins, marking the third dual under head coach Doug Schwab where the Panthers picked up four falls and the eighth dual under Schwab where UNI scored 40+ team points.

Having met 81 times prior to this weekend in a series dating back to 1924, the Cyclones lead the all-time series 61-20, but the Panthers are 4-8 against Iowa State under Schwab. UNI notched three consecutive dual victories over ISU from 2017 to 2019, and will look to avenge last year's 19-12 loss in the McLeod Center.

Northern Iowa evened its season record at 5-5 and grabbed its fourth dual win over a Big 12 opponent on Sunday in a 26-12 home win over No. 17 West Virginia in a meet that saw three bonus-point victories, including wins in the final four matches of the day. Cael Happel (141 pounds) notably picked up an 11-3 major decision over No. 10 Jordan Titus, while Jared Simma (174 pounds) also grabbed a 5-4 win over No. 17 Brody Conley thanks to a winning takedown with one second remaining in the third period.

UNI PANTHERS
Top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) looks to stay unbeaten on the weekend having won 31 consecutive regular season matches dating back to last season. The three-time All-American has recorded seven wins over ranked opponents, including four against top-ten challengers. A win this weekend by Keckeisen would mark his third consecutive season with 20+ wins.

Happel is riding an eight match winning streak with four top-ten wins on the year, while Ryder Downey (157 pounds) has won seven straight bouts. At 133 pounds, Julian Farber has tallied six wins in his last seven matches.

Heading into Friday's dual at Cal Baptist, UNI is projected to see the potential collegiate dual debuts of two of its athletes, as well as one potential season debut in duals. Connor Thorpe (141 pounds) has posted an 11-4 record this year with open tournament titles at the Jim Koch Open and Pat Flanagan Open, while Adam Ahrendsen, a traditional 197-pounder and Pat Flanagan Open champion from this season is expected to make his first start of his career in dual. Kaleb Olejniczak (157 pounds) may also see his first dual action since the 2021-22 season after placing third at the Daktronics Open at 174 pounds and tying for first-place at the Jim Koch Open.

PROJECTED PANTHER LINEUP | (NCAA) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed:

125 | (27) #NR/29 Trever Anderson (7-10)
133 | (17) #24/20 Julian Farber (14-6)
141 | (7) #6/6 Cael Happel (15-4) OR Connor Thorpe (11-4)
149 | Adam Allard (4-7) OR Cael Rahnavardi (8-8)
157 | (11) #15/13 Ryder Downey (13-4) OR Kaleb Olejniczak (9-5)
165 | RJ Weston (20-7) OR Jack Thomsen (13-3)
174 | (27) #30/30 Jared Simma (10-5)
184 | (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (19-0)
197 | (20) #23/20 Wyatt Voelker (11-4)
HWT | #16/15 Tyrell Gordon (6-3) OR Adam Ahrendsen (15-6)

CAL BAPTIST LANCERS
In their lone matchup of the weekend, the Lancers host the Panthers at Van Dyne Gymnasium for the first time ever, looking to build momentum after a 21-15 road win at Air Force last Saturday.

Cal Baptist, who is in just its sixth season as a Division I program, return five starters from last year's Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, including Hunter Leake (133 pounds), Chaz Hallmark (149 pounds), Nolan Miller-Johnson (157 pounds), Frank Almaguer (165 pounds) and Christopher Island (HWT).

The Lancers weathered a difficult month of January, dropping duals to three opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll (#5 Iowa State, RV Northern Colorado, #10 South Dakota State).

PROJECTED LANCER LINEUP | (NCAA) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed:

· 125 | (22) #27/26 Elijah Griffin (16-6)
· 133 | Hunter Leake (14-4)
· 141 | Darren Green (5-8)
· 149 | Dayne Morton (7-9)
· 157 | Chaz Hallmark (8-8)
· 165 | Mateo De La Pena (7-6) OR Carter Schubert (3-0)
· 174 | Justin Phillips (13-11) OR Peter Acciardi (4-6)
· 184 | Nathan Haas (12-9)
· 197 | Eli Sheeren (6-11)
· HWT | Christopher Island (5-7)

IOWA STATE CYCLONES
The fourth-ranked Iowa State welcomes their in-state conference rival to Hilton Coliseum on Sunday afternoon in the midst of a strong season for the Cyclones. Despite ISU holding a commanding lead in the all-time series, the previous 12 matchup have been decided by an average of 7.3 team points.

The Cyclones return six of their nine NCAA qualifiers from last season, including All-American David Carr (165 pounds) and Casey Swiderski (149 pounds), who jumped up from 141 pounds last season. Younger Bastida (HWT) also returns after qualifying for the national championships at 197 pounds last year.

Following a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships in 2023, Iowa State also returns a pair of conference champions in Carr and Paniro Johnson (149 pounds). Eight of last year's Big 12 Championship competitors return for the Cyclones this year.

PROJECTED CYCLONE LINEUP | (NCAA) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed: