Panther wrestling sends three to finals on opening day of the Big 12 Championships

TULSA, Okla. --- UNI wrestling opened the 2024 edition of the Big 12 Championships in style on Saturday, securing five automatic qualifications for the NCAA Championships and sending three athletes to the finals on the opening day of the two-day tournament at the BOK Center.

Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds), Cael Happel (141 pounds) and Ryder Downey (157 pounds), all seeded in the top-three in their respective weight classes, will get the chance to secure the top spot on the podium in Sunday night's finals session. Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) and Jack Thomsen (165 pounds) also guaranteed top-six finishes to secure their first trips to the NCAA Championships.

WIth five automatic NCAA spots secured, this season marks the ninth straight season that Northern Iowa has sent at least five Panthers to the NCAA Championships

DAY ONE RECAP
Keckeisen posted an impressive day in his two matches after receiving a first-round bye with a technical fall during the quarterfinals for his 21st bonus-point win of the year and his 25th consecutive victory. A three-time All-American and the 2023 NCAA runner-up at 184 pounds, Keckeisen qualifies for his fourth NCAA Championship and can become UNI's first-ever four-time Big 12 champion tomorrow night when he faces off against Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) in the finals.

Scoring a thrilling win over second-seeded and eighth-ranked Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) with a takedown in the final ten seconds of the match, Happel punched his ticket to his second straight NCAA Championships and his first Big 12 title bout on Sunday. He will take on top-seeded Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) in a rematch from last month.

Downey defeated seventh-seeded Landen Johnson (North Dakota State) and sixth-seeded and No. 18 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) in a narrow 1-0 win to earn his spot in his first career Big 12 championship match in his Big 12 tournament debut. With his first NCAA Championship berth secured, Downey will battle Cody Chittum (Iowa State) in tomorrow's finals with Downey looking to stay unbeaten against his opponent after narrowly edging Chittum in a dual in Ames.

Battling through a competitive 197-pound field, Voelker opened his tournament with a 19-2 technical fall over Eli Sheeren (Cal Baptist) and also defeated fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked Evan Bockman (Utah Valley), securing a top-six finish and an NCAA berth. Voelker will take on sixth-seeded Joseph Novak (Wyoming) in the consolation semifinals beginning Sunday afternoon.

Making his Big 12 Championship debut in his first season with UNI, Thomsen picked up three wins to guarantee a top-six finish for his first NCAA Championship berth with victories over seventh-seeded Tanner Cook (South Dakota State), plus a 13-5 major decision against Jaxon Garoutte (Utah Valley) and Cael Carlson (Oklahoma) in a 12-3 major. Thomsen will return to action in the consolation bracket on Sunday against fourth-seeded Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State).

At 133 pounds, Julian Farber notched two major decision wins on day one and will be battling for seventh-place against Kase Mauger (Utah Valley) during Sunday's afternoon session. Jared Simma (174 pounds) secured two bonus-point wins, including a 17-2 technical fall and a 9-0 major decision victory, setting up a battle with Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) for seventh-place.

Adam Allard (149 pounds) and Trever Anderson (125 pounds) also made their Big 12 Championship debuts on Saturday, but came up short in both bouts, as did Tyrell Gordon (HWT).

The third session of the Big 12 Championships will begin at 12 p.m. CT with the continuing consolation round. Championship matches will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT during the fourth and final session and can be watched live on ESPN2. Full access to live streams for all matches and mat, brackets and live results can be found on UNI's Big 12 Championship Hub.

TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)

1st - Iowa State (129.5)
2nd - Oklahoma State (119.5)
3rd - Missouri (96)
4th - South Dakota State (92.5)
5th - UNI (85)
6th - West Virginia (73)
7th - Wyoming (55.5)
8th - Oklahoma (53.5)
9th - Air Force (38.5)
10th - North Dakota State (28)
11th - Northern Colorado (26)
12th - Utah Valley (20)
13th - Cal Baptist (16)

UNI'S BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS [SEED] (NCAA Coaches) #Intermat/Flowrestling ranking

125 | [8] (26) #26/24 Trever Anderson

L - (25) #32/31 Elijah Griffin (CBU), 4-2
L - [7] (30) #NR/23 Jett Strickenberger (WVU), 15-8

133 | [5] (18) #24/18 Julian Farber

W - Davin Rhoads (WVU), 12-3 MD
L - [4] (19) #19/24 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 4-1 SV-1
W - Bubba Wright (AF), 11-1 MD
L - Jace Koelzer (OU), 3-2

141 | [3] (9) #8/10 Cael Happel

W - Rudy Lopez (UNC), 21-6 TF
W - [6] (20) #20/18 Josh Edmond (MU), 10-3
W - [2] (8) #9/8 Tagen Jamison (OSU), 4-1

149 | Adam Allard

L - [6] #31/30 Maxwell Petersen (NDSU), Fall
L - Joe Fernau (AF), 10-2

157 | [2] (8) #13/9 Ryder Downey

W - Alex Emmer (UVU), 19-3 MD
W - [7] Landen Johnson (NDSU), 15-0 TF
W - [6] (17) #18/18 Cael Swensen (SDSU), 1-0

165 | Jack Thomsen

W - [7] Tanner Cook (SDSU), 6-3
L - [2] (2) #2/2 David Carr (ISU), 17-2 TF
W - Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 13-5 MD
W - Cael Carlson (OU), 12-3 MD

174 | [5] (29) #22/24 Jared Simma

W - Aydin Rix-McElhinney (UNC), 17-2 TF
L - [4] (10) #10/11 Peyton Mocco (MU), 10-4
W - Noah Blake (AF), 9-0 MD
L - [8] (25) #29/30 Brody Conley (WVU), 7-6

184 | [1] (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen

W - [8] Ethan Ducca (WYO), 21-4 TF
W - [4] (17) Colton Hawks (MU), 11-3

197 | [5] (24) #24/21 Wyatt Voelker

W - Eli Sheeren (CBU), 19-2 TF
W - [4] (14) #14/14 Evan Bockman (UVU), 4-1
L - [1] (4) #5/4 Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 15-0

HWT | [6] (16) #15/14 Tyrell Gordon

L - Chase Trussell (UVU), 4-1 SV-2
L - Devon Dawson (NDSU), 5-2

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