UNI wrestling: Nine land on Intermat’s preseason rankings list

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI wrestling team has been ranked 14th with nine individuals earning preseason rankings from Intermat.

Northern Iowa is among eight Big 12 programs ranked as a team in the top-30, with Oklahoma State leading the conference ranked third. Missouri and South Dakota State come in at eighth and ninth respectively, followed by UNI (No. 14), reigning Big 12 champion Iowa State (No. 15) and West Virginia (No. 16). Northern Colorado is ranked 21st, while Wyoming is tied for 25th.

Six Panthers received top-20 rankings, including reigning NCAA and Big 12 champion Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds), who came in second behind Penn State's Carter Starocci, who won the 174-pound national title this past season and will move up a weight class this year.

Both Ryder Downey (157 pounds) and Cael Happel (141 pounds) came in seventh in their respective weight classes. Downey, who posted a 23-6 record with ten bonus-point wins last season, enters the new season as the defending Big 12 champion at 157 pounds, while Happel, a two-time NCAA qualifier, looks to improve off a 22-win campaign last winter.

Jared Simma (174 pounds) is ranked 14th entering his redshirt junior season after making a thrilling run to the NCAA quarterfinals last year as the 28-seed with a top-five ranked upset in the opening round, falling one win shy of All-American status in his first season as a full-time starter. Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) meanwhile came in ranked 16th, qualifying for his first NCAA Championships and finishing with a 20-8 record.

Colin Realbuto (149 pounds) returns to the Panthers ranked 18th after taking an Olympic redshirt season to train with the Italian national team during the past Olympic cycle. In his last collegiate season in 2022-23, Realbuto qualified for the NCAA Championships as an at-large selection following a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships and a 20-8 record.

A trio of Panthers all came in ranked 28th in their respective weight classes in Trever Anderson (125 pounds), Julian Farber (133 pounds) and Jack Thomsen (165 pounds). Both Farber and Thomsen are coming off their NCAA Championship debuts in Kansas City last March, while Anderson looks to improve after doing 7-7 in dual competition last season and 10-13 overall.

UNI will host six home duals inside the McLeod Center, including No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 9 South Dakota State, No. 15 Iowa State, Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney.. The Panthers will also host and participate in the NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships inside the UNI-Dome, Jan. 11-12. The full 2024-25 Panther wrestling schedule with times and dates will be announced at a later date.

PANTHERS PRESEASON RANKINGS (Intermat)

125 | #28 - Trever Anderson
133 | #28 - Julian Farber
141 | #7 - Cael Happel
149 | #18 - Colin Realbuto
157 | #7 - Ryder Downey
165 | #28 - Jack Thomsen
174 | #14 - Jared Simma
184 | #2 - Parker Keckeisen
197 | #16 - Wyatt Voelker

INTERMAT PRESEASON TEAM RANKINGS (Points)

1- Penn State (117.5)
2 - Iowa (86)
3 - Oklahoma State (59.5)
4 - Nebraska (54)
5 - Ohio State (52.5)
6 - Virginia Tech (47.5)
7 - North Carolina State (41)
8 - Missouri (39)
9 - South Dakota State (38.5)
10 - Lehigh (37.5)
11 - Michigan (36.5)
12 - Arizona State (35.5)
13 - Cornell (34)
14 - UNI (33)
15 - Iowa State (32)
16 - West Virginia (31.5)
17 - Little Rock (31)
18 - Minnesota (30.5)
19 - Illinois (28.5)
20 - Rutgers (25.5)
21 - Northern Colorado (24)
22 - Cal State Bakersfield (20)
T23 - Ohio (19)
T23 - Stanford (19)
T25 - Lock Haven (16)
T25 - Oregon State (16)
T25 - Wyoming (16)
28 - North Carolina (14)
29 - Penn (12)
30 - Purdue (12)

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.

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