University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Northern Colorado
UNI wrestling wins NWCA National Dual Meet Championship title
1/11/2025 5:30:00 PM | Wrestling
Panthers dominate Northern Colorado and South Dakota State to improve to 8-0 in duals. UNI visits Arizona State next Friday night.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI wrestling team's impressive performance at the National Wrestling Coaches Association's (NWCA) Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships on Friday carried over to Saturday as the Panthers rolled past both Northern Colorado and No. 14 South Dakota State to capture its first title at the event in program history.
Northern Iowa posted 30+ points in both of its wins against the Bears and Jackrabbits, extending its unbeaten dual record on the year to 8-0. Little Rock finished behind SDSU in third place, followed by Northern Colorado (fourth), Penn (fifth), Wyoming (sixth), Central Michigan (seventh) and Drexel (eighth) in the 14-team bracket.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. NORTHERN COLORADO
No. 32 Trever Anderson took on sixth-ranked Stevo Poulin at 125 pounds to open the second day of action in the UNI-Dome in a head-to-head scramble. After giving up a first period takedown, Anderson ultimately was unable to cut the lead, dropping the match 8-4.Â
UNI would roll following its opening match loss with Julian Farber (133 pounds) battling No. 13 Dominick Serrano. Farber would gain control in the final seconds of the first period with a takedown and add two more takedowns for an 11-3 major decision win, his first ranked victory of the season.
No. 5 Cael Happel faced Armando Garcia at 141 pounds securing his fifth technical fall victory of the year and eighth in his career with a score of 22-6. At 149 pounds, No. 17 Colin Realbuto overcame a scoreless first period to earn an 8-0 major decision win over Benji Alanis.Â
Keeping UNI's momentum rolling, No. 4 Ryder Downey squared off against No. 17 Vinny Zerban at 157 pounds. After earning a point with an escape in the second period, Downey maintained control into the third frame, securing riding time to win a tightly contested match by a 2-0 score.
Wrestling at 165 pounds, No. 21 Jack Thomsen maintained great position throughout his match, cruising to an 11-2 major decision victory over opponent Clayton Ulrey. No. 17 Jared Simma (174 pounds) also earned his first win of the NWCA Dual Championships over Aydin Rix-McElhinney with a 15-7 major decision.
No. 2 Parker Keckeisen continued the Panthers' strong opening dual performance with a 12-2 major decision victory over No. 33 AJ Heeg at 184 pounds, while No. 15 Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) dominated Andrew Donahue with a strong first period to finish with a 21-4 technical fall. No. 16 Lance Runyon (heavyweight) closed out the dual by racking up eight nearfall points in the second period, rolling to a 17-1 technical fall against Remington Peterson.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. SOUTH DAKOTA STATEÂ
With UNI facing SDSU for the second time in a dual this year, Kyle Gollhofer began the final session against No. 14 Tanner Jordan in a rematch from November's home dual. After a scoreless first period, Gollhofer gained the lead with a reversal, but would give up a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period, dropping the match by a 4-2 score.
Farber secured a victory over No. 21 Derrick Cardinal at 133 pounds, rallying from an early deficit with a takedown plus riding time for a 6-3 victory. At 141 pounds, Happel secured his fourth straight bonus point victory of the weekend, defeating Caleb Gross with a dominant 13-3 major decision.Â
Realbuto (149 pounds) would defeat Colin Dupill in an 18-6 major decision, overcoming an early takedown by Dupill. The redshirt senior went on to score four takedowns for the Panthers, finishing the NWCA National Duals with a 4-0 record.
Downey (157 pounds) delivered a thrilling performance in the third period against Moses Espinoza-Owens. After a scoreless first and a solo escape in the second, Downey would take control of the match and win by a 7-1 score for another UNI victory. Thomsen (165 pounds) would keep the momentum going for Northern Iowa, securing a hard-fought 4-1 victory over Marcus Espinoza-Owens, thanks to a critical takedown in the final 30 seconds of the match.
At 174 pounds, Simma finished the weekend strong by improving to 2-1 this season against No. 8 and 2024 All-American Cade DeVos with a narrow 6-5 win. DeVos bested Simma in UNI's season opening dual in the UNI-Dome in November before Simma came out on top at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last month.
Keckeisen (184 pounds) faced Bennett Berge, securing his fourth major decision victory of the tournament with an 11-3 win. This also marked Keckeisne's fourth top-five victory of the season and second over Berge this year. At 197 pounds, Voelker delivered another impressive performance against Thomas Dineen, securing two takedowns en route to a 9-3 victory.Â
Adam Ahrendsen (heavyweight) capped off the dual with a dominant performance over Cody Donnelly. Controlling the match from start to finish, Ahrendsen secured two takedowns and locked in a cradle, earning four nearfall back points to secure a 14-1 major decision.
Â
UP NEXT
UNI returns to action next Friday, Jan. 17 when it heads west to face Arizona State in Tempe. Live coverage of the dual can be found on ESPN+ with live results also available on TrackWrestling.
Â
FINAL RESULTS (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed)
No. 7 UNI 38, RV NORTHERN COLORADO 3
- 125 | #6/6 Stevo Poulin (UNC) dec. #32/23 Trever Anderson, 8-4
- 133 | Julian Farber (UNI) maj. dec. #13/13 Dominick Serrano (UNC), 11-3 MD
- 141 | #5/5 Cael Happel (UNI) tech falls Armando Garcia (UNC), 22-6 TF
- 149 | #17/15 Colin Realbuto (UNI) maj. dec. Benji Alanis (UNC), 8-0 MD
- 157 | #4/4 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. #17/17 Vinny Zerban (UNC), 2-0
- 165 | #21/18 Jack Thomsen (UNI) maj. dec. Clayton Ulrey (UNC), 11-2 MD
- 174 | #17/16 Jared Simma (UNI) maj. dec. Aydin Rix-McElhinney (UNC), 15-7 MD
- 184 | #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) maj. dec. #33/25 AJ Heeg (UNC), 12-2 MD
- 197 | #15/13 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) tech falls Andrew Donahue (UNC), 21-4 TF
- HWT | #16/17 Lance Runyon tech falls Remington Peterson (UNC), 17-1 TF
No. 7 UNI 31, No. 14 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 3
- 125 | #14/12 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) dec. Kyle Gollhofer (UNI), 4-2
- 133 | Julian Farber (UNI) dec. #21/20 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 6-3
- 141 | #5/5 Cael Happel (UNI) maj.dec. Caleb Gross (SDSU), 13-3 MD
- 149 | #17/15 Colin Realbuto (UNI) maj. dec. Colin Dupill (SDSU), 18-6 MD
- 157 | #4/4 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. Moses Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), 7-1
- 165 | #21/18 Jack Thomsen (UNI) dec. Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), 4-1
- 174 | #17/16 Jared Simma (UNI) dec. #8/7 Cade DeVos, 6-5
- 184 | #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) maj. dec. #7/6 Bennett Berge (SDSU), 11-3 MD
- 197 | #15/13 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. Thomas Dineen (SDSU), 9-3
- HWT | Adam Ahrendsen (UNI) maj. dec. Cody Donnelly (SDSU), 14-1 MD
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.
Players Mentioned
