University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Cyclone Open
Fox wins 174 pound bracket at Cyclone Open
1/19/2025 5:37:00 PM | Wrestling
Fox among four total UNI athletes to medal in Ames. Panthers return home on Friday and Saturday against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
AMES, Iowa --- Redshirt freshman Nick Fox led a group of four Panthers to podium finishes on Sunday with a championship performance in the 174 pound bracket at the Cyclone Open inside Hilton Coliseum.
Northern Iowa sent 13 athletes, including six competing unattached to Ames, capping a strong weekend for the fifth-ranked Panther wrestling team following a 33-10 dual win at Arizona State on Friday night.
ÂHOW IT HAPPENED
Fox cruised through the 174 pound bracket with a perfect 5-0 record, scoring regular decision wins over Hesston Johnson (Unattached), Mark Takara (Utah Valley), Damarion Ross (Unattached) and Dominic Lopez (Unattached). The title marks Fox's first tournament title of the season and second of his career.
Competing unattached at 184 pounds, CJ Walrath claimed the top spot in his bracket with three technical fall victories in a four-athlete field. This marks Walrath's second first-place finish of the season, following his attached win at the BVU Open earlier this year.
Connor Thorpe earned fourth place at 149 pounds, starting his competition with a strong performance, including a technical fall over Thomas Freking (Iowa State Wrestling Club) and another win in round two over Scott Robertson (Nebraska), 8-5. Thorpe, however, would drop his final two bouts of the day to Kane Naaktgeboren (Unattached) and Smokey McClure (Utah Valley).
In his fourth collegiate tournament, freshman Grant Stromberg competed unattached and finished in sixth place in the heavyweight bracket, securing two pins in his two victories.
ÂUP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Friday night as they battle No. 3 Oklahoma State in a matchup of top-five ranked Big 12 foes. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center with live coverage available on FloWrestling/CFU Channel 15 and TrackWrestling.
Tickets can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.
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FINAL RESULTS (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed)
125 | Bowen Downey (0-2) | DNP [UNATTACHED]
- L - Bridger Ricks (Utah Valley), 12-0 MD
- L - Adrian Meza (Unattached), 5-1
125 | Brandon Paez (1-2) | DNP [UNATTACHED]
- L - Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska), 8-0 MDÂ
- W - Wyatt Skebba (Wisconsin), 11-3 MDÂ
- L - Mack Mauger (Unattached), 5-3
125 | Garret Rinken (0-2) | DNP
- :L - Ethan Perryman (Unattached), 7-3
- Â L - Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska), 15-0 TF
125 | Kyle Gollhofer (2-2) | DNP
- L - Alan Koehler (Nebraska), 6-4
- W - Reid Spurley (Wisconsin), MFF
- W - Koufax Christensen (Oklahoma), 4-1
- L - Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska), 4-2
133 | Cory Land (1-2) | DNP
- L - Tyler Ferrara (Cornell), 10-7Â
- W - Osmany Diversent (Unattached), Fall 0:34Â
- L - Kase Mauger (Utah Valley), 15-10
149 | Connor Thorpe (2-2) | 4th PlaceÂ
- W - Thomas Freking (Iowa State Wrestling Club), 19-4 TFÂ
- W - Scott Robertson (Nebraska), 8-5
- L - Kane Naaktgeboren (Unattached), 4-0Â
- L - Smokey McClure (Utah Valley), 10-7
174 | Evan Yant (0-2) | DNP [UNATTACHED]Â
- L - Ethan Riddle (Unattached), 18-2 TF
- L - Hesston Johnson (Unattached), 11-5
174 | Nick Fox (5-0) | 1st PlaceÂ
- W - Hesston Johnson (Unattached), 12-8Â
- W - Mark Takara (Utah Valley), 7-5Â
- W - Damarion Ross (Unattached), 6-0Â
- W - Dominic Lopez (Unattached), 6-2Â
- W - Leandro Araujo (Nebraska), MFF
184 | CJ Walrath (3-0) | 1st Place [UNATTACHED]
- W - Jake Stacey (Unattached), 20-4 TFÂ
- W - Cole Carlucci (Unattached), 18-3 TFÂ
- W - Anders Thompson (Oklahoma), 21-5 TF
197 | Carson Babcock (2-2) | DNP
- W - Jacob Cates (Unattached), Fall 1:15
- L - #25/NR Michael Dellagatta (Cornell), 6-3
- W - Colby Runner (Unattached), 10-0 MD
- L - Aiden Hanning (Cornell), 3-1Â
197 | Drew Fox (0-2) | DNP [UNATTACHED]
- L - McCrae Hagarty (Unattached), 15-1Â
- L - Nathan Schon (Unattached), Fall 5:36
HWT | Adam Ahrendsen (1-2) | DNP
- L - #19/19 Juan Mora (Oklahoma), 13-3 MD
- W - Cameron Geuther (Unattached), Fall 6:49 SV-1
- L - Grant Stromberg (Unattached), Fall 6:31Â
HWT | Grant Stromberg (2-2) | 6th Place [UNATTACHED]Â
- L - #NR/28 Daniel Herrera (Iowa State), Fall 6:46
- W - CJ Carter (Unattached), Fall 7:06 SV-1
- W - Adam Ahrendsen (UNI), Fall 6:31
- L - Ashton Davis (Cornell), 8-0 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
