Panther Train heads east for Saturday night dual at West Virginia

No. 5 UNI wrestling (10-1 / 4-1 Big 12) at No. 21 West Virginia (8-5 / 2-4 Big 12)

6 p.m. CT | Feb. 1, 2025
WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W. Va.
WATCH (ESPN+) [Kyle Wiggs: Play-by-Play / Tony Ororato & Jarrett Wilson: Analysts]
LIVE RESULTS (TrackWrestling)

No. 5 UNI wrestling (10-1 / 4-1 Big 12) at Loras Open

9 a.m. CT | Feb. 1, 2025
Graber Sports Center | Dubuque, Iowa
LIVE RESULTS (TrackWrestling)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The final month of the Northern Iowa wrestling team's regular season gets underway on Saturday night as the Panther Train travels to Morgantown for a road dual against the 21st ranked West Virginia Mountaineers.

Live coverage of Saturday night's dual can be found on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. CT, with live results also available on TrackWrestling.

UNI will also send athletes to Dubuque to compete in the Loras Open beginning Saturday morning at 9 a.m. CT at the Graber Sports Center. Live results can also be found on TrackWrestling.

The Panthers enter Saturday's dual with a perfect 8-0 record all-time against the Mountaineers, with a 26-12 win over WVU in Cedar Falls last season. UNI's average margin of victory over West Virginia under head coach Doug Schwab (since 2010-11) has been 16.2 points.

Northern Iowa returns to the road after splitting a pair of home duals last weekend to No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Oklahoma inside the McLeod Center. UNI, which fell to the Cowboys last Friday by a score of 22-14 with key wins at 133, 141 and 184 pounds. The Panthers bounced back with a 26-13 victory over the Sooners, winning six matches including five in bonus points.

Despite dropping its first dual of the season to Oklahoma State, the Panthers remain fifth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's (NWCA) weekly rankings for a third straight week. UNI's 10-1 dual record is its best 11 dual start to a season since going 13-0 in duals during the 2013-14 season.

Saturday night's dual is expected to see up to a handful of potential rematches, including Cael Happel against Jordan Titus at 141 pounds, where Happel holds a perfect 4-0 record. Trever Anderson (125 pounds) will look for his first career win over Jett Strickenberger, with Colin Realbuto expected to face off with Sam Hillegas at 149 pounds, Jared Simma against Brody Conley at 174 and Parker Keckeisen vs. Dennis Robin at 184.

Panthers in the rankings [NCAA] (Intermat/FloWrestling) [As of 1/28/25]

125 | Trever Anderson [24] (#29/22)
133 | Julian Farber [18] (#16/21)
141 | Cael Happel [4] (#4/5)
149 | Colin Realbuto [14] (#14/10)
157 | Ryder Downey [2] (#5/5)
165 | Jack Thomsen [18] (#20/18)
174 | Jared Simma [15] (#16/16)
184 | Parker Keckeisen [2] (#2/2)
197 | Wyatt Voelker [12] (#12/12)
HWT | Lance Runyon [14] (#15/15)

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia looks for its first ever dual win against Northern Iowa as it hosts the Panthers inside WVU Coliseum on Saturday night.

The Mountaineers started the season 7-1 in duals, but have run into a tough stretch with top-25 losses to Iowa State, Pitt, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri. WVU has lost four of its last duals overall.

West Virginia returns eight of its ten Big 12 Championship competitors from a season ago, including 165 pounder Peyton Hall, who placed seventh at the NCAA Championships last year. Ty Watters, the reigning Big 12 champion and All-American at 149 pounds, is out for the remainder of the season due to injury.

Other key returning Mountaineers include Jett Strickenberger (125 pounds), Jordan Titus (141 pounds) and Brody Conley (174 pounds).

West Virginia is in its seventh season under head coach Tim Flynn, who previously spent 21 years prior to his arrival in Morgantown as head coach at Edinboro. Flynn has posted a career dual record of 272-147-5, with a 49-52 mark with the Mountaineers.

PROJECTED MATCHUPS [NCAA] (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed)

125 | [24] #29/22 Trever Anderson (UNI) vs. #16/10 Jett Strickenberger (WVU)
133 | [18] #16/21 Julian Farber (UNI) OR Cory Land (UNI) vs. Tommy Maddox (WVU)
141 | [4] #4/5 Cael Happel (UNI) vs. Jordan Titus (WVU) OR Blake Boyers (WVU)
149 | [14] #14/10 Colin Realbuto (UNI) vs. Sam Hillegas (WVU)
157 | [2] #5/5 Ryder Downey (UNI) vs. Sasha Gavronsky (WVU)
165 | [18] #20/18 Jack Thomsen (UNI) vs. [3] #3/3 Peyton Hall (WVU)
174 | [15] #16/16 Jared Simma (UNI) vs. [27] #30/30 Brody Conley (WVU)
184 | [2] #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) vs. [17] #16/19 Dennis Robin (WVU)
197 | [12] #12/12 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) vs. #NR/33 Ian Bush (WVU)
HWT | [14] #15/15 Lance Runyon (UNI) vs. Michael Wolfgram (WVU) OR Wilson Spires (WVU) OR Elijah Hunter (WVU)

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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