University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
North Carolina State
Panther wrestling takes one of three matchups at National Duals Invitational
11/15/2025 9:25:00 PM | Wrestling
UNI opens season with three top-12 ranked dual opponents. Panthers host North Dakota State for Big 12 opener next weekend.
TULSA, Okla. --- The 2025-26 wrestling season officially opened for the UNI Panthers on Saturday as Northern Iowa became one of 16 programs to participate in the inaugural National Duals Invitational at the BOK Center.
Facing off against three high quality Division I programs, the Panthers dropped their opening round matchup against No. 7 North Carolina State by a score of 27-8 before bouncing back in the consolation bracket with a 26-8 victory over No. 12 Cornell, the Panthers' first-ever against the Big Red. UNI was eliminated from the double-elimination event by virtue of a 22-16 loss to No. 9 Minnesota in the first meeting between the programs since 2006 on Saturday night.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Trever Anderson opened UNI's first dual of the day facing off against reigning NCAA champion and top-ranked Vincent Robinson at 125 pounds. Anderson would eat away at Robinson's first period riding time after giving up a takedown, but would fall by a score of 4-2 despite a third period escape.
Julian Farber (133 pounds) tested No. 18 Zach Redding after a scoreless first frame by building riding time, but would surrender a two-point reversal with an escape for a 2-1 deficit. After escaping in the third period to even the match at 2-2, Redding would score the winning takedown in sudden victory in the 5-2 loss for Farber.
Making his first career start at 141 pounds, Cory Land would come up short against No. 7 Ryan Jack despite a third period escape.
At 149 pounds, Caleb Rathjen made his UNI debut against No. 8 Koy Buesgen in a hotly contested bout. Trailing 4-3 after two periods, Rathjen would escape to open the third and took the lead on a stalling point against Buesgen forcing the match into sudden victory. Buesgen would get the final score of the bout however with a takedown in the 10-7 loss for Rathjen.
Following a 3-1 loss for RJ Weston (157 pounds) against No. 4 Jackson Arrington, Ryder Downey made his first start at 165 pounds against Will Denny. Downey would lead for the majority of the match but would give up two escapes to his opponent before being hit with a stalling point late in the third period. Denny would capitalize on the momentum and scored a takedown of Downey in the final seconds for the 6-4 win over the two-time NCAA qualifier.
Jared Simma rallied late but would come up short at 174 pounds against No. 5 Matthew Singleton. Despite trailing 7-1 in the third period, SImma would score on an escape and a quick takedown with 45 seconds to go. Singleton would escape however and add riding time for a 9-5 victory over Simma.
Following an injury default by Nick Fox (184 pounds), Kalob Runyon put Northern Iowa on the board at 197 pounds, scoring a takedown in the first frame and adding an escape and riding time in a 5-0 decision.
Wyatt Voelker closed out the opening dual of the day in his heavyweight debut, making quick work of Everest Quellette in a commanding 19-4 technical fall win. After building a 7-1 lead in the first two periods, Voelker would add three takedowns in the third for UNI's first bonus point victory of the season.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. CORNELL
Anderson bounced back from his morning loss with four nearfall points in the first period at 125 pounds against No. 12 Marcello Milani. Adding an escape in the second period, Anderson would roll to a 10-5 victory and an early Panther lead.
Farber also bounced back with a ranked victory against No. 25 Tyler Ferrera at 133 pounds. Trailing 6-1, Farber scored on an escape and late takedown in the second, before adding a third period escape and takedown for a 10-7 victory with riding time.
At 141 pounds, Land got his first dual win of the season against Josh Saunders, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before scoring on a third period takedown and stalling point with riding time for a 9-0 major decision.Â
After Rathjen fell to No. 7 Jaxon Joy at 149 pounds, Weston rolled to an 11-0 major decision against Nate Wade at 157 pounds with over four minutes of riding time. Weston scored a takedown in each period with a pair of escapes for the bonus point victory.
Downey narrowly escaped with a 2-1 win over Louie Cerchio at 165 pounds with an escape and riding time, while Simma fell to No. 3 Simon Ruiz at 174 in an 18-4 major decision.
In his first career dual appearance, CJ Walrath overcame an early deficit at 184 pounds against Christian Hansen, scoring a quick two-point reversal before scoring two takedowns in the final minute of action for an 8-3 win. Runyon (197 pounds) picked up a narrow 2-0 win with a second period escape and riding time against Aiden Hanning, while Voelker broke away from No. 29 Ashton Davis at heavyweight with a third period takedown and riding time, 5-1.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. MINNESOTA
Battling to the very end but unable to add a score, Anderson fell 5-2 against No. 8 Jore Volk at 125 pounds. Following at 133, Farber snapped off the whistle to secure a quick takedown gaining an early lead against Chris Cannon in the first period. With three additional takedowns in the match Farber finished with a 16-3 major decision victory to take a 4-3 team score lead over the Golden Gophers.Â
Land battled against two-time All-American No. 8 Vance Vombaur at 141 pounds. Clinching an early takedown, Land cut Vombaur looking to score again but gave up a takedown. In the third period with the pair tied up at 5-5, Land got taken down, but escaped to grab a sweep single to finish with a 9-8 victory.Â
Caleb Rathjen came out strong with a takedown and locked up a cradle for early back points, jumping to a 10–1 lead in the first period. He gave up an escape heading into the third, making it 10–2, and Rathjen started the final period on bottom gaining an escape point to wrap up the major decision victory 11-2 at 149 pounds.
In a match against No. 14 Charlie Millard at 157 pounds, Weston gave up a first period takedown and trailed 3–0 going into the second. Weston would give up an escape and another takedown, falling behind 7–0 entering the third. He ultimately fell by a 19–4 tech fall. Following at 165 pounds, Jack Thomsen fell 10-4 in a brawl against No. 11 Andrew Sparks.Â
Downey moved up a weight class to compete at 174 pounds against Ethan Riddle in his final bout of the day. Shooting straight off the whistle Downey locked in a tight tilt to gain early back points, continuing with the tilt he secured a 16-0 victory in the first period.Â
At 184 pounds, Walrath battled hard against No. 1 Max McElleny ultimately falling 21-6 sending the team scores into a 16-16 tie. Runyon took on No. 17 Gavin Nelson at 197 in an evenly scored match heading into sudden victory 1-1. Following a shot attempt by Runyon Nelson reattacked securing the takedown and Runyon dropped the match 4-1.Â
In the heavyweight bout, Wyatt Voelker took on No. 15 Koy Hopke. After giving up a first period takedown, Voelker escaped and fought to secure a takedown but was stopped by the Hopke's defense. In the second, Hopke was able to reverse the lead 5-1 into the third period. Voelker gained a quick escape and takedown to even the match but ultimately fell as Hopke escaped and scored a late takedown to finish the match 9-5.
Â
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Sunday, Nov. 23 as they host the North Dakota State Bison in Big 12 dual action for their home opener. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center with live coverage available on FloWrestling.
Tickets for the 2025-26 UNI wrestling regular season can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.Â
Â
FINAL RESULTS (#Intermat/Flowrestling rankings listed)
No. 7 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 27, No. 14 UNI 8
- 125 | #1/1 Vincent Robinson (NCST) dec. #13/12 Trever Anderson (UNI), 4-2
- 133 | #18/22 Zach Redding (NCST) dec. #12/13 Julian Farber (UNI), 5-2 SV-1
- 141 | #7/8 Ryan Jack (NCST) dec. Cory Land (UNI), 4-2
- 149 | #10/8 Koy Buesgens (NCST) dec. #14/11 Caleb Rathjen (UNI), 10-7 SV-1
- 157 | #4/11 Jackson Arrington (NCST) dec. #NR/26 RJ Weston (UNI), 3-1
- 165 | Will Denny (NCST) dec. #5/7 Ryder Downey (UNI), 6-4
- 174 | #5/5 Matthew Singleton dec. #10/20 Jared Simma (UNI), 9-5
- 184 | Don Cates (NCST) def. Nick Fox (UNI), Inf. def.
- 197 | Kalob Runyon (UNI) dec. Cason Howle (NCST), 5-0
- HWT | #10/10 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) tech falls Everest Quellette (NCST), 19-4 TF
Â
No. 14 UNI 26, No. 12 CORNELL 8
- 125 | #13/12 Trever Anderson (UNI) dec. #12/25 Marcello Milano (COR), 10-5
- 133 | #12/13 Julian Farber (UNI) dec. #26/NR Tyler Ferrera (COR), 10-7
- 141 | Cory Land (UNI) maj. dec. Josh Saunders (COR), 9-0 MD
- 149 | #7/9 Jaxon Joy (COR) maj. dec. #14/11 Caleb Rathjen (UNI), 11-2 MD
- 157 | #NR/26 RJ Weston (UNI) maj. dec. Nate Wade (COR), 11-0 MD
- 165 | #5/7 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. #24/NR Louie Cerchio (COR), 2-1
- 174 | #3/3 Simon Ruiz (COR) maj. dec. #10/20 Jared Simma (UNI), 18-4 MDÂ
- 184 | #NR/32 CJ Walrath (UNI) dec. Christian Hansen (COR), 8-3
- 197 | Kalob Runyon (UNI) dec. Aiden Hanning (COR), 2-0
- HWT | #10/10 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. #29/NR Ashton Davis (COR), 5-1
No. 9 MINNESOTA 22, No. 14 UNI 16
- 125 | #8/8 Jore Volk (MINN) dec. #13/12 Trever Anderson (UNI), 5-2Â
- 133 | #12/13 Julian Farber (UNI) maj. dec. Chris Cannon (MINN), 16-3 MD
- 141 | Cory Land (UNI) dec. #8/5 Vance Vombaur (MINN), 9-8Â
- 149 | #14/11 Caleb Rathjen (UNI) maj. dec Jager Eisch (MINN), 11-2 MD
- 157 | #14/20 Charlie Millard (MINN) tech falls #NR/26 RJ Weston (UNI), 19-4 TFÂ
- 165 | #11/10 Andrew Sparks (MINN) dec. Jack Thomsen (UNI), 10-4
- 174 | #5/7 Ryder Downey (UNI) tech falls #22/22 Ethan Riddle (MINN), 16-0 TF
- 184 | #1/1 Max McEnelly (MINN) tech falls #NR/32 CJ Walrath (UNI), 21-6 TFÂ
- 197 | #17/22 Gavin Nelson (MINN) dec. Kalob Runyon (UNI), 4-1 SV-1
- HWT | #15/18 Koy Hopke (MINN) dec. #10/10 Wyatt Voelker (UNI), 9-5
Â
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
