University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
North Carolina
UNI wrestling falls to No. 16 North Carolina, 19-13
12/21/2025 4:14:00 PM | Wrestling
Panthers fall to 3-3 in duals this season. UNI returns to action on Jan. 3 at Nebraska and Soldier Salute.
OFFICIALS - Derek Lark, Ben Marshall
ATTENDANCE - 3,218
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI wrestling team faced a stiff challenge on Sunday afternoon, falling to the 16th ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina at home in non-conference dual action inside the McLeod Center, 19-13.
After an early win at 174 pounds, North Carolina scored four straight wins over the Panthers to build a 12-3 lead before Northern Iowa stormed back late. Despite wins at 133 pounds and a bonus point victory at 141 pounds, UNI was unable to close the gap in the final two bouts, dropping its first home dual of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kicking off the dual at 174 pounds, Jared Simma faced off with Collin Carrigan. After a scoreless first period, Simma earned an escape in the second. Carrigan answered with a takedown on the edge of the mat, sending Simma into the third period trailing 3-1. Right off the whistle, Simma secured a takedown, erasing Carrigan's riding time and sealing a 4-3 decision victory.
At 184 pounds, CJ Walrath battled No. 22 Jake Dailey but was unable to recover after surrendering a first-period takedown, falling by a 4-2 decision. John Gunderson took on No. 32 Robert Platt at 197 pounds in an even match, after giving up a late reversal in the second period, Gunderson fell 2-0.
Making his collegiate dual debut, Grant Stromberg battled Jacob Levy in the heavyweight matchup. After conceding the opening takedown, Stromberg earned an escape to trail 3-1 heading into the second period. An escape and takedown put Stromberg in front, but Levy answered with a reversal to even the score at 5-5 before Stromberg escaped to close the period. In the third, Stromberg controlled from the top position for much of the period but surrendered a reversal to fall behind 7-6. After securing an escape, Stromberg was taken down late, dropping the bout by a 10-7 decision.
Following a 4-3 loss by Trever Anderson to No. 16 Kysen Terukina at 125 pounds, Julian Farber (133 pounds) pushed No.15 Ethan Oakley into overtime in a back-and-forth bout. Farber exploded out of the gate, scoring two takedowns in the opening 15 seconds and added a third within the first minute to jump into a 9-3 lead. Oakley responded with a takedown to cut the lead to 9-6 heading into the second period. Following an escape by Farber, Oakley added another takedown to narrow the gap to 10-9 going into the third. Oakley later evened the score 10-10, forcing sudden victory. In the second overtime, Farber secured a takedown and rode out Oakley to earn an 11-10 decision victory.
Cory Land dominated at 133 pounds against No. 18 Luke Simcox. Land opened the match with a takedown and three nearfall points in the first period, then added an escape and another takedown in the second to build a 10-0 lead. After securing the riding time point in the third, Land finished with an 11-0 major decision victory. At 149 pounds, Ethan Basile dropped his match to Nate Askew, falling 16-5.
RJ Weston faced No. 33 Laird Root (157 pounds), securing an early lead Weston snagged a takedown in the first period. Weston added an escape to open the second period but later surrendered a takedown. Battling through Root's late attacks, Weston held on for a 4-3 decision victory.
To conclude the dual, Ryder Downey faced No. 18 Bryce Hepner at 165 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Downey gave up a reversal and four back points, falling behind 6-1. He added a late takedown in the final ten seconds but ultimately dropped the match 7-4.
"North Carolina outscrambled us in multiple positions with a couple of big reversals and dedicated the pace of matches," said head coach Doug Schwab. "Their guys were prepared and I give them credit. We have to be able to score and finish."
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the mats Saturday, Jan. 3 at No. 6 Nebraska at 6 p.m. CT. Live coverage of the dual can be found on FloWrestling.
Additional UNI wrestlers will also compete Jan. 3-4 at the Soldier Salute at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
FINAL RESULTS (#Intermat/Flowrestling rankings listed)
No. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 19, No. 12 UNI 13
- 174 | #10/19 Jared Simma (UNI) dec. Collin Carrigan (UNC), 4-3
- 184 | #24/22 Jake Dailey (UNC) dec. #29/25 CJ Walrath, 4-2
- 197 | #33/32 Robert Platt (UNC) dec. John Gunderson (UNI), 2-0
- HWT | Jacob Levy (UNC) dec. Grant Stromberg (UNI), 10-7
- 125 | #16/28 Kysen Terukina (UNC) dec. #27/16 Trever Anderson (UNI), 5-3
- 133 | #26/20 Julian Farber (UNI) dec. #15/19 Ethan Oakley (UNC), 11-10
- 141 | #10/8 Cory Land (UNI) maj. dec. #19/18 Luke Simcox, 11-0 MD
- 149 | Nate Askew maj. dec. Ethan Basile (UNI), 16-5 MD
- 157 | RJ Weston (UNI) dec. #33/NR Laird Root (UNC), 4-3
- 165 | #18/20 Bryce Hepner (UNC) dec. #8/7 Ryder Downey (UNI), 7-4
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
