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
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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.
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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.Â
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.Â
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."
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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.
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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), 5-3Â
- 133 | #26/20 Julian Farber (UNI) dec. #15/19 Ethan Oakley (UNC), 11-10Â
- 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
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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
