University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Loras Open
Panthers crown five champions at Loras Open
2/1/2025 4:27:00 PM | Wrestling
All UNI athletes medal in Dubuque on an impressive Saturday on the mat.
DUBUQUE, Iowa — The UNI wrestling team saw all 13 athletes medal with five earn first-place finishes on Saturday as the Panthers competed at the Loras Open at the Graber Sports Center.
Dominating the tournament, Northern Iowa recorded 34 bonus point victories, including 18 pins.
Garret Rinken (125 pounds), Cory Land (133 pounds), Carter Freeman (141 pounds), Nick Fox (174 pounds) and Grant Stromberg (heavyweight) all topped the podium for UNI in their respective weight classes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rinken led a strong performance by Panther athletes at 125 pounds by earning first place with three decision victories, plus a fall against Gannon Kuhn (Cornell) in the first round. Bowen Downey would place second behind Rinken at 125 pounds, with Kyle Gollhofer earning third place.
Land made easy work of the 133-pound field, clinching four bonus point wins, including two pins and two technical falls, while Freeman posted a 5-0 record with four falls and one technical fall to capture the 141-pound championship.
At 174 pounds, Fox pinned each of his first three opponents and defeated Hesston Johnson (unattached) in the finals with a 16-1 technical fall for his second open tournament title of the season. Stromberg also posted a pair of bonus point victories at heavyweight, edging out UNI teammate Adam Ahrednsen in the finals in a high scoring 12-10 win.
Ethan Basile finished second at 149 pounds after falling to Elijah Larson (Grand View) in the championship bout, while Cael Rahnavardi (157 pounds) took second as well, falling to Grand View's Bryce Boumans by a 4-2 score. Connor Thorpe (149 pounds) and CJ Walrath (184 pounds) placed third in their respective weight classes.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Saturday, Feb. 8 in a road dual at North Dakota State, set for 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available through NDSU Athletics (gobison.com/watch).
FINAL RESULTS
125 | Garret Rinken (4-0) | 1st Place
- W - Gannon Kuhn (Cornell), Fall 2:57
- W - Wiley Jessup (Loras), 9-2
- W - Wyatt Skebba (Wisconsin), 7-0
- W - Bowen Downey (UNI), 9-6
125 | Bowen Downey (3-1) | 2nd Place
- W - Kolton Keller (Iowa Central), 12-4 MD
- W - Drew Dolphin (Unattached), 10-4
- W - Kyle Gollhofer (UNI), 2-1
- L - Garret Rinken (UNI), 9-6
125 | Kyle Gollhofer (3-1) | 3rd Place
- W - Dru Ayala (Iowa), 4-2
- L - Bowen Downey (UNI), 2-1
- W - Wiley Jessup (Loras), Fall 2:53
- W - Wyatt Skebba (Wisconsin), 6-1
133 | Cory Land (4-0) | 1st Place
- W - Korey Mendoza (Grand View), Fall 3:26
- W - Kenton Cooke (Unattached), 17-1 TF
- W - Charles Matthews (Iowa), Fall 1:05
- W - Ryan Lobato (Grandview), 20-2 TF
141 | Carter Freeman (5-0) | 1st Place
- W - Hunter Stevens (Unattached), Fall 0:57
- W - Timmy Plamondon (Unattached), Fall 0:32
- W - Zavian Geronimo (Iowa Central), 18-2 TF
- W - Emilio Casillas (Unattached), Fall 0:29
- W - Tony Mendoza (Grandview), Fall 2:07
149 | Ethan Basile (3-1) | 2nd Place
- W - Gary Walker III (Iowa Central), Fall 2:33
- W - Isac Reineke (Iowa Central), Fall 0:53
- W - Connor Thorpe (UNI), 14-3 MD
- L - Elijah Larsen (Grand View), Fall 2:26
149 | Connor Thorpe (5-1) | 3rd Place
- W - Kaden Kramer (Upper Iowa), 21-5 TF
- W - Andrew Schwab (Iowa Central), W, 17-1 TF
- W - Khyler Carstarphen (Grand View), W, 11-1 MD
- L - Ethan Basile (UNI), 14-3 MD
- W - Kael Voinovich (Iowa), 10-3
- W - Charles Curtis (Unattached), 17-1 TF
157 | Cael Rahnavardi (3-1) | 2nd Place
- W - Michelangelo Scalera (Loras), Fall 1:16
- W - Nicholas Perez (Grand View), W, 19-2 TF
- W - Caleb Olson (Unattached), 9-2
- L - Bryce Boumans (Grandview), 4-2
174 | Nick Fox (4-0) | 1st Place
- W - Jack Ervien (Grand View), Fall 1:25
- W - Cayden Van Meer (Iowa Central), Fall 1:29
- W - Richard Mack (Grand View), Fall 3:53
- W - Hesston Johnson (Unattached), 16-1 TF
184 | CJ Walrath (4-1) | 3rd Place
- W - Dominic Helm (Northern Illinois), 20-4 TF
- W - Kam Royster (Loras), Fall 1:52
- L - Brock Fettig (Unattached), 4-1 SV-1
- W - Matthew Jens (Wisconsin), Fall 0:39
- W - Lucas Hageman (Grand View), 14-2 MD
197 | Drew Fox (0-1) | 5th Place
- L - Quin Morgan (South Dakota State), 11-0 MD
- L - Carter Smuck (Grand View), MFF
- L - Logan Degenhardt (Unattached), MFF
- L - Brody Sampson (Iowa), MFF
HWT | Grant Stromberg (4-0) | 1st Place
- W - Jackson Van Keiren (Loras), Fall 2:40
- W - Jojo Lewis (Unattached), 5-1
- W - Jonah Schmidtke (Wisconsin), 15-2 MD
- W - Adam Ahrendsen (UNI), 12-10
HWT | Adam Ahrendsen (2-1) | 2nd Place
- W - Cam Geuther (Unattached), 2-0
- W - Cody Donnelly (Unattached), 15-3 MD
- L - Grant Stromberg (UNI), 12-10
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
