University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
West Virginia
UNI wrestling rolls to road dual win at West Virginia
2/1/2025 8:47:00 PM | Wrestling
Panthers improve to 11-1 overall in duals with 29-10 victory in Morgantown. UNI visits North Dakota State next Saturday.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. --- The fifth-ranked UNI wrestling team picked up its 11th dual victory of the season and fifth Big 12 win with an impressive 29-10 performance at No. 21 West Virginia inside WVU Coliseum on Saturday night.
Northern Iowa won seven of ten matches in the dual, including four in bonus points to improve to a perfect 9-0 all-time against the Mountaineers. The win also marks the fourth time the Panthers have won 11+ duals in a single season under head coach Doug Schwab (2011, 2014, 2017, 2025).
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers opened the night with a tough loss at 125 pounds as Trever Anderson battled through a first period injury against No. 10 Jett Strickenberger, scoring on a penalty with two additional back points in a 10-5 loss. Julian Farber would get the Panthers on the board at 133 pounds, grabbing an early lead on Tommy Maddox before riding out his opponent for much of the first two periods before cruising in the third frame with four takedowns in a 19-5 major decision.
Cael Happel (141 pounds) improved to 5-0 all-time against Jordan Titus, building a 4-1 lead in the second period. Happel would score his second takedown of the match with 47 seconds to go in the final period to grab a 7-3 decision. Colin Realbuto kept UNI's momentum rolling at 149 pounds, crawling back from an early deficit against Sam Hillegas with a late takedown and two back points to end the first frame. Realbuto would bring the pressure with a reversal and three more back points, plus riding time to secure a 15-8 decision to extends the Panther lead.
At 157 pounds, Ryder Downey jumped on Sasha Gavronsky with a late first period takedown, adding an escape and two more takedowns in the third to cruise to a 10-1 major decision for his 14th bonus point victory of the year. Jack Thomsen would struggle against third-ranked and 2024 All-American Peyton Hall at 165 pounds, falling behind 7-0 after two periods while struggling to establish an attack in a 15-2 major decision loss.
Moving to 174 pounds, Jared Simma grabbed an early lead on No. 27 Brody Conley, but would fall behind after Conley took him down with a go-ahead takedown to end the first for a 4-3 lead. With both wrestlers scoring escapes, Conley would get the decisive takedown in the third, securing an 8-5 win.
Parker Keckeisen made quick work of Dennis Robin, scoring seven takedowns and two back points in just under three minutes for a dominant 20-5 technical fall. Keckeisen has recorded bonus point wins now in all but one dual this season and all but two total matches this year.
Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) took an early lead on Ian Bush and never looked back after a 3-1 scoring lead following the first period. Voelker added an escape and a second takedown to secure a 7-3 decision and improve to 18-4 on the season. Lance Runyon closed out the night in style for Northern Iowa at heavyweight, taking down Wilson Spires for three points before adding four back points ahead of a pin just 95 seconds into the match. Runyon has now recorded four victories by fall this season.
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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).Â
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FINAL RESULTS [NCAA] (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed)
No. 5 UNI 29, No. 21 WEST VIRGINIA 10
- 125 | #16/10 Jett Strickenberger (WVU) dec. [24] #29/22 Trever Anderson (UNI), 10-5
- 133 | [18] #16/21 Julian Farber (UNI) tech falls Tommy Maddox (WVU), 21-5 TF
- 141 | [4] #4/5 Cael Happel (UNI) dec. Jordan Titus (WVU), 7-3
- 149 | [14] #14/10 Colin Realbuto (UNI) dec. Sam Hillegas (WVU), 15-8
- 157 | [2] #5/5 Ryder Downey (UNI) maj. dec. Sasha Gavronsky (WVU), 10-1 MD
- 165 |Â [3] #3/3 Peyton Hall (WVU) maj. dec. [18] #20/18 Jack Thomsen (UNI), 15-3 MD
- 174 | [27] #30/30 Brody Conley (WVU) dec. [15] #16/16 Jared Simma (UNI), 8-5
- 184 | [2] #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI)Â tech falls [17] #16/19 Dennis Robin (WVU), 20-5 TF
- 197 | [12] #12/12 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. #NR/33 Ian Bush (WVU), 7-3
- HWT | [14] #15/15 Lance Runyon (UNI) pins Wilson Spires (WVU), Fall 1:35
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
