Panther Train closes out dual season Friday at Wisconsin

No. 4 UNI wrestling (13-1 / 7-1 Big 12) at Wisconsin (5-11 / 1-7 Big Ten)

7 p.m. CT | Feb. 21, 2025
UW Fieldhouse | Madison, Wisc.
BTN+
LIVE RESULTS (TrackWrestling)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The fourth-ranked UNI wrestling team will look for a historic 14th dual win on Friday night as it concludes the dual portion of its season against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available on BTN+ with a subscription. Live results can also be found online through TrackWrestling.

The Badgers hold a narrow 27-24-2 lead in the all-time series against the Panthers, but UNI has won six of the last 11 matchups, including a 27-11 win at home last February. A Northern Iowa victory would mark the first time the Panthers have reached 14 duals wins in a single season since the 1990-91 campaign.

UNI has won its last four duals and recently wrapped up Big 12 dual competition on Sunday with a 26-10 home win over No. 14 Iowa State, snapping a five-dual skid to the Cyclones. In front of an all-time McLeod Center crowd of 7,348 fans, the Panthers won seven matches, including a thrilling come-from-behind win at 149 pounds as Colin Realbuto stunned sixth-ranked Paniro Johnson by a 10-7 score in overtime. Parker Keckeisen finished his Big 12 dual career with a perfect 37-0 record at 184 pounds with a technical fall against Caleb Helgeson, while Kyle Gollhofer got the pin against Osmany Diversent at 125 pounds.

Keckeisen will compete in his final career dual in his home state on Friday night, looking to extend his regular season winning streak to 53 matches. The reigning NCAA champion has won all but two of his 19 matches in bonus points this season and has gone 46-1 in career duals. Realbuto meanwhile has won ten straight matches, while Ryder Downey (157 pounds) has won 11 of his last 14 bouts.

The Panthers come in ranked fourth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) weekly rankings for a second consecutive week, its highest mark since 1988. The Badgers meanwhile have been unranked all season facing a high-powered Big Ten schedule.

Panthers in the rankings [NCAA] (Intermat/FloWrestling) [As of 2/18/25]

125 | Trever Anderson [29] (#29/22)
133 | Julian Farber [19] (#19/20)
141 | Cael Happel [4] (#4/5)
149 | Colin Realbuto [10] (#10/10)
157 | Ryder Downey [3] (#6/7)
165 | Jack Thomsen [19] (#20/19)
174 | Jared Simma [15] (#17/17)
184 | Parker Keckeisen [2] (#2/2)
197 | Wyatt Voelker [11] (#12/11)
HWT | Lance Runyon [14] (#15/14)

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Badgers welcome the Panthers to UW Fieldhouse for their final dual of the season, coming off a 27-11 loss at Northwestern last weekend. Wisconsin has struggled in duals this year going 5-11 in duals and 1-7 against Big Ten competition.

The Badgers lost all four of their NCAA qualifiers from 2024 in the offseason, including All-American Eric Barrett (125 pounds) and 165 pounder Dean Hamiti, who transferred to Oklahoma State. Nicolar Rivera, who wrestled at 133 pounds last year has moved down to 125 pounds, while Wisconsin also returns Big Ten Championship competitors Joseph Zargo (149 pounds), Luke Mechler (157 pounds) and Gannon Rosenfeld (heavyweight).

Head coach Chris Bono is in his seventh season at Wisconsin after six years at South Dakota State and three at Chattanooga. Bono has coached one NCAA champion in his 15+ years as a Division I head coach, as well as 21 All-Americans and 24 conference champions

PROJECTED MATCHUPS [NCAA] (Intermat / FloWrestling rankings listed)

125 | [29] #29/22 Trever Anderson (UNI) OR Kyle Gollhofer (UNI) vs. [18] #18/20 Nicolar Rivera (UW)
133 | [19] #19/20 Julian Farber (UNI) vs. [20] #15/18 Zan Fugitt (UW)
141 | [4] #4/5 Cael Happel (UNI) vs. Brock Bobzien (UW)
149 | [10] #10/10 Colin Realbuto (UNI) vs. Royce Nilo (UW)
157 | [3] #5/6 Ryder Downey (UNI) vs. Luke Mechler (UW)
165 | [19] #20/19 Jack Thomsen (UNI) vs. Cale Anderson (UW) OR Cody Goebel (UW)
174 | [15] #17/17 Jared Simma (UNI) OR Nick Fox (UNI) vs. [32] Luke Condon (UW)
184 | [2] #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) vs. Dylan Russon (UW)
197 | [11] #12/11 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) OR Kalob Runyon (UNI) vs. Niccolo Collucci (UW)
HWT | [14] #15/14 Lance Runyon (UNI) OR Adam Ahrendsen (UNI) vs. Gannon Rosenfeld (UW)

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.

Calendar

Upcoming Events