UNI wrestling’s historic season culminates in Philadelphia at NCAA Championships

No. 4 UNI wrestling at NCAA Division I Championships

March 20-22, 2025
Philadelphia, Pa. | Wells Fargo Center
11 a.m. / 6 p.m. CT (Thursday - First/Second Rounds & Consolations)
11 a.m. / 7 p.m. CT (Friday - Quarterfinal/Semifinal Rounds, Consolations & Blood Rounds)
10 a.m. / 6 p.m. CT (Saturday - Medal Round & Finals)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The fourth-ranked UNI wrestling team's historic season reached its climax this week as ten Panthers prepare to take the mat at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for the 2025 edition of the NCAA Championships.

Fans can catch all the action of this year's NCAA Championships on the networks on ESPN, and with live results available on TrackWrestling. Links to every mat camera for all six sessions can be found online at UNI's 2025 NCAA Championship Hub.

Reigning national champion Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) is seeded second as he seeks a second straight NCAA crown coming off his record tying fifth Big 12 title, looking to become just the third wrestler in Northern Iowa history to earn at least five All-American honors alongside Kirk Myers (three-time Division I and II All-American) and Jim Miller (three-time Division II and two-time Division I All-American).

No UNI wrestler has ever earned five Division I All-American honors in the history of the Panther program. Northern Iowa's last repeat national champion came in 1980 when Kirk Myers won his third straight Division II title, while Keith Young was the last Division I national champion to win consecutive championships in 1951.

Cael Happel is also among five total Panthers seeded in the top ten in their respective weight classes, entering the tournament seeded fifth at 141 pounds. Ryder Downey earned the six seed at 157 pounds, with Wyatt Voelker earning a seven-seed at 197 pounds, and Colin Realbuto being seeded seventh at 149 pounds.

Julian Farber (133 pounds) and Lance Runyon (heavyweight) both are seeded 18th in their respective brackets, with Jack Thomsen (165 pounds) and Jared Simma (174 pounds) each being seeded 19th. Trever Anderson meanwhile was seeded 22nd at 125 pounds.

Northern Iowa will be represented in all ten weight classes for the first since 1986, joining Penn State, Cornell and Ohio State as the only programs to qualify in all ten weights. UNI has qualified at least six athletes for the national tournament in each of the previous eight seasons, and have had at least one All-American performer every year since 2016 (the top-eight seeds earned All-American honors in 2020 after the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Panthers will also be in search of their first top-ten team finish since 1992, and look to potentially crack the top-five at the Division I championships for the first time since 1962.

2025 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING MATCHUPS (Seed)

125 | (22) Trever Anderson vs. (11) Nicolar Rivera
Following a seventh-place performance at the Big 12 Championships, Anderson (17-11) will make his NCAA Championship debut against Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin). Anderson opened the season winning 11 of his first 14 matches, which included a 5-2 decision over then-fifth ranked Caleb Smith (Nebraska). The Ankeny, Iowa native went 3-6 in duals this year and clinched seventh-place at the conference tournament with a pin of No. 16 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State). Anderson and Rivera met earlier this season in UNI's dual in Madison with Rivera winning 13-9.

133 | (18) Julian Farber vs. (15) Anthony Noto
Farber (17-6) will make his second NCAA Championship appearance in 2025 at 133 pounds following a third-place effort in Tulsa, taking on Anthony Noto (Lock Haven). Rattling off a career-best eight-match winning streak this season from January to early February, Farber has notched seven top-25 victories this season, including a high scoring 14-13 win over No. 3 Evan Frost (Iowa State) in the consolation bracket of the Big 12 Championships. Farber, who withdrew from last year's national tournament due to injury last March, went 8-3 in duals this season and posted 11 bonus point wins.

141 | (5) Cael Happel vs. (28) Danny Pucino (Illinois)
Happel's third and final NCAA Championship appearance will see the Lisbon, Iowa native take on Danny Pucino (Illinois). Posting a career-high 24 wins and a 24-2 record, Happel earned his first Big 12 title last weekend in Tulsa, besting No. 5 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) on tiebreakers. A winner of 13 of his previous 14 bouts, Happel went 12-1 in dual competition and posted 15 bonus point victories this year. Happel went 3-2 at last year's national tournament in Kansas City, and 2-2 in 2023 in Tulsa.

149 | (10) Colin Realbuto vs. (23) Carson DesRosier (The Citadel)
Following an Olympic redshirt year last season, Realbuto (23-5) returns to the NCAA Championships for a third and final time in 2025 and for the first time since 2023, set to face Carson DesRosier (The Citadel). With a career-best 25 wins, Realbuto came up just short of a conference title after previously making the Big 12 podium in 2022 and 2023. Heading to Philadelphia, he has won 14 of his last 15 bouts with eight top-30 victories, including a thrilling 10-7 sudden victory over No. 6 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) on senior day. Realbuto went 11-1 in dual action in 2024-25 and posted 11 bonus point wins.

157 | (6) Ryder Downey vs. (27) Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford)
Coming off a breakout season last year, Downey (25-4) returns for his second NCAA Championships with a first-round matchup against Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford). Opening the season with 12 consecutive victories, Downey finished third at the Big 12 Championships, avenging a pair of regular season losses to No. 8 Cody Chittum (Iowa State) and No. 11 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State). Downey, a 2024 Big 12 champion, posted a 10-3 dual record in 2024-25 with five top-15 victories, including an upset of No. 3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) at home, bouncing back after losing to him a month earlier.

165 | (19) Jack Thomsen vs. (14) Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State)
Thomsen (19-10) returns to the national tournament for the second time this March and will face off against Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State). Placing seventh at the Big 12 Championships last weekend, Thomsen won a career-high 19 matches this year and posted ten dual victories, while also rattling off a career-best six match winning streak in late December and early January. He also placed second to open the season at the Grand View Open, where he notched three bonus point wins. Thomsen is 3-1 against Rhodes in his career, with Rhodes besting Thomsen this season 12-7 in UNI's November dual in the UNI-Dome.

174 | (19) Jared Simma vs. (14) Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State)
Setting a new career-best mark with a 22-win season, Simma returns for his second NCAA Championship with a first-round bout against Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State) on deck. A sixth-place finisher at the Big 12 Championships, Simma posted a 6-6 record in duals for the Panthers this year, and notched nine bonus point victories. In open competition, he finished third at both the Grand View Open and Soldier Salute, while also taking seventh at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Simma notched five ranked victories during his redshirt junior season, including wins over No. 3 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) and No. 9 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) in Las Vegas.

184 | (2) Parker Keckeisen vs. (31) Colton Hawks (Missouri)
Keckeisen (24-0) takes his perfect record and 55-match winning streak to Philadelphia in search of a second straight national title, set to open his fifth and final NCAA Championship against Colton Hawks (Missouri). A four-time All-American fresh off his fifth Big 12 title, Keckeisen has dominated his opposition this year, posting bonus point victories in all but three matches all season. Keckeisen will look to become UNI's first five-time Division I All-American with a podium finish, as well as the program's repeat national champion since Kirk Myers won three straight Division II titles in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Keith Young was the last Panther wrestler to win consecutive Division I titles, winning at 145 pounds in 1950 and 147 pounds in 1951. With five wins in Philadelphia, Keckeisen can also tie Myers and Rich Powers for the most match wins in team history (134). Keckeisen is 7-0 all-time against Hawks, picking up a 17-4 major decision win in his second match of the year this season.

197 | (7) Wyatt Voelker vs. (26) Brock Zurawski (Rider)
Coming off his first Big 12 championship, Voelker (24-4) returns to the NCAAs for the second straight year and will take on Brock Zurawski (Rider) to begin the tournament. Winning a career-high 24 matches, Voelker went 12-2 in duals this season and heads to Philadelphia in the midst of an eight-match winning streak, the third-longest of his career. Voelker won six matches against ranked opponents this season, including three against top-ten challengers in Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), No. 8 Zach Glazier (South Dakota State) and No. 10 Evan Bockman (Iowa State).

HWT | (18) Lance Runyon vs. (15) Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly)
In his first season as a heavyweight, Runyon (19-6) will conclude his career with his third NCAA Championship appearance, facing off with Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) to open the tournament. Runyon previously qualified for the Panthers at 174 pounds in 2021 and 2022, and returns to the national stage after placing seventh this year at the Big 12 Championships. Winning a career-best 19 matches, Runyon pinned five opponents during his redshirt senior campaign and posted an 8-3 record in duals. Runyon has seven ranked wins to his name this season. This will be the second meeting between Runyon and Tinker all-time, with Runyon having won a 13-1 major decision in Las Vegas this past December.

Contested All-Americans under Schwab

2013 | David Bonin - 4th (157) [unseeded]
2013 | Ryan Loder - 7th (184) [6-seed]
2014 | Joey Lazor - 6th (141) [11-seed]
2014 | Dylan Peters - 6th (133) [5-seed]
2014 | Joe Colon - 3rd (133) [1-seed]
2016 | Dylan Peters - 6th (125) [9-seed]
2017 | Drew Foster - 7th (184) [12-seed]
2017 | Max Thomsen - 5th (149) [7-seed]
2018 | Jacob Holschlag - 5th (197) [unseeded]
2019 | Bryce Steiert - 8th (165) [11-seed]
2019 | Drew Foster - 1st (184) [6-seed]
2021 | Parker Keckeisen - 3rd (184) [4-seed]
2022 | Parker Keckeisen - 3rd (184) [4-seed]
2023 | Parker Keckeisen - 2nd (184) [1-seed]
2024 | Parker Keckeisen - 1st (184 [1-seed]

UNI at NCAAs under Schwab

2011: T46th - 3 qualifiers
2012: 34th - 5 qualifiers
2013: T15th - 4 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2014: 15th - 7 qualifiers / 3 All-Americans
2015: 34th - 4 qualifiers
2016: 25th - 5 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2017: 18th - 7 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2018: T24th - 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2019: T13 - 6 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans / 1 Champion
2020: N/A - 7 qualifiers / 5 All-Americans *
2021: 19th - 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2022: T20th - 8 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2023: T16th - 7 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2024: 14th - 7 qualifiers / 1 All-American / 1 Champion

* no tournament due to COVID-19 / seeded wrestlers earned All-America honors

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.

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