Keckeisen, Happel move on to NCAA wrestling quarterfinals

SESSION 1 ATTENDANCE - 18,085
SESSION 2 ATTENDANCE - 18,088
TOTAL ATTENDANCE - 36,173

PHILADELPHIA --- All ten of UNI's NCAA wrestling qualifiers kept their postseason hopes alive on Friday night during the second session of the 2025 NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Center, with two Panthers punching their tickets to the quarterfinal round.

Defending national champion Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) and Big 12 champion Cael Happel (141 pounds) both secured second round wins to put themselves one win shy of All-American status. Trever Anderson (125 pounds), Julian Farber (133 pounds), Colin Realbuto (149 pounds), Ryder Downey (157 pounds), Jack Thomsen (165 pounds), Jared Simma (174 pounds), Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) and Lance Runyon (heavyweight) also stayed alive, with all either dropping a championship bracket bout or winning in the consolation bracket.

In the team race, Northern Iowa maintains a top-ten standing with 17.5 points through two sessions.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Keckeisen extended his streak of bonus-point victories at the NCAA Championships to seven dating back to last season with a 14-3 major decision win over North Carolina State's Dylan Fishback at 184 pounds. Meeting for the first time since the 2023 Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Keckeisen secured a late takedown to take the lead in the first period, then added an escape and takedown in the second before allowing Fishback to his feet, entering the third with a 7-1 advantage. After conceding another escape, Keckeisen responded with two more takedowns and capped the match with a riding time point. With the win, he clinched his fifth NCAA quarterfinal appearance and will face Illinois' Edmond Ruth tomorrow night.

Happel secured his first NCAA quarterfinal appearance with a hard fought 5-4 victory over Dylan Chappel (Bucknell) at 141 pounds. Happel took an early lead with a takedown, then gave up an escape in the second period. He extended his lead with an escape of his own in the third, making it 4-1. Chappell responded with a late takedown to tie the match at 4-4, but Happel clinched the win with a quick escape just seconds later. Happel will return to the mat tomorrow for a quarterfinal showdown against Josh Koderhandt (Navy).

After a tough opening round loss earlier in the day, Voelker bounced back with a big win over two-time All-American Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) at 197 pounds. After a scoreless first period and second period escape, Salazar would tie the match at 1-1 with his own escape, forcing the match into sudden victory. Battling for position throughout the next two minutes, Voelker would catch Salazar in the final ten seconds to score the winning takedown for the 4-1 win, setting up a consultation matchup with Patrick Brophy (Citadel) on Friday.

Anderson stayed alive in his NCAA Championship debut with a consolation victory over Tristan Daugherty (North Dakota State) at 125 pounds. Following a scoreless first period, Anderson rode Daugherty through the entire second period locking in a point for riding time. In the third, Anderson escaped and defended final shot attempts from Daugherty to win the match 2-0 to set up a bout with reigning national champion Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) on Friday.

At 174 pounds, Simma kept his tournament run alive with a dominant 11-0 major decision over Lock Haven's Avery Bassett in the first round of consolations. He'll next take on fourth-seeded Garrett Thompson of Ohio at 174 pounds.

At 157 pounds, Downey battled Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) in a narrow head-to-head match up. While taking the early lead with a takedown, Downey gave up an escape heading into the second period, 3-1. Downey escaped for the lone score in the second period, riding Bianchi into the third frame. Downey gave up an escape but in the final seconds and would be taken down in the final second, dropping the match by a 5-4 score. Downey will face Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) in the second round of consolation matches.

Realbuo faced Kannon Webster (Illinois) in the second round at 149 pounds. After giving up the first takedown Realbuto responds with an escape. In the second period Realbuto escapes but shortly after gives up the second takedown and escapes trailing 6-3. Cutting Webster from bottom Realbuto looked to score but ultimately dropped the match 8-3. Realbuto will face Malyke Hines (Lehigh) Friday during consolations.

Farber (133 pounds) faced a tough challenge in second-seeded Drake Ayala (Iowa), giving up three takedowns to his Big Ten opponent in a 13-4 major decision loss. The defeat drops Farber to the consolation bracket where he will have a midseason rematch against Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska).

Thomsen faced a tough challenge against third-seeded Mike Caliendo (Iowa) at 165 pounds. Struggling to establish an offensive lead, Thomsen dropped the match in a 15-3 major decision, and will return to the mat tomorrow to take on Gunner Filipowicz (Army).

Runyon closed out the evening with a commanding 11-1 major decision over Max Vandilla in the heavyweight field, scoring a pair of first period takedowns and racking up riding time throughout the match. The Panther redshirt senior will now face Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) in the consolation bracket tomorrow.

UP NEXT
The third session of this year's national championships will begin at 11 a.m. CT on Friday with quarterfinal round and consolation matches. Fans can catch all the action on the networks of ESPN with links to all matches on UNI's NCAA Championship Hub.

UNI RESULTS (THROUGH SESSION 2)

125 | [22] (23) #23/17 Trever Anderson (1-1)

L - [11] (12) #11/15 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), 4-2
W - [27] (29) #31/29 Tristan Daugherty (North Dakota State), 2-1

133 | [18] (14) #18/18 Julian Farber (1-1)

W - [15] (16) #16/20 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 9-8
L - [2] (2) #2/2 Drake Ayala (Iowa), 13-4 MD

141 | [6] (3) #4/5 Cael Happel (2-0)

W - [28] (16) #19/32 Danny Puchino (Illinois), Fall 5:51
W - [21] (20) #24/18 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 5-4

149 | [10] (10) #11/11 Colin Realbuto (1-1)

W - [23] (32) Carson DesRoiser (Citadel), 11-6
L - [7] (7) #9/8 Kannon Webster (Illinois), 8-3

157 | [6] (7) #10/10 Ryder Downey (1-1)

W - [27] (26) #31/24 Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford), 12-1 MD
L - [11] (13) #12/18 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock), 5-4

165 | [19] (17) #22/18 Jack Thomsen (1-1)

W - [14] (15) #12/10 Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State), 13-8
L - [3] (2) #2/2 Mike Caliendo (Iowa), 15-3 MD

174 | [19] (20) #18/20 Jared Simma (1-1)

L - [14] (14) #15/15 Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State), 4-2
W - [30] (30) #NR/33 Avery Bassett (Lock Haven), 11-0 MD

184 | [2] (2) #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (2-0)

W - [31] (19) #25/26 Colton Hawks (Missouri), 19-4 TF
W - [15] (12) #13/12 Dylan Fishback (North Carolina State), 14-3 MD

197 | [7] (8) #7/7 Wyatt Voelker (1-1)

L - [26] (33) #28/NR Brock Zurawski (Rider), 5-2
W - [10] (12) #12/11 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota), 4-1 SV-1

HWT | [18] (21) #17/22 Lance Runyon (1-1)

L - [15] #18/27 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 15-2 MD
W - [31] Max Vandilla (Michigan State), 11-1 MD

TEAM SCORES (TOP-10 THROUGH SESSION 2)

1st - Penn State (39.5)
2nd - Nebraska (28)
3rd - Oklahoma State (27)
T4th - Iowa (18)
T4th - Minnesota (18)
T4th - Ohio State (18)
7th - UNI (17.5)
8th - Cornell (17)
T9th - Illinois (16.5)
T9th - Michigan (16.5)

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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