UNI wrestling: Six advance to second round of NCAA Championships

SESSION 1 ATTENDANCE - 18,085

PHILADELPHIA --- The UNI wrestling team opened the 2025 NCAA Championships on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center with six athletes advancing to the second round of the championship brackets.

Julian Farber, Cael Happel, Colin Realbuto, Ryder Downey, Jack Thomsen and Parker Keckeisen all picked up wins in their first match of the tournament, with Happel, Downey and Keckeisen all scoring bonus points. Notably, Farber scored a key win over two-time All-American Anthony Noto at 133 pounds, while Thomsen stormed back at 165 pounds to beat Drake Rhodes.

Through the first session, Northern Iowa sits in a tie for sixth place in the team standings with Iowa with 10.5 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Trever Anderson made his NCAA Championship debut at 125 pounds against 11th seed Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) in the first round. Rivera struck first with an early takedown, but Anderson would respond with an escape to tighten the score to 3-1 heading into the second period. Anderson added another escape in the second, bringing it to 3-2 going into the third. Despite nearly eliminating Rivera's riding time, Anderson gave up an escape and dropped his opening match 4-2.

At 133 pounds, Farber took on two time All-American and 15th seed Anthony Noto (Lock Haven). After giving up a takedown, Farber snagged an escape going into the second period. Getting an escape, Farber was taken down again, but fought to get an escape trailing 6-3 into the third frame. Letting Noto up, Farber attacked with a takedown but gave up an escape. With seconds left on the clock, Farber would snatch a late takedown to secure the 9-8 upset over Noto.

Sixth-seeded Happel (141) dominated his first round match against Danny Pucino (Illinois), earning a third period pin after building a 16-5 lead. With his fifth and final takedown, Happel was able to stick Pucino the back and secure the fall in five minutes and fifty one seconds, for his first career postseason pin.

Tenth-seeded Realbuto faced off against 23rd seeded Carson DesRoiser ( Citadel) at 149 pounds. Realbuto secured a takedown midway through the first period, then allowed DesRoiser to escape before scoring another takedown in the final seconds, taking a 6-1 lead into the second stanza. After giving up a takedown, Realbuto quickly responded with an escape to maintain his lead heading into the third. DesRoiser escaped again, but Realbuto answered with a late takedown and riding time to claim an 11-6 victory.

At 157 pounds, sixth-seeded Downey dominated his first round match against 27th seeded Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford). After a scoreless opening period, Downey took control with two takedowns and four near fall points while rolling to a 12-1 victory.

Holding a 3-1 all-time career against Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State), 19th seeded Thomsen faced a key rematch to open his 2025 national tournament. Rhodes struck first with a quick takedown off the whistle, but Thomsen escaped. After conceding a second takedown, Thomsen escaped again and secured a takedown in the final seconds of the first period. In the second, he gave up an escape but responded with a takedown to take an 8-7 lead before Rhodes escaped, tying the match at 8-8 heading into the third. With a minute remaining, Thomsen secured a crucial takedown and added a riding time point, sealing a 13-8 victory for his second career NCAA Tournament win.

At 174 pounds, 19th seeded Simma took on 14th seeded Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State). After giving up an early takedown, Simma escaped and looked to score but would struggle to finish. In the second frame, he gave up an escape, trailing 4-1 heading into the third. A final escape brought him closer, but he ultimately fell 4-2, dropping his opening match at the NCAA Championship.

Entering this year's tournament with a 20-3 career record in the NCAA Championships, second-seeded Keckeisen faced 31st seeded Colton Hawks (Missouri) at 184 pounds. Keckeisen dominated the match, securing six takedowns on his way to a technical fall victory over Hawks, marking his eighth career win over him. The victory also extends Keckeisen's streak to six consecutive bonus-point wins in the NCAA Championships.

At 197 pounds, seventh-seeded Voelker took on 26th seeded Brock Zurawski (Rider). After a scoreless first period, Voelker struck first with an escape. Zurawski appeared to secure a takedown, but after a review, the call was reversed. In the third period, Zurawski earned a reversal, but Voelker escaped to even the score at 2-2, sending the match into sudden victory. In a fast scramble, Voelker was unable to escape from underneath, surrendering a takedown and falling 5-2.

Lance Runyon rounded out the opening session at heavyweight against 15th seeded Trevor Tinker. Tinker would dominate the match quickly taking down Runyon en route to a 15-2 major decision in Runyon's first NCAA Championship competing in the heavyweight bracket.

UP NEXT
The second session of this year's national championships will begin tonight at 6 p.m. CT with second 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 I)
[Seed] (NCAA Coaches rank) #Intermat/FloWrestling ranking listed

125 | [22] (23) #23/17 Trever Anderson (0-1)

L - [11] (12) #11/15 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), 4-2

133 | [18] (14) #18/18 Julian Farber (1-0)

W - [15] (16) #16/20 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 9-8

141 | [6] (3) #4/5 Cael Happel (1-0)

W - [28] (16) #19/32 Danny Puchino (Illinois), Fall 5:51

149 | [10] (10) #11/11 Colin Realbuto (1-0)

W - [23] (32) Carson DesRoiser (Citadel), 11-6

157 | [6] (7) #10/10 Ryder Downey (1-0)

W - [27] (26) #31/24 Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford), 12-1 MD

165 | [19] (17) #22/18 Jack Thomsen (1-0)

W - [14] (15) #12/10 Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State), 13-8

174 | [19] (20) #18/20 Jared Simma (0-1)

L - [14] (14) #15/15 Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State), 4-2

184 | [2] (2) #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (1-0)

W - [31] (19) #25/26 Colton Hawks (Missouri), 19-4 TF

197 | [7] (8) #7/7 Wyatt Voelker (0-1)

L - [26] (33) #28/NR Brock Zurawski (Rider), 5-2

HWT | [18] (21) #17/22 Lance Runyon (0-1)

L - [15] #18/27 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 15-2 MD

TEAM SCORES (TOP-10 THROUGH SESSION I)

1st - Penn State (24)
2nd - Oklahoma State (15.5)
3rd - Michigan (12)
T4th - Nebraska (11.5)
T4th - Ohio State (11.5)
T6th - Iowa (10.5)
T6th - UNI (10.5)
8th - Cornell (10)
9th - Illinois (9)
10th - Minnesota (8.5)

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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