Happel takes fifth at NCAA Championships

SESSION 1 ATTENDANCE - 18,085
SESSION 2 ATTENDANCE - 18,088
SESSION 3 ATTENDANCE - 18,091
SESSION 4 ATTENDANCE - 18,099
SESSION 5 ATTENDANCE - 18,806
TOTAL ATTENDANCE - 91,169

PHILADELPHIA --- Cael Happel rounded out his college wrestling career on Saturday afternoon, besting Navy's Josh Koderharnt to finish in fifth place at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center.

Happel, who finishes his redshirt senior season as an All-American for the first time with a 28-4 record and 85-32 in his career, is Northern Iowa's highest 141-pound finisher at the national tournament since Dylan Long finished as NCAA runner-up in 2003.

Happel's fifth place finish helps maintain the Panthers' top-ten position in the team standings, sitting in eighth with 45.5 points heading into the finals tonight.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Happel opened the final day of competition against a fellow top-ten ranked opponent in No. 9 CJ Composto, the tournament's 21-seed in the consolation semifinals. After a scoreless first period Happel scored first with an early escape to open the second period, but would give up a takedown before escaping and returning to a handfight battle into the third. Composto escaped to extend his lead 4-2 in the third, as Happel attempted to shoot for a takedown. Composto reached in the final seconds for a single leg and scored one last takedown to defeat Happel, 7-2.

In the fifth-place bout, Happel drew a quarterfinal rematch against fourth-seeded Koderharnt, an opponent he beat in tiebreakers on Friday. Getting ahead early, Happel scored a takedown in the opening frame and let Koderhandt up heading into the second period with a 3-1 lead. Picking up the pace, Happel escaped early from bottom to begin the second stanza and countered Koderhandts shots off well with strong defense. Giving up a final escape to begin the third, Happel maintained good position and added a takedown in the closing seconds to lock up a 7-2 victory.

UP NEXT
The sixth and final session of this year's national championships will begin at 6 p.m. CT tonight as Panther redshirt senior Parker Keckeisen looks to close out his collegiate career with a second straight national championship, facing off against top-seeded Carter Starocci of Penn State. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN.

UNI RESULTS (THROUGH SESSION 4)

125 | [22] (23) #23/17 Trever Anderson (3-2) | DNP

L - [11] (12) #11/15 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), 4-2
W - [27] (29) #31/29 Tristan Daugherty (North Dakota State), 2-1
W - [5] (4) #4/7 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State), 17-8 MD
W - [19] (15) #21/21 Cooper Flynn (Minnesota), 4-3
L - [2] (1) #1/2 Matt Ramos (Purdue), 8-2

133 | [18] (14) #18/18 Julian Farber (1-2) | DNP

W - [15] (16) #16/20 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 9-8
L - [2] (2) #2/2 Drake Ayala (Iowa), 13-4 MD
L - [17] (15) #17/15 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), 4-2

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

W - [28] (16) #19/32 Danny Puchino (Illinois), Fall 5:51
W - [21] (20) #24/18 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 5-4
W - [4] (8) #5/8 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), 2-1 TB-1
L - [1] (1) #2/2 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 11-3 MD
L - [21] (10) #9/15 CJ Composto (Penn), 7-2
W - [4] (8) #5/8 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), 7-2

149 | [10] (10) #11/11 Colin Realbuto (1-2) | DNP

W - [23] (32) Carson DesRoiser (Citadel), 11-6
L - [7] (7) #9/8 Kannon Webster (Illinois), 8-3
L - [25] (29) #31/32 Malyke Hines (Lehigh), 10-7

157 | [6] (7) #10/10 Ryder Downey (2-2) | DNP

W - [27] (26) #31/24 Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford), 12-1 MD
L - [11] (13) #12/18 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock), 5-4
W - [21] (25) #23/31 Logan Rozynski (Lehigh), 1-0
L - [14] (21) #20/21 Jude Swisher (Penn), 4-2

165 | [19] (17) #22/18 Jack Thomsen (2-2) | DNP

W - [14] (15) #12/10 Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State), 13-8
L - [3] (2) #2/2 Mike Caliendo (Iowa), 15-3 MD
W - [20] (18) #16/20 Gunner Filipowicz (Army), 13-5 MD
L - [11] (12) #13/14 Braeden Scoles (Illinois), Fall 2:01

174 | [19] (20) #18/20 Jared Simma (1-2) | DNP

L - [14] (14) #15/15 Matthew Singleton (North Carolina State), 4-2
W - [30] (30) #NR/33 Avery Bassett (Lock Haven), 11-0 MD
L - [4] (4) #5/4 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), 8-1

184 | [2] (2) #2/2 Parker Keckeisen (4-0)

W - [31] (19) #25/26 Colton Hawks (Missouri), 19-4 TF
W - [15] (12) #13/12 Dylan Fishback (North Carolina State), 14-3 MD
W - [10] (7) #7/7 Edmond Ruth (Illinois), 13-5 MD
W - [3] (3) #3/4 Max McEnelly (Minnesota), 4-1

197 | [7] (8) #7/7 Wyatt Voelker (3-2) | DNP

L - [26] (33) #28/NR Brock Zurawski (Rider), 5-2
W - [10] (12) #12/11 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota), 4-1 SV-1
W - [25] (24) #32/28 Patrick Brophy (Citadel), 8-6
W - [18] (19) #22/23 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell), 8-6
L - [6] (9) #6/12 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh), 4-2

HWT | [18] (21) #17/22 Lance Runyon (1-2) | DNP

L - [15] #18/27 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 15-2 MD
W - [31] Max Vandilla (Michigan State), 11-1 MD
L - [16] (12) #10/10 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers), 4-3

TEAM SCORES (TOP-10 THROUGH SESSION 5)

1st - Penn State (169)
2nd - Nebraska (109)
3rd - Oklahoma State (94.5)
4th - Iowa (77)
5th - Minnesota (51.5)
6th - Cornell (50)
7th - Ohio State (47.5)
8th - UNI (45.5)
9th - North Carolina State (42.5)
10th - Virginia Tech (41)

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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