Panther wrestling leads Big 12 with eighteen Academic All-Conference honorees

IRVING, Tex. --- The University of Northern Iowa led all Big 12 Conference wrestling programs during the 2024-25 season with 18 Academic All-Big 12 selections, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Both Arizona State and South Dakota State followed Northern Iowa with 12 selections each, with Missouri earning 11 spots on the Academic All-Big 12 Team. Northern Colorado registered ten student-athletes on the list, while Oklahoma followed with seven.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.20 grade-point average or higher either cumulative or over the two previous semesters and must have participated in 20% of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

Since joining the Big 12 in 2017-18 as an affiliate member, UNI has accumulated 109 total Academic All-Big 12 selections. Among the group of Panthers honored, two were nominated for Big 12 academic recognition with a 4.00 GPA, including Kaleb Olejniczak and Lance Runyon.

UNI's 2025 Big 12 All-Academic Team Selections

Trever Anderson - Management Information Systems & Marketing: Sales Management
Carson Babcock - Sports Administration
Bowen Downey - Biology: Biomedical
Ryder Downey - Biology: Biomedical
Julian Farber - Business Administration
Nick Fox - Marketing: Advertisement & Digital Media and Management: Business Administration
Kyle Gollhofer - Kinesiology: Exercise Science
Parker Keckeisen - Construction Management
Cory Land - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
Wade Mitchell - Business Administration
Kaleb Olejniczak * - Biology
Cael Rahnavardi - Psychology
Garret Rinken - Biology
Lance Runyon * - Kinesiology and Exercise Science
Jared Simma - Kinesiology and Exercise Science
Connor Thorpe - Kinesiology and Exercise Science
Wyatt Voelker - Kinesiology and Exercise Science
Evan Yant - Kinesiology and Exercise Science

* Nominated with a 4.00 GPA

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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