UNI wrestling alum Realbuto competes at Senior World Championships
9/17/2025 12:47:00 PM | Wrestling
ZAGREB, Croatia --- Former UNI wrestler Colin Realbuto made his latest appearance on the global stage earlier this week, representing Italy at the 2025 United World Wrestling (UWW) Senior World Championships in Croatia.
Competing out of the Panther Wrestling Club in his third World Championship event, Realbuto, accompanied by UNI head coach Doug Schwab and training partner and current UNI wrestler Cael Rahnavardi, competed in the 65 kilogram field of freestyle competition.Â
In his lone match of the competition, the 26th ranked Realbuto came up short in a 7-0 loss by points (VPO) to 26th ranked Ayub Musaev of Belgium. Former Iowa wrestler Real Woods, representing the United States, notably tied for third place.
A native of Somers, New York, Realbuto was a three-time NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds of the Panthers, compiling a 68-28 record in his five seasons at UNI.Â
A 2020 transfer from Brown University, Realbuto placed second at the 2025 Big 12 Championships and earned the ten-seed for the 2025 NCAA Championships during a season where he posted a career-best 14-match winning streak with wins over nine ranked opponents, including a top-ten victory over No. 6 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State).
Realbuto also placed third at the Big 12 Championships in 2022 and fifth in 2023 before redshirting the 2023-24 season to train for the Italian Olympic Trials. He was also a two-time Big 12 All-Academic First Team member (2022, 2023) and an NWCA Scholar All-American in 2023.
ÂUNI 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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