University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Wisconsin
UNI wrestling rallies for senior day win over Wisconsin
2/22/2026 4:21:00 PM | Wrestling
Panthers overcome early deficit to close out regular season with 16-15 win over Badgers.
OFFICIALS - Eric Boucher, Ben Marshall
ATTENDANCE - 3,190
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The 18th ranked UNI wrestling team closed out the 2025-26 dual schedule in style on Sunday, rallying from an early deficit to defeat No. 16 Wisconsin by a score of 16-15 inside the McLeod Center in non-conference action.
After the Badgers won the first four matches of the day, Northern Iowa responded with victories in five of the remaining six bouts, kicked off by a bonus-point win from Maximus Brady at 141 pounds after UNI trailed 12-0. The Panthers finish the regular season with an 11-8 record and 4-3 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents.
Prior to the dual, the Panthers recognized its senior class of wrestlers, including Jack Thomsen, Cael Rahnavardi, Julian Farber, Connor Thorpe, Adam Ahrendsen, Ethan Basile, Garrett Funk, RJ Weston and Caleb Rathjen.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Moving up a weight class to open the dual at 197 pounds, CJ Walrath came up short in an 8-2 loss to No. 20 Wyatt Ingham, while Ahrendsen faced a challenging ride from No. 10 Braxton Amos at heavyweight in a 6-1 loss.
Trever Anderson challenged No. 18 Nicolar Rivera but fell short in an 8-5 loss at 125, as Farber battled No. 13 Zan Fuggitt at 133 pounds. After a high-scoring first period with both wrestlers tied up at 8-8, Fuggitt took a one-point lead on a second period escape with Farber tying the match in the third on locked hands, but was unable to score an escape as Fuggitt rode out Farber for riding time in a 10-9 win over the Panther senior.
Brady put the Panthers on the board in a dominant performance at 141 pounds against Peter Tomazevic, scoring a pair of takedowns in the first frame. The offense continued for Brady with a third takedown and a solid ride to extend the lead, while adding two more takedowns in the third period along with a stalling point en route to a 17-4 major decision, Brady's team-high tying 18th win of the season.
Rathjen kept the Panther Train rolling at 149 pounds, jumping out to a 4-1 lead on No. 10 Joseph Zargo. After Zargo tied the match with a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, it took Rathjen only 17 seconds of overtime to score the winning takedown for a 7-4 sudden victory decision and his third career win over Zargo.
Following a 6-3 win for No. 23 Luke Mechler over Rahnavardi at 157 pounds, Thomsen battled No. 24 Cody Goebel in his final home match at 165 pounds. Following a scoreless first frame, Goebel drew first points on an escape in the second, but Thomsen was able to even the match on an escape in the third period and taking the lead for good with the winning takedown with 40 seconds remaining in regulation for a 4-2 win, his first win over a ranked opponent this year and seventh of his career.
As UNI closed the gap on Wisconsin, Jared Simma prevailed in a hotly contested 174 pound bout against Luke Condon. After a scoreless first frame, Simma opened the second period with a reversal and rode his opponent for much of the remainder of the match, adding riding time for a 3-0 victory.
Closing out the afternoon at 184 pounds, Nick Fox also battled through a scoreless first period against Cale Anderson. Anderson scored an escape late in the second stanza with Fox building over a minute of riding time before Fox sealed the match in the third with a reversal and riding time to win 3-1.
We competed hard up and down the lineup today, said UNI head coach Doug Schwab. One thing we knew with Wisconsin was that they were going to come out and fight. Senior day is always a little bittersweet with guys who have given their heart and soul to the program. The growth that they've had is incredible and as a coach it makes you so proud. Today was a great way for our team to head into the postseason.This was a total team effort.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action March 6-7 at the Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Live coverage of the tournament can be found on the networks of ESPN.
FINAL RESULTS [NCAA Coaches ranking] (#Intermat/Flowrestling rankings listed)
No. 18 UNI 16, No. 16 WISCONSIN 15
- 197 | [20] #21/20 Wyatt Ingham (UW) dec. CJ Walrath (UNI), 8-2
- HWT | [11] #10/11 Braxton Amos (UW) dec. [32] #32/28 Adam Ahrendsen (UNI), 6-1
- 125 | [18] #18/18 Nicolar Rivera (UW) dec. [30] #28/17 Trever Anderson (UNI), 8-5
- 133 | [14] #15/13 Zan Fuggitt (UW) dec. [21] #22/19 Julian Farber (UNI), 10-9
- 141 | Maximus Brady (UNI) maj. dec. Peter Tomazevic (UW), 17-4
- 149 | #31/18 Caleb Rathjen (UNI) dec. [10] #13/12 Joseph Zargo (UW), 7-4 SV-1
- 157 | [27] #27/23 Luke Mechler (UW) dec. Cael Rahnavardi (UNI), 6-3
- 165 | Jack Thomsen (UNI) dec. [26] #24/27 Cody Goebel (UW), 4-2
- 174 | [13] #13/14 Jared Simma (UNI) dec. Luke Condon (UW), 3-0
- 184 | [18] #21/20 Nick Fox (UNI) dec. Cale Anderson (UW), 3-1
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.
Players Mentioned
