University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
South Dakota State
Panther Train heads north for weekend dual with Jackrabbits
2/6/2026 10:22:00 AM | Wrestling
UNI visits South Dakota State in rematch of NWCA National Duals Championship.
No. 19 UNI wrestling (9-6 / 3-2 Big 12) at No. 14 South Dakota State (12-3 / 5-2 Big 12)
- Sunday, Feb. 8
- 1 p.m. CT
- Brookings, S.D. | First Bank & Trust Arena (5,000)
- WATCH (Midco Sports Plus) [Tyler Merriam: Play-by-Play]
- LIVE RESULTS (FloWrestling)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The 19th-ranked UNI wrestling team will get its second crack at 14th ranked South Dakota State on Sunday as the Big 12 rivals matchup in regular conference dual action.
Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT with live coverage available on Midco Sports Plus with a subscription, as well as live results available on FloWrestling.
Northern Iowa holds a commanding 42-6-1 all-time lead on the Jackrabbits and will meet SDSU again this winter after besting their conference rival in the title bout of this year's NWCA National Dual Meet Championships in Cedar Falls last month. UNI won six matches against the Jackrabbits last month in the UNI-Dome, with Adam Ahrendsen's 10-7 victory at heavyweight making the difference in the Panthers' 20-14 win.
The Panthers will look to right the ship after a difficult weekend down south a week ago, falling at both No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Oklahoma. UNI won just one match against the Cowboys, a 3-1 sudden victory decision for Nick Fox, who also picked up another top-ten ranked the following night against the Sooners en route to earning his first Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honor. Against the Sooners, the Panthers picked up big wins from Julian Farber with a pin at 133 pounds and Ryder Downey at 165 pounds, but struggled in the late matches of the dual.
In addition to the duals, Northern Iowa crowned two champions with two other wrestlers medaling at the Loras Open in Dubuque. Garret Rinken pinned two opponents and tech falled another to win the 133 pound bracket, while Connor Thorpe notched two major decisions en route to winning the 141 pound field. Austin Paradice meanwhile took third at 157 pounds and Cameron Geuther finished in fourth at heavyweight.
PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS [NCAA Coaches Ranking] (Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed)
- 125 | [29] #32/23 Trever Anderson
- 133 | [21] #25/17 Julian Farber
- 149 | #32/18 Caleb Rathjen
- 165| [6] #6/6 Ryder Downey
- 174 | [12] #12/13 Jared Simma
- 184 | #29/21 Nick Fox
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The Jackrabbits continue a four-dual homestand on Sunday, fresh off wins over Air Force and Northern Colorado last weekend. With a 12-3 dual record this year and 5-2 mark in Big 12 competition, South Dakota State's only conference losses have come against Wyoming and Iowa State.
Led by eighth year head coach Damion Hahn, the Jackrabbits return six of their nine NCAA qualifiers that placed just one spot behind UNI at the Big 12 Championships a year ago in third. SDSU placed in nine weight classes in Tulsa last season and returns key wrestlers to its lineup, including Bennett Berge, who has moved up from 184 to 197 pounds this season. Additional returns for SDSU include Tanner Jordan (125 pounds), Derrick Cardinal (133 pounds), Julian Tagg (141 pounds), Avery Allen (149 pounds), Drake Rhodes (165 pounds) and Luke Rasmussen (heavyweight).
PROJECTED MATCHUPS [NCAA Coaches] (#Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed)
- 125 | [29] #32/23 Trever Anderson (UNI) vs. [19] #21/19 Brady Roark (SDSU) OR Daniel Guanajuato (SDSU)
- 133 | [21] #25/17 Julian Farber (UNI) vs. #21/NR Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) OR Cale Seaton (SDSU)
- 141 | Max Brady (UNI) vs. [11] #19/19 Julian Tagg (SDSU)
- 149 | #32/18 Caleb Rathjen (UNI) OR Ethan Basile (UNI) vs. [26] #25/23 Alek Martin (SDSU) OR Colin Dupill (SDSU)
- 157 | Cael Rahnavardi (UNI) OR RJ Weston (UNI) vs. [15] #18/21 Cael Swensen (SDSU)
- 165 | [6] #6/6 Ryder Downey (UNI) OR Jack Thomsen (UNI) vs. [28] #28/33 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDSU) OR Jacob Herm (SDSU)
- 174 | [12] #12/13 Jared Simma (UNI) vs. [14] #17/14 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDUS)
- 184 |#29/21 Nick Fox (UNI) vs. Brock Fettig (SDSU)
- 197 | John Gunderson (UNI) OR Carson Babcock (UNI) vs. [6] #6/5 Bennett Berge (SDSU)
- HWT | Adam Ahrendsen (UNI) OR Grant Stromberg (UNI) vs. [24] #25/26 Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) OR Micah Hach (SDSU)
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
