CEDAR FALLS – UNI wrestling opened the 2022 home dual season with a 29-13 win over North Dakota State.
UNI (3-5 / 2-2 Big 12) jumped out to an 18-0 lead with back-to-back bonus points in the first four bouts, and UNI knocked off four higher-ranked opponents. Austin Yant took down a top-20 opponent for the first time in his career, and Lance Runyon opened his season with a top-20 win at 174 pounds.
“I thought we pushed the pace on guys, and we didn’t back off,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “Overall, as a group, that was a pretty solid performance. We set the tone early with bonus points in the first four matches.”
North Dakota State drops to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12.
UNI’s No. 11 Brody Teske grabbed his third fall of the season at 125 pounds, pinning Lucas Rodriguez in 3 minutes, 58 seconds.
Kyle Biscoglia, ranked No. 29, knocked off No. 22 Kellyn March of North Dakota State with an 8-0 major decision. It was his 11th win of the year with bonus points. The win pushes Biscoglia’s win streak to five matches, which were all won by fall or major decision.
No. 20 Cael Happel kept the Panther winning streak going with a 15-5 major decision at 141 pounds over No. 21 Dylan Droegemueller, a two-time place winner at the Big 12s who earned his first trip to the NCAA championships last year.
At 149 pounds, Colin Realbuto notched his sixth consecutive win for the Panthers with a 15-5 major decision over Gaven Sax.
The Bison didn’t get on the board until the 157-pound match where No. 7 Jared Franek notched a major decision to end Derek Holschlag’s win streak. Holschlag had put together three consecutive wins.
At 165 pounds, Austin Yant knocked off his first top-20 opponent in his career. Yant built a 5-0 lead over No. 13 Luke Weber, the reigning Big 12 champion. Weber earned his first points with a reversal in the third period. Yant escaped to keep the lead at 6-2. Weber notched his first takedown and released Yant to grab another takedown and close the scoring gap, 7-6 in the final seconds, but Yant held on to get the 8-6 decision with riding time. Yant extended his win streak to four matches.
Lance Runyon knocked off No. 20 Austin Brenner of NDSU in his season debut. Runyon had to pull out of last year’s NCAA championships after earning an at-large bid. Runyon had an injury default in his first Big 12 championship match last season and hasn’t competed since March 6, 2021.
“He gave up the first score, but he didn’t panic,” said Schwab. “Then he got back to the next score. Then he rode him out the whole second period and you’re able to see him relax out there.”
At 184 pounds, No. 4 Parker Keckeisen racked up five takedowns in the first two periods to lead 11-3. He piled on four more to get the 22-7 tech fall over DJ Parker. It was Keckeisen’s third tech fall of the year. His only two career losses continue to be against No. 1 Aaron Brooks of Penn State.
NDSU took the final two bouts. Noah Glaser had to forfeit due to injury at 3:33. Heavyweight Tyrell Gordon was edged out, 3-2, No. 18 Brandon Metz.
UNI is now 24-3-1 against NDSU in a series that dates back to 1968.
“We just have to keep building off this performance,” said Schwab. “They answered the call.”
UP NEXT
The Panthers have one final road trip before the Panthers wrap up the regular season at home with its final four duals. UNI will face No. 4 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 and close the weekend with No. 20 Oklahoma 2 p.m. Jan. 30. It will be the fifth and sixth time UNI has competed against a top-20 opponent this season.
TICKETS FOR UNI HOME DUALS
Due to a capacity issue, there are no walk-up sales for home duals in the West Gym. Seating is limited to those who have already bought season tickets. A limited number of tickets have been reserved for UNI students, who can scan their IDs at the door. There are no more sales for season tickets. However, single-dual tickets are on sale for the final two duals set in the McLeod Center against Iowa State on Feb. 11 and Wisconsin on Feb. 17.
UNI 29, #RV NDSU 13
125 | #11 Brody Teske (UNI) pinned Lucas Rodriguez (NDSU) 3:58 F
133 | #29 Kyle Biscoglia (UNI) maj. dec. #22 Kellyn March (NDSU) 8-0
141 | #20 Cael Happel (UNI) maj. dec. #21 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) 15-5
149 | #31 Colin Realbuto (UNI) maj. dec. Gaven Sax (NDSU) 13-5
157 | #7 Jared Franek (NDSU) maj. dec. Derek Holschlag (UNI) 12-4
165 | #17 Austin Yant (UNI) dec #13 Luke Weber (NDSU) 8-6
174 | Lance Runyon (UNI) dec. #20 Austin Brenner (NDSU) 5-3
184 | #4 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) tech fall DJ Parker (NDSU) 22-7 (7:00)
197 | #21 Owen Pentz (NDSU) inj. def. Noah Glaser (UNI) injury 3:33
285 | #18 Brandon Metz (NDSU) dec. Tyrell Gordon (UNI) 3-2
EXTRA BOUTS
125 | Kyle Gollhoffer (UNI) dec. Ryan Henningson (NDSU) 8-2
174 | Dajun Johnson (UNI) dec. Riley Habisch (NDSU) 6-4
