CEDAR FALLS – UNI wrestling faces two more Big 12 opponents in Air Force and West Virginia on the heels of defeating last year’s conference co-champions.
After dropping out of the rankings in late December, UNI cracked the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll at No. 22 after, thanks to wins over No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Oklahoma.
The Panthers wrap up the regular season at home with duals in the West Gym this weekend and capping the month with two duals in McLeod Center. Both duals this weekend are color games. Fans are urged to wear purple on Friday and black on Saturday.
UNI is led by No. 4 Parker Keckeisen, who was third in the 184-pound weight class at last year’s NCAA championships as a redshirt freshman. His only two career losses have come to No. 1 Aaron Brooks of Penn State. Keckeisen is on a six-match win streak that includes four bonus-point wins. He has faced two top-25 opponents this year, beating No. 9 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), by major decision, 12-3. He also took down No. 25 Charles Small of Hofstra, 10-3.
Austin Yant joins Keckeisen as the only other Panther undefeated in Big 12 duals. Yant earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors for his wins over No. 4 Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State and No. 29 Joe Grello of Oklahoma. He is also on a six-match win streak.
Lance Runyon has returned to the lineup late January after suffering an injury in the first round of the Big 12 Championships on March 6, 2021. In just three matches at 174 pounds, he has two top-20 wins, including a fall against No. 7 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State.
Kyle Biscoglia leads the starters in falls with five on the year. He has won six of his last seven matches at 133 pounds. Of his 14 wins this season, 11 have come with bonus points.
Heavyweight Tyrell Gordon has faced eight top-25 opponents, the most of any Panther in the active lineup. He has one top-20 win with a 4-2 decision over Zachary Knighton-Ward of Hofstra. He’s only given up bonus points to one of those ranked opponents, No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State. Gordon will face two more this weekend.
Cael Happel, who has ranked wins over No. 12 Allan Hart of Missouri and No. 21 Dylan Drogemuller has faced six opponents in the top 25 at 141 pounds.
UNI saw the debut of John Gunderson in the Panther lineup last week when head coach Doug Schwab pulled his redshirt to step in at 197 pounds.
AIR FORCE
The weekend opens with a familiar foe in Air Force, which stepped up to host UNI on short notice when the Panthers’ dual with Utah Valley fell through Jan. 14. UNI claimed its first Big 12 win of the season, winning 27-11.
The Falcons are expected to see the return of Jared Van Fleet at 125 pounds, who was absent during the first meeting. The 2021 NCAA qualifier stepped into the dual lineup Jan. 27 and has won both of his last contests.
Air Force continues to be led by No. 6 Wyatt Hendrickson. He is undefeated at 14-0. His latest win came by forfeit, and 12 wins have included bonus points, including 10 by fall. UNI’s Gordon is the only wrestler who hasn’t forfeited bonus points to Hendrickson, who won their last meeting in a 9-4 decision.
WEST VIRGINIA
The Mountaineers return eight starters from last year and are led by undefeated Killian Cardinale, who was seventh at last year’s NCAA championships. Cardinale entered the dual lineup midseason.
WVU’s other two ranked wrestlers are Michael Wolfgram, who was seventh at the Big 12 Championships in 2021, and Peyton Hall, who took fourth at the Big 12s as a true freshman and earned his first berth to the NCAA championships.
RANKED MATCHUPS
125: Brody Teske (UNI) / Killian Cardinale (WV)
133: Kyle Biscoglia (UNI) / Sidney Flores (AF)
165: Austin Yant (UNI) / Peyton Hall (WV)
174: Lance Runyon (UNI) / Sam Wolf (AF)
285: Tyrell Gordon (UNI) / Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) / Michael Wolfgram (WV)
REMATCHES
125: Brody Teske (UNI) beat Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 6-4 at 133 pounds when Teske redshirted for Penn State and Cardinale competed for Old Dominion in 2019.
133: Kyle Biscoglia (UNI) pinned AF’s Sidney Flores in 4 minutes, 58 seconds in the Jan. 14 dual just after Flores was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week.
141: Cael Happel (UNI) earned a 22-9 major decision over Garrett Kuchan of Air Force Jan. 14.
149: Colin Realbuto (UNI) 6-4 over Dylan Martinez (AF) Jan. 14.
165: Austin Yant (UNI) notched a 9-0 major decision over Trey Brisker (AF) Jan. 14. Yant lost to Peyton Hall of WVU in the opening round of the Big 12 Championships last year, 5-4.
184: Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over Jake Thompson (AF) by 14-4 on Jan. 14.
PROBABLES (NCAA / INTERMAT)
125 POUNDS
UNI: 11 / 13 Brody Teske (7-3) or Kyle Gollhofer (3-6)
AF: Jared Van Vleet (9-4)
WV: 6 / 5 Killian Cardinale (8-0)
133 POUNDS
UNI: 29 / 19 Kyle Biscoglia (14-7)
AF: 32 / NR Sidney Flores (10-7)
WV: Garett Lautzenheiser (6-9) or Lucas Seibert (2-5)
141 POUNDS
UNI: 20 / 23 Cael Happel (15-6)
AF: Cody Phippen (12-8) or Garrett Kuchan (7-6)
WV: Caleb Rea (9-10)
149 POUNDS
UNI: 31 / 33 Colin Realbuto (11-7) or Triston Lara (3-5)
AF: Dylan Martinez (10-8)
WV: Jeffrey Boyd (13-10)
157 POUNDS
UNI: Derek Holschlag (15-6)
AF: Giano Petrucelli (9-9)
WV: Alex Hornfeck (12-11)
165 POUNDS
UNI: 17 / 9 Austin Yant (12-2)
AF: Trey Brisker (7-8) or Jack Ganos (7-6)
WV: 9/ 16 Peyton Hall (18-2)
174 POUNDS
UNI: NR / 21 Lance Runyon (2-1) or 29 / NR Pat Schonefelder (10-7)
AF: 30 / 30 Sam Wolf (12-4)
WV: Dennis Robin (10-10) or Scott Joll (15-6)
184 POUNDS
UNI: 4 / 4 Parker Keckeisen (16-1)
AF: Jake Thompson (10-8) or Cal Sund (2-4)
WV: Anthony Carman (15-6)
197 POUNDS
UNI: John Gunderson (8-5)
AF: Kayne Hutchison (7-10)
WV: Jackson Moomau (2-11)
HEAVYWEIGHT
UNI: Tyrell Gordon (10-11)
AF: 6 / 6 Wyatt Hendrickson (13-0)
WV: 21 / 23 Michael Wolfgram (15-6)
TICKETS
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.
Air Force (3-4 / 1-4 Big 12) vs. No. 22 UNI wrestling (5-5 / 4-2 Big 12)
- 7 p.m. Feb. 4 | PURPLE OUT
- West Gym | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- WATCH: FloWrestling
- STATS: Trackwrestling
West Virginia (5-5 0-3 Big 12) vs. No. 22 UNI wrestling (5-5 / 4-2 Big 12)
- 7 p.m. Feb. 5 | BLACK OUT
- West Gym | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- WATCH: FloWrestling
- STATS: Trackwrestling
