IRVING, TX – Pre-seeds for the 2023 Big 12 Wrestling Championship were announced by the league office on Monday ahead of this weekend’s conference championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 4-5. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class will be seeded.
UNI’s Parker Keckeisen, a two-time All-American, earned the top seed at the upcoming Big 12 Championships. A two-time reigning Big 12 champion, Keckeisen, who has taken third place at the last two NCAA Championships, has the opportunity to become UNI’s first Panther to earn three Big 12 titles. Keckeisen has taken third at the last two NCAA championships.
Missouri led the Big 12 in selections and top seeds as its entire lineup received selections, highlighted by No. 1-seeded Brock Mauller (149 pounds) and Peyton Mocco (174 pounds). Oklahoma State and West Virginia each had nine seeds while South Dakota State followed with eight. UNI will have seven wrestlers seeded for this weekend’s competition.
West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale (125), Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen (184) and Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson (Heavyweight) all earned top seeds in their weight classes for the second year in a row while Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix secured his third straight top seed at 133 pounds. Iowa State’s David Carr locked in his third consecutive top seed as well but this year at 165 pounds, after the last two years were at 157 pounds. Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez (141), North Dakota State’s Jared Franek (157) and South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan (197) rounded out the No. 1 selections.
Fans can follow all the action at the Big 12 Championships through UNI’s meet hub, which includes livestream access to every match during all four sessions, as well as live results through TrackWrestling.
UNI SEEDING FOR THE 2023 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
133 | Kyle Biscoglia (2-seed)
141 | Cael Happel (3-seed)
149 | Colin Realbuto (2-seed)
157 | Derek Holschlag (5-seed)
174 | Lance Runyon (7-seed)
184 | Parker Keckeisen (1-seed)
285 | Tyrell Gordon (7-seed)
UNI AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
UNI was fifth at last year’s championships with 100 points. Seven Panthers automatically qualified for the NCAAs. Heavyweight Tyrell Gordon earned an at-large spot to join Brody Teske (125 pounds), Kyle Biscoglia (133 pounds), Colin Realbuto (149 pounds), Derek Holschlag (157 pounds), Austin Yant (165 pounds), Lance Runyon (174 pounds) and Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) at the NCAA championships. Cael Happel earned an alternate spot at 141 pounds.
BIG 12 COMPETITION / ALLOCATIONS
The Big 12 was allocated 65 automatic qualifying spots for the NCAA championships, second only to the Big Ten. It is the most spots awarded to the league since UNI joined for the 2018 tournament.
BIG 12 FINISHERS FROM THE TOP 4 RETURNING AT EACH WEIGHT
125 | 1. Killian Cardinale (WVU), 3. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 4. Joey Prata (OU)
NOTE: Mastrogiovanni’s last dual was Jan. 15
133 | 1. Daton Fix (OSU), 2. Kyle Biscoglia (UNI), 3. Ramazan Attasauov (ISU)
NOTE: Attasauov’s last dual was Jan. 8
141 | 1. Andrew Alirez (UNC), 2. Allan Hart (MIZ), 3. Clay Carlson (SDSU),
4. Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU)
149 | 1. Kaden Gfeller (OSU), 2. Willie McDougald (OU), 3. Colin Realbuto* (UNI)
NOTE: Gfeller moved up to 157 pounds / McDougald has not been in lineup
157 | 1. David Carr (ISU), 2. Jared Franek (NDSU), 3. Jacob Wright (WYO)
165 | 1. Keegan O’Toole (MIZ), 2. Peyton Hall (WVU), 3. Austin Yant* (UNI)
174 | 1. Dustin Plott (OSU), 2. Peyton Mocco (MIZ), 4. Cade DeVos (SDSU)
184 | 1. Parker Keckeisen (UNI), 3. Marcus Coleman (ISU), 4. Keegan Moore (OU)
197 | 1. Stephen Buchanan (WYO), 2. Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 3. Rocky Elam (MIZ)
NOTE: Buchanan transferred to Oklahoma but hasn’t been in lineup
285 | 1. Wyatt Hendrickson (AF), 2. Luke Surber (OSU), 3. Zach Elam (MIZ), 4. Sam Schuyler (ISU)
All 10 champions from last year’s Big 12 Championships are on a Big 12 roster this year.
125 – Killian Cardinale (West Virginia)
133 – Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
141 – Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)
149 – Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State)
157 – David Carr (Iowa State) – now competing at 165 pounds
165 – Keegan O’Toole (Missouri)
174 – Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State)
184 – Parker Keckeisen (UNI)
197 – Stephen Buchanan – competed for Wyoming last year and now on the Oklahoma roster but has not been in the OU lineup
285 – Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)
IMPORTANT DATES
The first set of Big 12 brackets will be available March 1. The complete NCAA field will be announced with at-large bids March 8. The Division I Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 16-18.
