CEDAR FALLS – Four Panthers from No. 16 UNI wrestling will open the Big 12 Championships with opponents they have never faced.
The two-day tournament is set for March 4-5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
No. 16 UNI wrestling at the 2023 Big 12 Championships
BOK Center (19,199) | Tulsa, Oklahoma
March 4 | 10 a.m. CT prelims & quarterfinals / 5 p.m. semis & consolation quarters
March 5 | noon CT consolation semis & seventh-place matches / 8 p.m. finals
Kyle Biscoglia, the No. 2 seed at 133 pounds, and Cael Happel, seeded third at 141 pounds, both open with byes.
Kyle Gollhofer has the opportunity to avenge a loss to No. 6 seed Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State. Gollhofer is tied 1-1 in his career series with Jordan. Noah Glaser will open tournament competition against last year’s runner-up in the heavyweight division, No. 4 seed (4) Luke Surber (Oklahoma State).
A sixth spot at 133 pounds was allocated to the Big 12 after the initial allocation release, which gives the Big 12 65 automatic qualifying spots.
Eight of the 10 Panthers who competed at last year’s conference championship return to the Big 12 tournament for No. 16 UNI wrestling.
Parker Keckeisen has the chance to become the first Panther to win three Big 12 titles. Keckeisen’s second win in 2022 extended UNI’s streak at 184 pounds, where a Panther has won the title every year since joining the league in 2018. It’s the second longest active streak of any Big 12 school at a weight class. Oklahoma State has had a champion at 149 pounds since 2015.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (Big 12 seed)
125 | Kyle Gollhofer vs. (6) Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State): The series is tied 1-1. The two met when the teams added extra bouts at duals. Gollhofer won 4-2 in 2020 (2021 season), and Jordan won 4-3 in 2022.
133 | .(2) Kyle Biscoglia gets a bye and will face the winner of the (7) McGwire Midkiff (North Dakota State) vs. Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State) match.
141 | (3) Cael Happel gets a bye and will face the winner of the (6) Allan Hart (Missouri) vs. Christian Nunez (Cal Baptist) match. Happel beat Hart 9-6 in a dual last season and has never faced Nunez.
149 | (2) Colin Realbuto vs. Alek Martin (South Dakota State)
157 | (5) Derek Holschlag vs. Jared Hill (Oklahoma) – Holschlag beat Hill 4-1 in a dual earlier this season.
165 | Austin Yant vs. (8) Baylor Fernandes (Northern Colorado)
174 | (7) Lance Runyon vs. Gaven Sax (North Dakota State)
184 | (1) Parker Keckeisen vs. Quayin Short (Wyoming)
197 | Noah Glaser vs. (4) Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), who was second at heavyweight in the 2022 Big 12 Championships
285 | (7) Tyrell Gordon vs. Xavier Doolin (Northern Colorado)
TOUGH BIG 12 BY THE NUMBERS
15 All-Americans return to compete
Two finalists, including three-time runner-up Daton Fix at 133 pounds and reigning champion at 165 pounds, Keegan O’Toole
Two All-Americans with a title: O’Toole (2022), David Carr of Iowa State at 157 pounds (2021)
OSU has the most returning All-Americans with four; Iowa State and Missouri have three; West Virginia has two; SDSU, UNI and Utah Valley each with one
Nine of the Big 12 champions last year are expected to compete:
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 at 165
165 | Keegan O’Toole (Missouri)
174 | Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State)
184 | Parker Keckeisen (UNI)
285 | Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)
Five Big 12 competitors are ranked nationally on the most dominant list:
1 – Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force), heavyweight
3 – Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado), 141 pounds
6 – Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State), 197 pounds
8 – David Carr (Iowa State), 165 pounds
9 – Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 133 pounds
Hendrickson leads the nation with 14 falls so far this season. UNI’s Tyrell Gordon and Oklahoma’s Josh Heindselman are the only Big 12 opponents to have not given up bonus points to Hendrickson in the last two seasons.
Tanner Cook of South Dakota State is eighth in the nation for most falls with nine. AJ Nevills slipped out of the nation’s top 10 for most falls last week.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS BY SCHOOL
Oklahoma State (4)
3x | Daton Fix (133) – 2nd in 2019, 2021, 2022
2x | Wyatt Sheets (157) – 2020 Second Team* / 2021 8th
2x | Travis Wittlake (165) – 2020 First Team* / 2021 4th
1x | Dustin Plott (174) – 2022 6th
Iowa State (3)
3x | David Car (157) – 2020* / 2021 1st / 2022 3rd
1x | Yonger Bastida (197) – 2022 5th
1x | Marcus Coleman (184) – 2022 7th
Missouri (3)
2x | Brock Mauller (149) – 2021 5th / 2019 6th
2x | Keegan O’Toole (165) – 2022 1st / 2021 3rd
2x | Rocky Elam (197) – 2022 4th / 2021 5th
West Virginia (2)
1x | Peyton Hall (165) – 2022 8th
1x | Killian Cardinale (125) – 2021 7th
South Dakota State (1)
1x | Clay Carlson (141) – 2021 8th
UNI (1)
2x | Parker Keckeisen (184) – 3rd in 2021 and 2022
Utah Valley (1)
1x | Demetrius Romero (174) – 2021 6th
Air Force, CBU, NDSU, OU, UNC, Wyoming – none
IMPORTANT DATES
The Big 12 released pre-seeds on Feb. 27 with the first set of brackets being made public on 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.