CEDAR FALLS – UNI wrestlers Cael Happel and Derek Holschlag will join five of their teammates on the national stage as the NCAA announced 47 at-large selections for the NCAA Championships, due to be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 16-18.
The Panthers will send a total of seven wrestlers to nationals after earning five automatic qualifying spots from NCAA allocations at last weekend’s Big 12 Championships. UNI has sent at least six athletes to the NCAAs each year since 2017, and seven times under head coach Doug Schwab.
Happel, a sophomore from Lisbon, Iowa, has posted a 16-6 record at 141 pounds this season with four pins. An alternate at last year’s national championships in Detroit, Happel will make his NCAA debut in Tulsa after going 8-3 in dual competition this year, including a 5-2 mark against Big 12 opponents. Happel entered the Big 12 Championships ranked No. 8 in the coaches poll and No. 5 in RPI before dropping two matches and coming up short of an automatic berth.
During the season, Happel recorded six top-25 victories, including an 8-6 decision over then-No.5 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State at the Daktronics Open. He recorded a second win over Carlson (then No. 16) in the semifinals at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite in December. Happel’s third top-25 victory of the year came against No. 12 Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) in Las Vegas.
Holschlag, a redshirt senior from La Porte City, Iowa, will make his second trip to the NCAA Championships after qualifying last year as an automatic selection at 157 pounds. In his debut on the national stage last March, Holschlag won his opening match against Jordan Slivka (Ohio) in a 10-4 decision before falling to David Carr (Iowa State) and Brady Berge (Penn State).
Posting a 16-7 record this season, Holschlag was seeded fifth at the Big 12 Championships, but was knocked out following a loss in the second round of consolations. Holschlag entered Big 12s No. 23 in the coaches poll and No. 14 in RPI.
Recording a 9-3 mark in duals, and 7-1 record against the Big 12, Holschlag posted three top-25 wins this year, including his first two victories against top-10 opponents. Holschlag earned his first top-10 win against then-No. 9 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) in a 4-3 decision back in January before pulling off a 6-4 win in sudden victory against No. 10 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State, who finished as the Big 12’s runner-up this season at 157 pounds.
Seeding and brackets for this year’s NCAA Championships will be revealed at 7 p.m. CT on March 8, during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com.
UNI’s 2023 NCAA Qualifiers
133 | Kyle Biscoglia (4th at Big 12s / 2nd NCAA appearance)
141 | Cael Happel (At-large selection / 1st NCAA appearance [Alternate in 2022] )
149 | Colin Realbuto (5th at Big 12s / 2nd NCAA appearance)
157 | Derek Holschlag (At-large selection / 2nd NCAA appearance)
165 | Austin Yant (5th at Big 12s / 3rd NCAA appearance)
184 | Parker Keckeisen (1st at Big 12s / 3rd NCAA appearance / Two-time All-American)
285 | Tyrell Gordon (4th at Big 12s / 2nd NCAA appearance)
Schwab at NCAAs
2011: T41st – 4 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2012: 34th – 5 qualifiers
2013: T15th – 4 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2014: 15th – 7 qualifiers / 3 All-American
2015: 34th – 4 qualifiers
2016: 25th – 5 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2017: 18th – 7 qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2018: T24th – 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2019: T13 – 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2020: N/A – 7 qualifiers / 5 All-Americans *
2021: 19th – 6 qualifiers / 1 All-American
2022: T20th – 8 qualifiers / 1 All-American
* no tournament due to COVID-19 / seeded wrestlers earned all-America titles
