GRIMES, IOWA – UNI wrestling opened the 2023-24 season with six championship titles on Saturday with an impressive showing at the Grand View Open with five freshmen topping their respective weight classes and three veterans also taking to the mat.
The Panthers posted a combined record 36-2 with 15 pins and ten technical fall victories inside the Ignite Sports Complex.
At 125 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division, both Bowen Downey and Brandon Paez cruised to perfect 4-0 records on the day to split first place honors. Downey earned a pair of technical falls wins, as did Paez, who also scored a pin over Montana State’s Kolten Powers in two minutes, two seconds in his first collegiate match.
Izzy Moreno racked up four pins on Saturday in the freshman/sophomore 165-pound bracket, featuring a 24 second fall against Kaleb Loving (William Penn) in his opening bout to take first place. At 174 pounds, Nick Fox notched three straight pins and four overall to win the freshman/sophomore field, while CJ Walrath rolled through the 184-pound bracket among his fellow freshmen and sophomores with five bonus points victories, including three technical falls.
Parker Keckeisen led a trio of Panther veterans on Saturday in the open division, dominating the 184-pound bracket with four bonus-point wins to claim first place. RJ Weston went 5-0 on the day with a one minute, 52 second pin of Waldorf’s Jalon Strong in his opening bout to take the open division’s 157-pound crown, while Ethan Basile returned to the competition mat for the first time since December 2021 with a pair of pins in the 149-pound open bracket.
UP NEXT
UNI returns to the mats on Sunday, November 19 at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D., hosted at South Dakota State’s Frost Arena.
UNI RESULTS
125 Pounds | Bowen Downey | T1st Place (Fresh/Soph Division)
W – Joseph Keeler (Ottawa), 17- 2 TF
W – Aj Smith (Southeast CC), 10-6
W – Dayton Boyd (Missouri Baptist), MFF
W – Trentin Walker (Iowa Central), 17-2 TF
125 Pounds | Brandon Paez | T1st Place (Fresh/Soph Division)
W – Kolten Powers (Montana State N), Fall 2:02
W – Elijah Cater (North Idaho), 17-2 TF
W – Saoul Prado (Baker), 18-1 TF
W – Blake Gioimo (Iowa State), 13-1 MD
149 Pounds | Ethan Basile | DNP (Open Division)
W – Camden Baarda (Grand View), Fall 1:09
W – Jalen Vladic (Providence), Fall 0:17
L – Casey Swiderski (Unat. Iowa State) 23-8 TF
L – Dallas Koelzer (Baker), 17-4 MD
157 Pounds | RJ Weston | 1st Place (Open Division)
W – Jalon Strong (Waldorf), Fall 1:52
W – Jason Kraisser (Iowa State), Dec 10-4
W – Aundre Beatty (Marian University), 10-1 MD
W – Dylan Whitt (Unat. Grand ), Dec 4-2
W – Tanner Abbas (Grand View), 11-1 MD
165 Pounds | Izzy Moreno | 1st Place (Fresh/Soph Division)
W – Kaleb Loving (William Penn), Fall 0:24
W – Dax Gentes (Central Missouri), 21-5 TF
W – Travis Waldner (North Idaho), 11- 3 MD
W – Kaden Foster (Barton), Fall 2:36
W – Jimmy Lacey (Marian Unive), Fall 1:29
W – Tanner Abbas (Grand View), Fall 2:06
174 Pounds | Nick Fox | 1st Place (Fresh/Soph Division)
W – Dillon Fitzpatrick (Unat. Grand), Fall 0:44
W – Mac Chambers (Cloud County), Fall 3:24
W – Peyton Besco (Unat. Pratt), Fall 0:29
W – Caden Schmidt (Unat. Iowa State), 16-7
W – Mustafa Salimi (Triton), Fall 2:10
184 Pounds | Parker Keckeisen | 1st Place (Open Division)
W – Jakob Francksen-Small (Northwestern (I), 18-2 TF
W – Tate Naaktgeboren (Iowa State), 17-3 MD
W – Kyle Knudtson (Eastern Oregon), Fall 3:19
W – Isaiah Luellen (Grand View), Major 16-5
184 Pounds | CJ Walrath | 1st Place (Fresh/Soph Division)
W – Brandon Rau (Sienna Heights), Fall 0:58
W – Wyatt Powell (Cloud County), Fall 3:50
W – Corey Chillcoat (Labette Community), 18 – 3 TF
W – Chandler Loveless (North Idaho), 21- 4 TF
W – Rocco D`Ascoli (Ottawa), 20-4 TF
W – Blake Jouret (Pratt), 5-1
