LINCOLN, Neb. – UNI wrestling kicked off the new year in impressive fashion on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers resumed dual action at the Devaney Center against Big 12 foe Wyoming and seventh-ranked Big Ten challenger Nebraska in a triangular.
The Panthers picked up eight victories in a 36-6 rout over the Cowboys, headlined by the most points UNI has scored against Wyoming in a dual since 2008 (40). Northern Iowa’s win also secured the program’s 800th all-time dual meet victory.
UNI fought tooth and nail for every point in its battle with the Cornhuskers, scoring a pair of top-ten upsets at 141 and 157 pounds before ultimately falling to Nebraska by a score of 18-17 with the home team prevailing on criteria.
UNI vs. WYOMING
Trever Anderson would come up short in the first match of the day at 125 pounds with a 4-0 loss to #8 Jore Volk, giving up an early takedown and riding time to his opponent. Julian Farber (133 pounds) would put the Panthers on the board, rallying from an early deficit to force overtime, where he would score on a lift for a 4-1 decision over Garrett Ricks.
At 141 pounds, Cael Happel dominated Stockton O’Brien with four first period takedowns, before adding three additional takedowns later to secure a commanding 21-6 technical fall win in just over four minutes. Adam Allard would fall short at 149 pounds, dropping a 7-2 decision to Gabe Willochell.
After a scoreless first period at 157 pounds, Ryder Downey erupted with four turns for nearfalls, mounting a 14-0 lead before securing the 15-0 technical fall in five minutes, 17 seconds with a third period escape against Cooper Voorhees. RJ Weston would follow up Downey’s victory with his sixth pin of the season, building a commanding 7-0 lead on Brett McIntosh before securing the fall in six minutes, 22 seconds.
At 174 pounds, Jared Simma continued his recent string of impressive performances, scoring his third consecutive bonus-point victory by making quick work of Kevin Anderson in under three minutes with three four-point nearfalls and a takedown in the first period en route to a 15-0 technical fall. Parker Keckeisen kept the Panther Train rolling with three takedowns in the first period at 184 pounds against Tyce Raddon, adding a point for stalling in the second frame, a four-point nearfall and early third period takedown for a 17-3 technical fall win.
Wyatt Voelker, making his first dual appearance of the year, grabbed his first career dual win after rallying from an early 1-0 hole against Joey Novak at 197 pounds. After scoring a takedown to take a 3-1 lead, Novak scored an escape to pull within one point before Voelker widened his margin with a reversal in the third period to hold on for a 5-3 decision win.
Tyrell Gordon (285 pounds) cruised to victory in his second career matchup with Mason Ding, grabbing a takedown in the first period before riding out his opponent for the entirety of the second stanza. Gordon would seal the win in the third period with an escape, takedown and riding time to secure a 9-0 major decision to close out the dual.
UNI vs. NEBRASKA
Opening UNI’s second dual of the day, Anderson challenged third-ranked Caleb Smith in the dual’s opening match at 125 pounds, forcing overtime with a late third period escape. Smith would get the win in the end just seconds into overtime with a quick takedown for the 4-1 win.
Farber responded at 133 pounds by grabbing an early lead on Jacob Van Dee with a takedown in the middle of the opening frame. Maintaining his control over his opponent, Farber scored another pair of takedowns and added an escape for an 8-1 win to even the dual up at 3-3.
In a matchup of 2023 All-Americans and a rematch from December’s Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Happel fell behind No. 6 Brock Hardy 4-0 before grabbing a takedown in the final seconds of the second period. Hardy would respond with a takedown in the third, but Happel worked quickly to score a late reversal and force the match into overtime, where he would grab the go-ahead takedown just seconds into the added period for the 11-8 win. The victory is Happel’s second against Hardy this year and third against a ranked challenger.
After Cael Rahnavardi dropped a well fought bout to top-ranked Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds, Downey returned for a key matchup at 157 pounds against No. 3 Peyton Robb. After trailing 3-0, Downey picked up a late first period takedown, plus an escape in the early second period to grab a 4-3 advantage. Robb would regain the lead on a reversal to tie at 5-5, but Downey quickly escaped to take the lead back a final time, holding on for the 6-5 win, his third against a top-15 ranked opponent this season, and the first in his career against a top-five ranked challenger.
At 165 pounds, Weston would battle Antrell Taylor to a scoreless first two periods before scoring an escape and stalling call in the third. Taylor, however, would go on the attack in the third with a pair of takedowns with Weston holding on to riding time as Weston fell short in a 6-3 loss. Simma’s bout at 174 pounds against Bubba Wilson would also come down to the wire, with Simma scoring on an escape in the second period, before giving up two stalling points and an escape in a 3-1 loss.
Heading into the final three matches of the day, Keckeisen continued his dominance by scoring three takedowns in the first period, as well as a three-point nearfall in the second en route to a 17-2 tech fall in just over five and a half minutes over Elise Brown Ton. Voelker took an early lead in the 197-pound bout against Silas Allred, but soon fell behind 7-3 before Allred secured the fall 53 seconds into the final period.
With Nebraska leading by four points, Gordon closed out the day with a late offensive surge in the third period against Harley Andrews, scoring on a locked hands call and escape for a 2-0 lead. Gordon would finish with a pair of late takedowns plus riding time to secure a 9-1 major decision. Despite Gordon’s major decision tying the dual up at 17-17, the Cornhuskers would prevail, securing the win based on criteria.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home next Saturday, Jan. 13 to host the Utah Valley Wolverines. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center, with live coverage available on FloWresting and CFU Channel 15. Tickets can be purchased online at UNIpanthers.com/tickets, or by calling the ticket office at 319-273-4849.
FULL RESULTS (Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed)
RV UNI 36, WYOMING 6
125 | #8/14 Jore Volk (WYO) dec. #26/22 Trever Anderson (UNI), 4-0
133 | #22 Julian Farber (UNI) dec. Garrett Ricks (WYO), 4-1 SV-1
141 | #8/8 Cael Happel tech falls Stockton O’Brien (WYO), 21-6 TF (4:09)
149 | #23/22 Gabe Willochell (WYO) dec. Adam Allard (UNI), 7-2
157 | #13/12 Ryder Downey (UNI) tech falls Cooper Voorhees (WYO), 15-0 TF (5:17)
165 | RJ Weston (UNI) pins Brett McIntosh (WYO), Fall 6:22
174 | #30/31 Jared Simma (UNI) tech falls Kevin Anderson (WYO), 15-0 TF (2:56)
184 | #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) tech falls Tyce Raddon (WYO), 17-3 TF (5:08)
197 | #19/29 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. #21/19 Joey Novak (WYO), 5-3
285 | #17/16 Tyrell Gordon (UNI) maj. dec. Mason Ding (WYO), 9-0 MD
RV UNI 17, #7 NEBRASKA 18
125 | #3/2 Caleb Smith (NEB) dec. #26/22 Trever Anderson (UNI), 4-1 SV-1
133 | #22 Julian Farber (UNI) dec. #32/NR Jacob Van Dee (NEB), 8-1
141 | #8/8 Cael Happel (UNI) dec. #6/6 Brock Hardy (NEB), 11-8 SV-1
149 | #1/1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. Cael Rahnavardi (UNI), 7-1
157 | #13/12 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. #3/3 Peyton Robb (NEB), 6-5
165 | #21/16 Antrell Taylor (NEB) dec. RJ Weston, 6-3
174 | #33/20 Bubba Wilson (NEB) dec. #30/31 Jared Simma, 3-1
184 | #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) tech falls Elise Brown Ton (NEB), 17-2 TF (5:37)
197 | #11/13 Silas Allred (NEB) pins #19/29 Wyatt Voelker (UNI), Fall 5:53
285 | #17/16 Tyrell Gordon (UNI) maj. dec. Harley Andrews (NEB), 9-1 MD
***UNI and Nebraska were both deducted one team point each
***Nebraska wins dual on criteria
