STILLWATER, Okla. – Parker Keckeisen kept his undefeated record intact in a classic one-versus-two matchup, while Cael Happel notched his second top-ten win of the year on Friday night as No. 22 UNI wrestling fell short in a 22-12 dual loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Panthers picked up four wins against the undefeated Cowboys, but gave up three bonus-point wins to Oklahoma State, dropping their first Big 12 dual of the season. UNI has now split its last four duals against the Cowboys, with each matchup being decided by ten team points or fewer.
Trever Anderson put up an impressive third period fight against No. 15 Troy Spratley in the night’s opening match at 125 pounds, riding Spratley for the majority of the period, but could not overcome an early third period takedown in the first frame, falling 3-2. At 133 pounds, Julian Farber would struggle to combat No. 3 Daton Fix’s speed and aggressive attack, falling to the Cowboys’ four-time All-American in an 18-4 major decision.
Facing his eighth ranked challenger of the year, Cael Happel rallied in the third period after trailing 1-0 to No. 6 Tagen Jamison at 141 pounds. After tying the match with an early third period escape, Happel scored the lone takedown of the match in the final minute to take the lead, holding on for a 4-2 win. The victory is Happel’s third against a top-ten ranked opponent this season.
At 149 pounds, Allard would face a tough challenge from No. 18 Jordan Williams, struggling to establish an attack in a 20-5 technical fall loss. Ryder Downey would put the Panthers back on the board at 157 pounds with another come-from-behind win. After giving up a second period escape to Teague Travis, Downey tied the match up at 1-1 with an early escape in the final frame before taking the lead with a takedown in the final minute for the 4-1 victory and his 11th win of the year.
Northern Iowa dropped consecutive matches at 165 and 174 pounds, as RJ Weston struggled to match the size of No. 4 Izzak Olejnik in a 12-2 major decision loss at 165. Jared Simma grabbed an early lead on No. 24 Brayden Thompson, but would give up a second-period takedown and two-point reversal in the third in a 6-3 loss.
The match of the night came at 184 pounds as top-ranked Parker Keckeisen faced off with No. 2 Dustin Plott. Keckeisen, undefeated on the season, drew the first points of the match with a first-period takedown, but soon fell behind as Plott escaped twice and scored an early takedown in the third frame for a 5-4 lead. Keckeisen would not stay down for long, quickly reclaiming the lead on an escape and finishing strong with a pair of takedowns plus riding time for the 12-6 win. The victory is Keckeisen’s highest ranked win of his collegiate career, extending his regular season winning streak to 29 matches dating back to last season and improving to 10-5 all-time against top-five ranked challengers.
At 197 pounds, Wyatt Voelker overcame an early deficit with a match-tying escape and match winning takedown as part of a 5-1 decision against Jersey Robb. The night’s final match came down to the wire and took overtime to decide as Tyrell Gordon and No. 7 Konner Doucet battled point-for-point. Gordon would score a two-point reversal in the second period to force overtime where, after a scoreless first overtime, Doucet squeaked out a 4-3 win via tiebreak-one.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will make the short trip south to Norman to take on No. 18 Oklahoma tomorrow night at McCasland Field House. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
FINAL RESULTS (NCAA) #Intermat/FloWrestling rankings listed
#22 UNI 12, #5 OKLAHOMA STATE 22
125 | (15) #20/11 Troy Spratley (OSU) dec. (27) #30/22 Trever Anderson (UNI), 3-2
133 | #3/3 Daton Fix (OSU) maj. dec. (17) #23/21 Julian Farber (UNI), 18-4 MD
141 | (7) #6/6 Cael Happel (UNI) dec. (6) #9/9 Tagen Jamison (OSU), 4-2
149 | (18) Jordan Williams (OSU) tech falls Adam Allard (UNI), 20-5 TF [6:02]
157 | (11) #14/11 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. #18/15 Teague Travis (OSU), 4-1
165 | (4) #4/3 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) maj. dec. RJ Weston (UNI), 12-2 MD
174 | (24) #25/30 Brayden Thompson (OSU) dec. (27) #31/29 Jared Simma (UNI), 6-3
184 | (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) dec. (2) #2/2 Dustin Plott (OSU), 12-6
197 | (20) #23/21 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) dec. Jersey Robb (OSU), 5-1
HWT | (7) #9/9 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. #16/14 Tyrell Gordon (UNI), 4-3 TB-1
