KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jared Simma’s thrilling run through the NCAA Championships continued on Thursday night as he joined top-ranked Parker Keckeisen in advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals following an action packed second session inside T-Mobile Center.
Simma (174 pounds) broke a deadlocked score with five seconds to go in regulation to come within one championship round win of All-American status, while Keckeisen (184 pounds) dominated with his second bonus-point win of the tournament to reach his second consecutive NCAA quarterfinal round at the national tournament. Cael Happel (141 pounds) and Wyatt Voelker (197 pounds) both avenged first round losses with victories in the consolation bracket, as Ryder Downey (157 pounds) dropped his first match of the tournament.
After the first day of competition, Northern Iowa sits in 16th place with 12 points in the team standings.
For a second straight round, Simma stunned the crowd as the 28th-seeded wrestler in the 174-pound field rallied late, giving up an early takedown in the first period. Simma would tie the match at 4-4 and scored on a two-point reversal with five seconds remaining to grab the 6-4 win to advance to the quarterfinal round. With All-American status up for grabs in the quarterfinals, Simma will take on fourth-seeded Shane Griffith (Michigan) on Friday morning.
Keckeisen dominated his second round match against 17-seed Will Feldkamp (Iowa State), picking up his third win of the season against his Big 12 rival. The three-time All-American jumped out to an impressive 6-1 lead and added seven more points in the second period with a pair of takedowns and one escape to stretch his lead to double-digits, rolling to a 19-4 technical fall in six minutes, 52 seconds. Keckeisen, now 28-0 on the season with 25 bonus-point victories, can earn his fourth All-American honor and become UNI’s first four-time Division I All-American with a victory tomorrow in his quarterfinal bout with 25-seed David Key (Navy).
Facing off against 10-seed Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) for the third time this season, Happel struck first after a scoreless first period with a second-period escape as Jamison made early attempts to throw Happel off balance. After Jamison tied the match early in the third on an escape, Happel took control with a takedown on the edge of the mat, holding on for a 4-2 win and to improve to 3-0 against Jamison this year. Happel will face 8-seed Sergio Lemley (Michigan) in the second round of the consolation bracket on Friday morning.
Looking for a spot in the quarterfinal round, Downey struggled to overcome 12-seed Bryce Andonian’s (Virginia Tech) speed, falling behind 8-2 early in the match. Downey would add an escape and a takedown in the final seconds of the match, but could not out-ride his opponent in a 9-6 loss, his first of the tournament. Downey drops to the consolation bracket and will take on 22-seed DJ McGee (George Washington) tomorrow morning.
Voelker cruised in his consolation bracket bout against 30-seed Sam Mitchell (Buffalo), dominating his opponent from the opening whistle with a pair of takedowns and a three-point nearfall for a 9-1 advantage. Racking up well over three minutes of riding time, Voelker continued to apply pressure and rolled to a 19-3 technical fall in six minutes, 22 seconds to advance to the second day of competition. Voelker will take on 20-seed Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Julian Farber (133 pounds) would struggle in his consolation matchup with 32-seed Cayden Rooks (Indiana) giving up four takedowns in the opening period before dropping the match due to injury default. Farber finishes the season with a 20-11 record.
Jack Thomsen (165 pounds) gave 17-seed Tyler Lillard (Indiana) all he could handle in the consolation bracket. Following a scoreless first period and an escape by Lillard in the second frame, Thomsen evened the match at 1-1 with an early escape of his own in the third period to force overtime. Despite a hard fought battle, Lillard would get the winning pin in sudden victory to hand Thomsen the loss. Thomsen finishes the season with a 17-12 record.
The third session of this year’s national championships will begin on Friday morning at 11 a.m. CT with quarterfinal round and consolation matches. Fans can catch all the action on the networks of ESPN with links to all matches on UNI’s NCAA Championship Hub.
UNI RESULTS (THROUGH SESSION 2)
[Seed] (NCAA Coaches rank) #Intermat/FloWrestling ranking listed
133 | [19] (19) #25/25 Julian Farber (0-2) | DNP
L – [15] (15) #10/10 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), 5-1
L – [32] Cayden Rooks (Indiana), Inj. def. 3:17
141 | [7] (6) #6/6 Cael Happel (1-1)
L – [26] (27) #24/22 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota), 8-5 SV-1
W – [10] (8) #10/11 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), 4-2
157 | [5] (4) #4/4 Ryder Downey (1-1)
W – [28] (31) #29/28 Jared Hill (Oklahoma), 4-1
L – [12] #10/11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 9-6
165 | [33] Jack Thomsen (1-2) | DNP
W – [32] (31) #33/27 Jake Logan (Lehigh), 14-3 MD
L – [1] (1) #1/1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri), Fall 2:55
L – [23] #19/23 Tyler Lillard (Indiana), Fall 7:43
174 | [28] (30) #29/25 Jared Simma (2-0)
W – [5] (5) #12/9 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 7-0
W – [21] (23) #19/19 Tyler Eischens (North Carolina), 6-4
184 | [1] (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (2-0)
W – [32] #26/31 Anthony D’Alesio (Long Island), 10-0 MD
W – [17] (10) #12/10 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State), 19-4 TF [6:52]
197 | [19] (22) #21/19 Wyatt Voelker
L – [14] (17) #20/21 John Poznanski (Rutgers), 4-2
W – [30] (28) #30/30 Sam Mitchell (Buffalo), 19-3 TF [6:22]
TEAM SCORES (TOP-20 THROUGH SESSION 2)
1st – Penn State (34.5)
T2nd – Iowa (24.5)
T2nd – Iowa State (24.5)
T4th – Michigan (22)
T4th – NC State (22)
6th – Nebraska (21)
7th – Ohio State (20.5)
8th – Cornell (18.5)
9th – Virginia Tech (17.5)
T10th – Missouri (14)
T10th – Oklahoma State (14)
T12th – Arizona State (13)
T12th – South Dakota State (13)
T12th – Wisconsin (13)
15th – Pittsburgh (12.5)
16th – UNI (12)
T17th – Indiana (10.5)
T17th – Lehigh (10.5)
T19th – Rutgers (9)
T19th – Stanford (9)
