KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Parker Keckeisen planted the UNI flag atop the college wrestling world on Saturday night as he clinched the NCAA’s 184-pound wrestling title in a 14-5 major decision win over Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott in front of a sold out T-Mobile Center.
Completing a perfect 31-0 season, Keckeisen secured Northern Iowa’s 23rd NCAA Division I national championship (45th overall between Division I and Division II) and first since Drew Foster’s 2019 national title. He is also the program’s first undefeated national champion since Bill Dotson’s 18-0 run to an individual title in 1963.
Keckeisen’s undefeated run to the title sets a new single-season winning percentage record (with at least 19 wins), and extends his program-leading career winning percentage to 95.4% (105-5). He finishes the year with 28 bonus-point victories, including 13 technical falls, 13 major decisions and two pins. Keckeisen closed the season out with 14 consecutive bonus-point wins.
Keckeisen finishes the season with a 30-1 record and a program-record for single-season win percentage (.967). He also concludes his fourth season as the Panthers’ 184-pound starter with his career record of 104-6 and the program-record .945 winning clip.
With the victory Keckeisen also receives an invite to compete at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials to be held April 19-20 at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania on the Penn State University campus.
Keckeisen struck first in the title match with his first takedown in the first 35 seconds of the bout and added on with a minute to go in the opening period for a 6-1 lead. Despite Plott cutting the lead in half with a pair of escapes and an intensified attack, Keckeisen continued to apply pressure in the third period with an early escape, another pair of takedowns and one minute, 11 seconds of riding time for the nine-point victory.
UNI’S DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
1937 – Ray Cheney (135 pounds)
1946 – Cecil Mott (121 pounds)
1946 – Gerald Leeman* (128 pounds)
1946 – Bill Koll (145 pounds)
1947 – Bill Koll* (145 pounds)
1947 – Russ Bush (128 pounds)
1947 – Bill Nelson (165 pounds)
1948 – Bill Koll* (147.5 pounds)
1949 – Bill Nelson (155 pounds)
1949 – Bill Smith (165 pounds)
1949 – Keith Young (145 pounds)
1950 – Bill Nelson (155 pounds)
1950 – Bill Smith (165 pounds)
1950 – Keith Young (145 pounds)
1951 – Keith Young (147 pounds)
1952 – Gene Lybbert (130 pounds)
1952 – Bill Weick (157 pounds)
1953 – Jim Harmon (157 pounds)
1955 – Bill Weick (157 pounds)
1963 – Bill Dotson (137 pounds)
2000 – Tony Davis (149 pounds)
2019 – Drew Foster (184 pounds)
2024 – Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
* NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler
ALL-AMERICANS IN THE DOUG SCHWAB ERA (since 2011)
David Bonin – 2013
Ryan Loder – 2013
Joe Colon – 2014
Joey Lazor – 2014
Dylan Peters – 2014, 16
Max Thomsen – 2017, 20*
Drew Foster – 2017, 19
Jacob Holschlag – 2018
Bryce Steiert – 2019, 20*
Taylor Lujan – 2020*
Carter Isley – 2020*
Michael Blockhus – 2020*
Parker Keckeisen – 2021, 22, 23, 24
* 2020 championships canceled due to COVID-19 / All-American honors determined by pre-championship seeds
CAREER WIN PERCENTAGES (Minimum 50 wins at UNI)
.954 – Parker Keckeisen (2020-pres.) | 105-5
.912 – Joe Colon (2011-12; 2013-14) | 62-6
.878 – Joel Greenlee (1985-89) | 127-16-4
.857 – Randy Pugh (1998-00) | 54-9
.853 – Mark Schwab (1985-90) | 112-18-3
.841 – Rich Powers (1988-92) | 134-25-1
.834 – Taylor Lujan (2015-20) | 112-22
.809 – Ryan Loder (2009-14) | 114-27
.808 – Dylan Long (2001-04) | 101-24
.800 – Joe Gormally (1977-82) | 111-27-2
SINGLE-SEASON WIN PERCENTAGES (Minimum 19 wins)
1.000 – Parker Keckeisen (2023-24) | 31-0
.964 – Tony Davis (1999-00) | 27-1
.957 – Joel Greenlee (1988-89) | 44-2
.952 – Parker Keckeisen (2020-21) | 21-1
.946 – Joe Colon (2013-14) | 35-2
.938 – Parker Keckeisen (2021-22) | 30-2
.933 – Taylor Lujan (2019-20) | 28-2
.931 – Kurt Shedenhelm (1987-88) | 33-2-1
.929 – Parker Keckeisen (2022-23) | 26-2
.914 – Rich Powers (1990-91) | 44-4
FULL UNI RESULTS
[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 (3-2) | DNP
L – [26] (27) #24/22 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota), 8-5 SV-1
W – [10] (8) #10/11 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), 4-2
W – [8] (10) #7/7 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), 14-5 MD
W – [18] (14) #13/9 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 4-2
L – [3] (3) #3/3 Real Woods (Iowa), 5-2
157 | [5] (4) #4/4 Ryder Downey (3-1) | DNP
W – [28] (31) #29/28 Jared Hill (Oklahoma), 4-1
L – [12] #10/11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 9-6
W – [22] (23) #25/26 DJ McGee (George Mason), 15-0 TF [7:00]
W – [13] (3) #5/5 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), 11-3 MD
L – [10] (5) #6/6 Jared Franek (Iowa), 4-2
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 (2-2) | DNP
W – [5] (5) #12/9 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 7-0
W – [21] (23) #19/19 Tyler Eischens (North Carolina), 6-4
L – [4] (3) #3/3 Shane Griffith (Michigan), 8-7
L – [18] (12) #10/12 Benjamin Pasiuk (Army), 9-8
184 | [1] (1) #1/1 Parker Keckeisen (5-0) | 1st Place
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]
W – [25] #23/26 David Key (Navy), 22-6 TF [6:21]
W – [4] (4) #4/4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State), 10-2 MD
W – [2] (2) #3/2 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 14-5 MD
197 | [19] (22) #21/19 Wyatt Voelker (2-2) | DNP
L – [14] (17) #20/21 John Poznanski (Rutgers), 4-2
W – [30] (28) #30/30 Sam Mitchell (Buffalo), 19-3 TF [6:22]
W – [20] (14) #23/24 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley), 3-2
L – [5] (8) #6/5 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 11-2 MD
UNI AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Under Doug Schwab)
2011 – T46th Place – 3 Qualifiers
2012 – 34th Place – 5 Qualifiers
2013 – T15th Place – 4 Qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2014 – 15th Place – 7 Qualifiers / 3 All-Americans
2015 – 34th Place – 4 Qualifiers
2016 – 25th Place – 5 Qualifiers / 1 All-American
2017 – 18th Place – 7 Qualifiers / 2 All-Americans
2018 – T24th Place – 6 Qualifiers / 1 All-American
2019 – T13th Place – 6 Qualifiers / 1 All-American / 1 Champion
2020 – 7 Qualifiers / 5 All-Americans*
2021 – 19th / 6 Qualifiers / 1 All-American
2022 – T20th / 8 Qualifiers / 1 All-American
2023 – T16th / 7 Qualifiers / 1 All-American
2024 – 14th / 7 Qualifiers / 1 All-American / 1 Champion
* 2020 championships canceled due to COVID-19 / All-American honors determined by pre-championship seeds
FINAL TEAM SCORES (TOP-20)
1st – Penn State (172.5)
2nd – Cornell (72.5)
3rd – Michigan (71)
4th – Iowa State (68.5)
5th – Iowa (67)
6th – Arizona State (64.5)
7th – Virginia Tech (64)
8th – Ohio State (62)
9th – Nebraska (60.5)
10th – Oklahoma State (56)
T11th – Missouri (49.5)
T11th – NC State (49.5)
13th – South Dakota State (48.5)
14th – UNI (39.5)
15th – Lehigh (36.5)
16th – Stanford (34)
17th – West Virginia (31.5)
18th – Wisconsin (24.5)
19th – Little Rock (24)
20th – Rutgers (22.5)
