CEDAR FALLS – The 2024-25 UNI wrestling season will kick off with a doubleheader day of action as the majority of the Panther roster heads to Grimes for the Grand View Open, while reigning NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) visits the Penn State campus for the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association’s (NWCA) All-Star Classic.
Nearly 50 college teams and almost 700 athletes are expected to be on hand at the Ignit Sports Complex for the Grand View Open, an event the Panther Train has opened the season at in each of the previous three seasons. Northern Iowa has won a combined 13 titles in Grimes over the last three years, including six champions last November in both freshman/sophomore and open divisions (Bowen Downey/Brandon Paez, 125 / RJ Weston, 157 / Izzy Moreno, 165 / Nick Fox, 174 / Parker Keckeisen, 184 / CJ Walrath, 184).
Keckeisen, a four-time All-American who went a perfect 31-0 last season, will represent the Panthers for a record third consecutive year at the NWCA All-Star Classic, matching up with top-ranked Carter Starocci of Penn State in an exhibition match. Starocci is the four-time defending 174-pound NCAA champion who is moving up a weight class this season.
A prestigious exhibition of college wrestling’s finest, the NWCA All-Star Classic has brought together some of the nation’s best competitors during its original run from 1967 to 2017. The event made its return in 2022 in Austin, Texas after a four-year hiatus.
Last November, Keckeisen faced off against Penn State’s Berie Truax in the event in University Park, besting his All-American challenger in a 7-5 decision. In 2022, Keckeisen battled and came up short against Aaron Brooks of Penn State in a 7-2 decision, a prelude to their matchup in the 2023 NCAA finals, also won by Brooks.
2024 will mark the 21st time a Panther has participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic:
1967 – Don Parker (177 pounds)
1969 – Kent Osboe (HWT)
1974 – Jim Miller (134 pounds)
1975 – Jim Miller (134 pounds)
1984 – John Kriebs (HWT)
1988 – Mark Schwab (118 pounds)
1988 – Joel Greenlee (HWT)
1989 – Joel Greenlee (HWT)
1991 – Gary Steffensmeier (150 pounds)
1991 – Rich Powers (177 pounds)
1992 – Rich Powers (177 pounds)
1993 – Justin Greenlee (HWT)
2003 – Dylan Long (141 pounds)
2004 – Eric Hauan (174 pounds)
2004 – Dylan Long (141 pounds)
2004 – Sean Stender (197 pounds)
2017 – Max Thompson (149 pounds)
2017 – Drew Foster (184 pounds)
2022 – Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
2023 – Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
2024 – Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds)
No. 14 UNI wrestling (0-0 / 0-0 Big 12) at Grand View Open
9 a.m. CT | Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024
Grimes, Iowa
Ignit Sports Complex
WATCH (Rokfin – $)
LIVE RESULTS (TrackWrestling)
No. 2/2 Parker Keckeisen at NWCA All-Star Classic
6 p.m. CT | Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024
University Park, Pa.
Rec Hall
WATCH (FloWrestling)