LINCOLN, Neb. – The 16th ranked UNI wrestling team came up short in its first dual of 2026 on Saturday night, falling to Big Ten power and sixth-ranked Nebraska by a score of 30-6 at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.
Northern Iowa earned a pair of decision wins with Trever Anderson (125 pounds) and Ryder Downey (165 pounds), the latter of whom picked up a sudden victory against a top-ten challenger.
Anderson kicked off the dual defeating Alan Koehler at 125 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Koehler earned a reversal to start the second but Anderson quickly escaped. Headed into the third period, Anderson escaped to tie up the match, looking for a takedown Anderson snagged a final second score to secure the 5-2 victory.
At 133 pounds, Julian Farber faced No. 8 Jacob Van Dee, ultimately dropping the bout by a 5-0 score. Cory Land battled No. 3 Brock Hardy at 141 pounds. After a strong first period the pair went into the second scoreless, Hardy scored a lone escape. In the third, Hardy secured a takedown, with Land unable to come back, dropping the match 5-1.
At 149 pounds Ethan Basile fell to No. 12 Chance Lamer in a 18-4 technical fall, with RJ Weston at 157 pounds falling to reigning national champion and fourth-ranked Antrell Taylor in a 21-6 technical fall.
Downey put the Panthers back on the board with a sudden victory performance against No. 7 LJ Araujo. After a scoreless first three periods, Downey would score the winning takedown and lone score of the match for a 3-0 victory, his fifth against a ranked challenger this season.
At 174 pounds, Jared Simma fell to No. 6 Christopher Minto in a 10-1 major decision, with Nick Fox returning to the mat from an early season injury, falling 5-1 against No. 9 Silas Allred at 184 pounds.
John Gunderson battled in a competitive match against No. 12 Camden McDanel at 197 pounds, ultimately unable to come back after a first period takedown dropping the match 7-3. Rounding out the night in the heavyweight match up, Adam Ahrendsen would come up short against Harley Andrews in a 16-7 major decision.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to dual action next weekend, Jan. 9-10 for the NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships in the UNI-Dome. Brackets and start times have yet to be announced. Live coverage of the event can be found on FloWrestling.
FINAL RESULTS (#Intermat/Flowrestling rankings listed)
No. 6 NEBRASKA 30, No. 16 UNI 6
125 | #27/21 Trever Anderson (UNI) dec. Alan Koehler (NU), 5-2
133 | #8/8 Jacob Van Dee (NU) dec. #26/20 Julian Farber (UNI), 5-0
141 | #3/3 Brock Hardy (NU) dec. #11/9 Cory Land (UNI), 5-1
149 | #12/14 Chance Lamer (NU) maj dec. Ethan Basile (UNI), 18-4
157 | #5/4 Antrell Taylor (NU) tech fall RJ Weston (UNI), 21-6
165 | #11/11 Ryder Downey (UNI) dec. #7/7 LJ Araujo (NU), SV-1 3-0
174 | #6/6 Christopher Minto (NU) maj dec. #10/20 Jared Simma (UNI), 10-1
184 | #9/9 Silas Allred (NU) dec. Nick Fox (UNI), 5-1
197 | #12/15 Camden McDanel (NU) dec. John Gunderson (UNI), 7-3
HWT | Harley Andrews dec. Adam Ahrendsen (UNI), 16-7