Never Too Early Lineup Look: Northern Iowa

Led by returning National Champ and Big 12 Wrestler of the Year Parker Keckeisen, the Panthers return a strong lineup featuring seven 2024 qualifiers and two conference champs. The team finished fifth in the Big 12 tournament and went on to finish in the top 15 for the first time since 2019. They only graduated one starter in Tyrell Gordon, but have a NJCAA champ who spent last season adjusting to heavyweight and Division I. With an experienced lineup and no real holes, the Panthers will be looking to break into the top ten for the first time since 1992. 125lbs: Trever Anderson (Soph.) Pull just about any name from a hat at this weight class last season and you’re likely to find a quality win on their record, and Anderson had a handful in a chaotic season. He broke onto the national scene with a win over Jakob Camacho at Collegiate Duals, then had tight losses to wrestlers like Caleb Smith and Troy Spratley. A strong, lanky wrestler who excels from top, Anderson’s 11-12 record shows wins over qualifiers Eli Griffin, Kysen Terukina, and Nick Babin throughout the year. Two barnburner matches at Big 12’s saw him come up short and just miss out on qualifying in his first year. If he can find more consistency next season in a wild weight, Anderson is one of many deep sleeper picks to make an impact. 133lbs: Julian Farber (Senior) After spending time as a backup and scoring some ranked wins, Farber earned his spot in the lineup and didn’t look back, as he qualified for NCAA’s in his first opportunity. He started the year with a runner-up finish at the Daktronics Open before a seventh-place finish at CKLV. His biggest win came at the Collegiate Duals, with an upset over Nic Bouzakis. Other ranked wins included Gable Strickland, Jacob Van Dee, Jace Koelzer, and Hunter Leake in the regular season before a seventh-place finish at Big 12’s. While he didn’t score an AQ spot, Farber earned an At-Large spot to compete in Kansas City. Going into next season Farber is a battle-experienced veteran that has the potential to score some important points for the Panthers. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo 141lbs: Cael Happel (Senior) Heading into his final season, Happel’s career shows a trend of continuous improvement after a bloodround finish in 2024. His first year in the lineup saw him score multiple ranked wins throughout the year, but an 0-2 Big 12 tournament put him as the first alternate for NCAA’s. In 2023, there was a similar situation where after a strong regular season, he found himself needing an At-Large bid for NCAA’s. He had a strong resume to earn one and went on to finish in the round of 16. Happel continued his rise in 2024, with a strong regular season followed by a runner-up finish at Big 12’s, his first time on the conference podium. NCAA’s saw him get upset in the first round by eventual All-American Vince Vombaur before reeling off wins against Tagen Jamison, Sergio Lemley, and Cole Matthews. A narrow loss to Real Woods in the bloodround ended his run, but he returns looking to continue to build in one of the toughest weight classes in the conference. 149lbs: Colin Realbuto (Senior) A seventh-year senior, Realbuto spent last season taking an Olympic redshirt while representing Italy. He had represented the country at the Senior World Championships in 2021 and 2023, getting his first win at 2023 World’s. While he was not able to qualify in 2024, he returns to the Panthers lineup as a podium threat as a two-time NCAA qualifier. The last time we saw Realbuto in folkstyle was 2023, where he had a 20-8 record and 1-2 performance at NCAA’s. In 2022 he made the round of 16 and was third in the Big 12. His record has wins that show his high upside, including over Victor Voinovich, Kellyn March, and Sammy Sasso. A bit of a wildcard for 2025, he returns to a conference weight class that returns all eight placers from last year. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo 157lbs: Ryder Downey (Soph.) One of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season came in Ryder Downey, a four-time state medalist in Iowa who came out of high school unranked. He went 6-4 at 149 against Division I opponents in a mostly unassuming redshirt season in 2023. That changed in 2024, breaking onto the scene at CKLV. He missed the podium there but scored ranked wins over Paddy Gallagher and Trevor Chumbley. Downey went on to beat Peyton Robb, Teague Travis, and Cody Chittum in dual action throughout the year to climb the rankings. At Big 12’s he continued his run, where he and Chittum had one of the longest matches of the year. The two battled into double overtime with Downey taking the title with impressive riding ability. He made the bloodround at NCAA’s, losing to former Big 12 wrestler Jared Franek in a close decision. Downey is a young cornerstone for this roster heading into next season and should be another podium threat. 165lbs: Jack Thomsen (Senior)/RJ Weston (Junior) This weight is the only “question mark” for the Panthers as they return a qualifier from last season. Thomsen won the spot last season after going back and forth with Robert (“RJ”) Weston. Thomsen was an At-Large qualifier with a 12-11 record after spending three years at SDSU. He came on strong late in the year, with wins over Tanner Cook and Cael Carlson to finish sixth at Big 12’s and win his pigtail match at NCAA’s. Weston started the year at 157 but made the move up after losing to Ryder Downey at the Daktronics Open. At 165, he had a strong win over Andrew Cerniglia at the Soldier Salute but struggled against ranked opponents in duals. Thomsen is the favorite after last season, but if Weston commits to 165 next season then there could be another back-and-forth for the starting spot this season. A potential sleeper to look out for is Lance Runyon, a two-time qualifier who has struggled with injuries and missed all of last season. He has been at 174 for three years but redshirted at 165 and with the emergence of Jared Simma last season could be looking for another weight to compete at. 174lbs: Jared Simma (Junior) Another breakout wrestler came at this weight with Jared Simma seemingly coming out of nowhere after going 8-7 the year prior. Simma excelled at having close matches with top-ranked wrestlers like Rocco Welsh and Lennox Wolak, but struggled to break into the rankings. The second half of the season saw him score wins over Tate Picklo and Brody Conley to enter the national conversation. He was seventh at Big 12’s and received an At-Large qualifier bid for NCAA’s. Simma went on a surprise run in Kansas City upsetting Philip Conigliaro and Tyler Eischens. Narrow losses to Shane Griffith and Ben Pasiuk stopped him in the bloodround, but Simma enters next season as an entertaining dark horse. There is the aforementioned Lance Runyon who could reenter the conversation at this weight, but Simma was looking tough to the end of last year. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo 184lbs: Parker Keckeisen (Senior) The returning national champion Keckeisen returns as the favorite to repeat after a 28-0 record with a 90% bonus rate. He became the program’s first undefeated national champion since 1963 and the first four-time Big 12 champ. His career has seen him finish 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd at NCAA’s previously with a career record of 105-5 and undefeated against conference opponents. The biggest challenge to Keckeisen running it back could come in Carter Starocci, who has been rumored to be moving up to 184/197. Last year’s runner-up Dustin Plott is also a threat, but a 14-5 major decision in the finals makes Keckeisen the heavy favorite. 197lbs: Wyatt Voelker (Soph.) Another wrestler who earned an At-Large bid last season, Voelker showed plenty of upside in his first season as a starter. The #70 recruit in 2022, Voelker had a solid redshirt season and made the U20 Greco World team where he finished fifth. Last season, he had wins over wrestlers like Evan Bockman and Luke Surber at Big 12’s before finishing in the Round of 16 at NCAA’s. Voelker continued his international success this offseason as well, making the U23 World team at 97 kg and finishing as runner-up in freestyle at 92 kg where he beat Christian Carroll and Zach Glazier. If Voelker makes a jump this offseason, he could end up becoming another podium threat for the Panthers next year. 285lbs: Jose Valdez (Senior) With the graduation of two-time qualifier Tyrell Gordon, NJCAA standout Jose Valdez is expected to enter the lineup after competing as a backup last season. Valdez was a NJCAA runner-up in 2021 and won a title in 2022. He went on to transfer to Northern Illinois where he competed unattached before transferring to UNI last season. Last year was his first year at heavyweight after competing at 197, and he showed promise. He had wins over Harley Andrews and Luke Rasmussen, two young wrestlers that showed have had good moments. Valdez’s ceiling is a question, but if he can develop like Tyrell Gordon, another former 197, then he could round out the Panthers lineup and turn into another potential qualifier. Previous “Never Too Early Lineup Looks:” Air Force Indiana Iowa State Lock Haven North Carolina Oregon State West Virginia

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Never Too Early Lineup Look: Northern Iowa

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