The 13th-ranked Panthers and the 19th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers battled it out to the very end as UNI had their final dual meet of the season. The Panthers lost 23-17 against No. 19 Wisconsin. The Panthers were on the road at the UW Field House as they battled one-on-one with another team for the last time this season. The Panthers finished the season with a total record of 7-5 and a Big 12 record of 5-3. 

The meet opened with UNI’s Kyle Gollhofer being pinned right away in about 30 seconds against Eric Barnett. No. 12 Kyle Biscoglia battled Wisconsin’s Taylor LaMont tough throughout, eventually going into the sudden victory round. LaMont was eventually victorious after he took down Biscoglia in sudden victory. The 141 lb. war between Cael Happel and Joseph Zargo ended with UNI’s Happel getting the pin late in the match after being ahead for the majority of the matchup. UNI trailed Wisconsin 9-6 after three matches. 

Adam Allard was a shining star in his second dual of the season as he won the 149 lb. battle against Felix Lettini 7-3. Allard got both a takedown and a reversal in the win. The Panthers’ Derek Holschlag fell to his opponent Garrett Model 5-2 in the battle of top-20 opponents in the 157 lb. weight class. Holschlag got an early takedown but it was not enough as Model edged him out for the rest of the matchup. The 15th-ranked 174-pounder Austin Yant of UNI was also defeated in action as he wrestled No. 6 Dean Hamiti. Hamiti defeated Yant by major decision in the battle. This would put Wisconsin up 16-9 over the Panthers going into the final matchups. 

Lance Runyon got things back in swing for the Panthers as he defeated the Badgers’ Josh Otto 6-2 after two takedowns and an escape from Runyon. Next up for the Panthers was the second-ranked wrestler in the 184 lb. weight class Parker Keckeisen as he faced Tyler Dow. Keckeisen dominated Dow throughout the match, eventually winning by technical fall after a score of 22-6. This gave Keckeisen his 18th win of the season. Keckeisen took down Dow eight times in the match while also grabbing four back points. 

The Panthers had Noah Glaser representing them in the next match as he faced No. 20 Braxton Amos in 197 lb. action. Amos would go on to defeat Glaser with a major decision and a score of 10-2. The Badgers led the Panthers 20-17 in team scoring going into heavyweight action. No. 15 Tyrell Gordon faced off with No. 10 Trent Hillger in the last matchup of the night. The two juggernauts would be as tightly contested as possible until Hillger scored an escape late in the final round to give the Badgers the eventual team win. The Panthers would finish the season in fifth place in the team standings with 100 total points. 

The Panthers next challenge will come in the form of the Big 12 Championships March 4 and 5 in Tulsa, Okla. If Keckiesen wins the championship he will continue the Panthers’ dominant streak over the 184 lb. weight class since the Panthers joined the Big 12 in 2018.