Fighting to place in the NCAA Championships, the Panthers took on opponents from seven different schools in the MAC Tournament this weekend. Going into the second day of competitions, three UNI wrestlers had a shot for first and five others went in fighting for the third place victory.

The first Panther to compete for first place on Sunday was Dylan Peters from the 125-pound bout.  After securing an 8-2 victory on Saturday by earning a pinfall in 1:31, Peters gained momentum that would prepare him for his match against Alan Waters of Missouri. Unfortunately, that momentum wasn’t enough to push him through, as he fell to Waters 10-4 and took second in the MAC. 

UNI wrestler Cooper Moore was the second Panther to head into the finals at 165 lbs. Moore has had a successful season and it was put to the test against Old Dominion’s Tristan Warner on Sunday.  Moore came out gunning and didn’t let Warner get any further than one point into the match. The 7-1 victory gives Moore traction as he heads into the NCAA Championships. 

The third and final Panther to get a shot at first place for the season was Blaize Cabell. Cabell has been the powerhouse of the team this season, remaining undefeated for its majority and proving his worth Saturday in the MAC preliminaries. Cabell faced Missouri’s Devin Mellon for the first place heavyweight title. The opponents went neck-and-neck all three periods, and Cabell fell to Mellon with the final score 4-2.

UNI finished sixth as a team totaling 72.5 points with only a three-point margin between them and their fourth place competitors.

The NCAA Championships will close out the season and take place in St. Louis, MO, from Thursday, March 19 to Saturday, March 21.