This past weekend, Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7, UNI wrestling competed at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Panthers found quite a bit of success at the invitational, as seven of the wrestlers made it on the podium in their weight class. As a team, the Panthers finished sixth in a 30-team field.
At 125 pounds, Kyle Gollhofer went 2-2 on the weekend and did not place, and Cory Land went 1-2 on and was unable to place at 133 pounds. At 165 pounds, Jack Thomsen went 2-2 and failed to place as well. These were the only three Panthers that were unable to place, as the rest of them finished in the top eight in their respective weight classes.
At 141, Cael Happel got upset in the first round of the tournament, but went on to win his next three matches. He ultimately got eighth after forfeiting his final two matches of the weekend. Colin Realbuto found success early at 149 pounds, winning his first two matches of the weekend before losing in the quarterfinals. In total he went 4-2 and had a seventh place finish.
Ryder Downey dominated early on at 157. He won his first two matches 17-1 and 12-0. His next two matches were much closer, but he prevailed against some of the top wrestlers at 157 and made it to the championship. In the championships he faced the third ranked wrestler in Antrell Taylor. He fell short in a close match and took second place.
Jared Simma had a solid weekend, as after losing his first match he rattled off three consecutive wins. He lost his match to go to the consolation semifinals and ultimately ended up finishing in seventh. At 184 pounds, Parker Kec
keisen dominated. Keckeisen won the first three matches of the weekend by tech fall, and won the fourth by major decision. That brought him to the championships where it was a rematch of last year’s Big 12 and NCAA championship match against Dustin Plott. He got the win 8-3 and was UNIs lone winner on the weekend.
At 197, Wyatt Voelker went 3-2 and placed seventh, and at heavyweight Lance Runyan went 3-1 and got seventh. All of these wrestlers’ performances helped the Panthers get the 6th place finish in a tough field of teams.
The Panthers will be back on the mat at home on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they play host to Nebraska-Kearney.
