Seven wrestlers from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) have received top-eight seeds for the upcoming 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, according to brackets released by the Big 12 Conference on Monday. The tournament is set to take place March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Leading UNI’s lineup is Ryder Downey, who enters as the number two seed at 165 pounds. Downey, who previously won the Big 12 title at 157 pounds in 2024, will start his postseason against Sasha Gavronsky from West Virginia. He has recorded 18 wins in 21 matches this season and leads his team with seven victories over ranked opponents.
Jared Simma (174 pounds) and Nick Fox (184 pounds) are both seeded fifth in their brackets. Simma faces Gunner Cramblett of Air Force after going 5-3 in conference duals this year, while Fox will compete against Mahonri Rushton from Northern Colorado during his first appearance at the Big 12 Championships.
Julian Farber (133 pounds) and Caleb Rathjen (149 pounds) each hold six seeds in their respective weight classes. Farber, who finished third last year at this weight, opens against Air Force’s Gavin Caprella following a regular season record of 14-8. Rathjen meets Bryce Shelton from Air Force for his championship debut.
Trever Anderson competes at 125 pounds and will face Cooper Shore of Cal Baptist in the first round. Anderson placed seventh last year and posted an 11-9 record this season, including three victories over top-25 opponents.
At heavyweight, Adam Ahrendsen is seeded eighth and begins against Rylan Kuhn from Air Force.
Maximus Brady (141 pounds), Cael Rahnavardi (157 pounds), and John Gunderson (197 pounds) are also making appearances for UNI. Brady will face Carter Nogle of Air Force; Rahnavardi goes up against Missouri’s Teague Travis; Gunderson matches with DJ Parker from Oklahoma for his first tournament since 2022.
The NCAA recently announced allocations for automatic qualification to its national championships scheduled March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The top eight finishers at weights of 133, 184, and 197 pounds will automatically qualify for nationals. For weights of 141 and 174 pounds, the top seven finishers advance. Heavyweight qualifiers include the top six finishers; other weights have different thresholds: five at both 125 and 149 pounds as well as at 157; four qualify at 165.
In total, all ten weight classes will feature a field of thirty-three athletes each. Forty-two remaining NCAA qualifying spots across all classes will be filled through at-large selections announced March 10; brackets and seeding details follow on March 11.
Fans can follow UNI wrestling throughout the season via Facebook (“University of Northern Iowa Wrestling”), X (@UNI_wrestling), Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling), or visit UNIpanthers.com for updates.