The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team secured a 27-11 victory over North Dakota State in its home and Big 12 Conference dual opener on Sunday. The match, held in Cedar Falls, saw the Panthers win seven out of ten bouts, with five wins coming by bonus points.
UNI has now defeated North Dakota State in their last five meetings and has won four consecutive Big 12 openers. Wrestlers Jared Simma (174 pounds) and Wyatt Voelker (heavyweight) each achieved their 50th career victories during the event.
The dual began at 125 pounds, where Trever Anderson lost to Ezekiel Witt in a close match. Julian Farber put UNI on the scoreboard with a major decision against Tristan Daugherty at 133 pounds. Cory Land continued the team’s momentum at 141 pounds with another major decision over Michael Olson.
Caleb Rathjen made his debut for UNI at McLeod Center but was narrowly defeated by Max Petersen at 149 pounds. Cael Rahnavardi brought another win for UNI at 157 pounds, while Ryder Downey dominated Tyler Secoy at 165 pounds with an 18-4 major decision.
At 174 pounds, Simma controlled his match against Max Magayna and secured a major decision victory. CJ Walrath added to UNI’s tally with a close win over Andrew McMonagle at 184 pounds. John Gunderson fell to Devin Wasley by technical fall at 197 pounds.
In the heavyweight division, Voelker finished strong for UNI by defeating Shilo Jones with a technical fall.
UNI head coach Doug Schwab commented on the team’s performance: “I think we really pushed for bonus points, getting them in five matches,” said Schwab. “Those are huge for your team but also the mentality of how you wrestle. They (North Dakota State) came out and they scrapped and did not give an inch. I liked that Wyatt for example got to a third score and was willing to continue to score team points.”
Looking ahead, the Panthers will compete next on Sunday, December 7 at the Cougar Clash hosted by SIU Edwardsville.
Attendance for Sunday’s dual was reported as 2,729 spectators.
Fans can follow UNI wrestling throughout the season on Facebook (University of Northern Iowa Wrestling), X (@UNI_wrestling), Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling), or visit UNIpanthers.com for updates.