The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team secured a narrow 16-15 victory over No. 16 Wisconsin on Sunday at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, closing out its 2025-26 dual schedule. The Panthers, ranked 18th nationally, overcame an early deficit after losing the first four matches to win five of the final six bouts.
Before the meet, UNI honored its senior wrestlers: Jack Thomsen, Cael Rahnavardi, Julian Farber, Connor Thorpe, Adam Ahrendsen, Ethan Basile, Garrett Funk, RJ Weston and Caleb Rathjen.
The dual began at 197 pounds with CJ Walrath falling to Wyatt Ingham. Adam Ahrendsen lost his heavyweight match against Braxton Amos. Trever Anderson was defeated by Nicolar Rivera at 125 pounds. At 133 pounds, Julian Farber narrowly lost to Zan Fuggitt in a close contest.
Maximus Brady put UNI on the scoreboard with a major decision over Peter Tomazevic at 141 pounds. Caleb Rathjen followed with an overtime win against Joseph Zargo at 149 pounds. After Cael Rahnavardi’s loss to Luke Mechler at 157 pounds, Jack Thomsen earned a win over Cody Goebel in his final home appearance.
Jared Simma secured a victory at 174 pounds against Luke Condon. Nick Fox completed the comeback for UNI with a win over Cale Anderson at 184 pounds.
“We competed hard up and down the lineup today,” said UNI head coach Doug Schwab. “One thing we knew with Wisconsin was that they were going to come out and fight. Senior day is always a little bittersweet with guys who have given their heart and soul to the program. The growth that they’ve had is incredible and as a coach it makes you so proud. Today was a great way for our team to head into the postseason.This was a total team effort.”
UNI finishes its regular season with an overall record of 11-8 and went 4-3 against Big 12 Conference opponents. The Panthers will next compete March 6-7 at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Wrestling fans can follow UNI throughout the season on social media platforms including Facebook (University of Northern Iowa Wrestling), X (@UNI_wrestling), Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling), or visit UNIpanthers.com for updates.