Iowa State Gets The Win Over UNI 19-12

Feb 11, 2023 - 1:00 PM

The Purple Panthers Are Licking Their Wounds After This Duel

Let's give credit where credit is due. Northern Iowa has a great program going on in Cedar Falls. Hats off to that coaching staff. Year in and year out, the Panthers seem to send out tough, gritty, and plain mean wrestlers on the mat. Just when you think you have it in the bag, another wrestler steps on the mat and puts up a massive fight and the majority of those guys are Iowa natives. BUT....... this is an Iowa State site and after all that I’m going to gush over the Cyclones for a hot minute.

These Guys Have Fought Through Everything...

The 125-pound starter and backup go out, the 133-pound class has had 2 guys that have had to battle to get a starting position which wasn’t until a few weeks ago, the 141-pound starter gets injured and had to battle through adversity, and the 184-pound starter has now been out for 2 duels. For most programs, this year would have been scraped and hope for a better year next year. BUT NOT FOR THIS PROGRAM! They continue to throw out guys that step up. The future is looking more and more bright. I just want to let you know how tough this has been and yet over and over again the Cyclones have stepped up through this challenging season.

Now Back To The Duel

Now that I’ve gushed enough about Iowa State, let's go through the matches and see how everything went down.

125: Kyle Gollhofer (UNI) Dec. Ethan Perryman (ISU) 8-6

This match was a showcase for Ethan Perryman. Big stage. Big time environment. Unfortunately for Perryman, he came up just short of getting the victory. In the 3rd period with short time, Gollhofer got the takedown that sealed the deal. But, Perryman showed why he is a touted freshman and gave Gollhofer a run for his money. A year with his redshirt and watch out, I believe this kid has a real upside to him.

133: Zach Redding (ISU) SV dec. Kyle Biscoglia (UNI)

This is the exact match that Zach Redding needed to get on the radar for the tournament. Redding looked great and really it came down to scrambling and riding in this matchup. Redding got reversals when he needed to and the final takedown in Sudden Victory to get a top 15 win over Kyle Biscoglia.

141: Cael Happel (UNI) dec. Casey Swiderski (ISU) 4-3

Man, one of these times Swiderski will get the win that he needs to get out of the slump he is in. He was so close to it in this match but Happel was just too slippery in the 3rd period to get the final takedown. I know that Swiderski is kicking himself right now. Burn the tape and head into the next match. Find the fire that he needs to.

149:Paniro Johnson (ISU) dec. Adam Allard (UNI) 3-1

Paniro got enough done to win the match. Colin Realbuto didn’t make an appearance for the Panthers so Adam Allard took his place. Allard defended Johnson really well and the score was 1-1 but Johnson decided enough was enough and got the takedown.

157: Derek Holshlag (UNI) dec. Jason Kraisser (ISU) 4-1

Dang, talk about being gritty... Derek Holshlag is that guy. Jason Kraisser threw the book at him in scramble drills but Holshlag kept up with him. I know Kraisser will want this one back. If Kraisser hit his moves right, the outcome of this match would’ve been different. That’s the sport of wrestling folks.

165: David Carr (ISU) maj. dec. Austin Yant (UNI) 20-6

Talk about a beatdown. If not for an illegal hold that Carr got on top, this would’ve been a tech fall. Carr put out a clinic for everyone to see and even at one point, he held Yant in the air for a good 5 seconds. It looked as if Carr wanted to do the recreation of the stunt on blades of glory! Fantastic match for Carr.

174: MJ Gaitan (ISU) dec. Lance Runyon 9-5

WELL HELLO MJ GAITAN! This was a warm welcome and pleasant surprise. With Julien Broderson out of this match, the staff decided to throw out the true freshman to see what he could do, and what a thrilling finishing it was! going into the 3rd period, Gaitan was behind Runyon 3-0 but Gaitan found his inner dog and got 2 takedowns with 4 back points at the end! Now that's what you call an epic finish!

184: Parker Keckeisen (UNI) dec. Marcus Coleman (ISU) 7-5

What can I say, this was an intense match from start to finish. I thought that Coleman had his number in this match but after Coleman got the first takedown, Keckeisen went on a rampage and took down Coleman 2 different times. Tough to see but we could see the rematch at NCAA Championships.

197: Yonger Bastida (ISU) dec. Wyatt Voelker (UNI) 12-6

Northern Iowa wanted to have some fun with true freshmen and threw out Wyatt Voelker against Yonger Bastida. Although Voelker looked good, he has some growing pains to go through when going against a wrestler of Bastida's caliber. He showed glimpses of what he could do but was very lucky that Bastida didn’t get him on his back a couple of times.

285: Sam Schuyler (ISU) dec. Tyrell Gordon (UNI) 4-1

Sam Schuyler is just an animal on the mat. From start to finish, Schuyler had complete control of the match and rode the **** outta Tyrell Gordon. I bet there were good 8-10 mat returns for Schuyler. unbelievable for a heavyweight to do something like that. Schuyler is really flexing his muscles this season and is looking like an All-American.

Overall Thoughts

Sure, we could’ve won a few of these toss-ups in this duel but Iowa State went into a hostile environment and got the win. This was not the thriller it was last year when Sam Schuyler had to win his match to seal the win but this just shows you how far Iowa State has come since Kevin Dresser came here. Hats off to the coaching staff at Iowa State. You guys picked up the pieces a made a masterpiece even when adversity hits. That’s what you call a truly great culture at Iowa State.

Up Next

Iowa State will be hosting Illinois this Sunday, February 12. This is an event called The Beauty and The Beast where gymnastics and wrestling will be performed on the same day. It’s a really neat thing they put on. If you have a chance to go to it I would highly recommend it. My family has gone to it and have enjoyed being there. Sam and I will have coverage of that duel before Super Bowl starts so if you don’t go to the duel and are waiting at home wanting to pregame before football starts up, come join us on the WRNL discord.