Schwab talks cliff Keen and UNI tournaments

University of Northern Iowa Doug Schwab discussed the Panthers performance at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas last weekend and the upcoming UNI Open at the weekly media luncheon.

The Panthers had three medalists and placed 14th as a team Saturday. All-American Dylan Peters was sixth at 125, Sophomore Cooper Moore was fourth and heavyweight Blaize Cabell, a former Independence prep, was eighth.

Schwab said the Panthers have to start winning hard-fought matches, establishing a 'go-to attack” to score much needed points at the end of matches.

'I see a lot of one-point matches that didn't go our way,” said Schwab, calling the Cliff Keen event the second toughest regular-season tournament. 'We want to see tough competition. We want to see where we're at against tough competition.”

The Panthers were not at full strength, according to Schwab. He said that doesn't matter, calling for backups to meet the same expectations and take advantage of winnable matches. UNI has strides to make and Schwab doesn't want to wait for the postseason. He wants his wrestlers to improve immediately.

'I'll tell you this,” Schwab said. 'We will get back to work. We will make some adjustments and we'll get this team better.”

Some Panthers traveled to Storm Lake for the Buena Vista Open on Saturday. Josh Alber (133), Jake Koethe (141), Taylor Berger (165) and heavyweight Adarios Jones all won titles. Gunnar Wolfensperger (149) and Basil Minto at 197 placed second.

'A lot of good results,” Schwab said about his team's overall performance in both tournaments. 'A lot of results we want to change.”

The Panthers host the UNI Open on Saturday. Schwab is unsure of all the teams involved, but said the tournament has had between 200-300 wrestlers in the past. UNI likely won't have its full starting lineup in action, trying to keep some healthy. He said he has to be smart with each wrestler and that probably includes Dylan Peters, who reached the semifinals before getting pinned by Virginia Tech's Joey Dance and then forfeited to sixth.

The UNI Open will be a chance for wrestlers to earn starting spots that have yet to be determined. Schwab said he likes for those situations to be decided in action.

'That will be a good test for some of our guys to see if they're going to step up to be the guy,” Schwab said. 'I think it's best when guys do it in competition.”

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