Wrestling Weekend That Was: Iowa State hits jackpot with Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title

From Las Vegas to Philly, Iowa’s NCAA Division I wrestling teams had success over the weekend. Iowa high school boys’ programs experienced their first weekend of competition. Here are some notable things from the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

Iowa State wins Cliff Keen in Las Vegas

The last time Iowa State won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Jerry Maguire was in theaters, Toni Braxton’s “Un-break My Heart” sat atop music charts, Kevin Dresser was a successful high school coach in Virginia and none of his current Cyclone wrestlers were born.

Iowa State won the marquee early-season invitational Saturday for the first time since 1996, recording 130.5 points and topping Nebraska by five.

Three Cyclones reached the finals with heavyweight Yonger Bastida claiming an individual title. Bastida was joined in the finals by freshman 133-pounder Evan Frost and All-America transfer Will Feldkamp at 184.

David Carr finished third at 165, following a semifinal upset to Cornell’s Julian Ramirez but closed the two-day event with a win over Michigan’s second-seeded Cam Amine. Casey Swiderski was fifth at 149.

“Obviously, a great team effort,” Dresser told flowrestling.com after the event. “We had 10 guys all score points and seven guys place in the top eight.

“I came to this tournament a few times when I was at Virginia Tech and once before at Iowa State and I just know how tough it is. This year, I think 15 of the top 20 teams. All the coaches and everybody in the building knew it was a tough year for it, so I’m very glad for my guys.”

Bastida has turned some heads with his move to the 285-pound class. He was an NCAA qualifier at 197 last season and was an All-American at that weight in 2022. He continues to look strong and explosive in the biggest class, posting a 5-0 mark in Vegas and improving to 9-0 overall. He has five technical falls and three major decisions.

Bastida defeated Michigan’s then-No. 3 ranked Lucas Davison, 3-1, scoring the decisive takedown with nine seconds remaining. Bastida has jumped two more spots to No. 4 in the latest WIN rankings.

“He looks OK,” Dresser said with a laugh. “You get him you better be ready because he likes to compete.”

UNI’s Parker Keckeisen earns gold

Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen captured the 184-pound title Saturday at the CKLV Invitational. He defeated Feldkamp, of Iowa State, 14-4, in the finals. Top-ranked Keckeisen became the first Panther to win a title in this event during UNI Coach Doug Schwab’s tenure.

The returning NCAA finalist won his 20th consecutive regular-season match, going 5-0 with a pin, technical fall and two major decisions. Keckeisen outscored his final four foes, 55-16.

“Parker won a title,” Schwab said in his weekly news conference Monday. “He looked great doing it. When you get bonus points in the finals, that sends a statement. He just wrestled a hard pace. Wrestled through everything. I loved how he finished that match.”

Former Lisbon four-time state champion and NCAA qualifier Cael Happel finished fourth at 141, going 4-2 overall. Happel reached the quarterfinals with a pin and major decision. After a loss to North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack, he rebounded with consolation wins over Iowa State’s Anthony Echemendia, 9-3, and Nebraska’s No. 4 Brock Hardy, 15-13.

Julian Farber gave UNI three medalists, placing seventh at 133.

Images were posted on social media of Schwab on his phone, taking time out to watch his son, Hayden, compete. The younger Schwab is a freshman at Don Bosco and won the 106-pound title at the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Iowa drops Penn

Iowa improved to 4-0 with a 22-13 victory over Penn at The Palestra in Philadelphia. The Hawkeyes won seven matches.

For the second straight dual, Zach Glazier sealed the victory for Iowa. The senior 197-pounder posted a 9-5 win over No. 26 Martin Cosgrove that put Iowa ahead by six and gave Iowa the edge in tiebreaker criteria with one match left. Heavyweight Bradley Hill followed with a decision to avoid criteria.

Real Woods (141) and Victor Voinovich (149) shut out foes, while Michael Caliendo added a major decision at 165.

“We are tight and everything is hard. Every point we score is hard,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said in a post-meet interview. “We have to find a way to make it a little bit easier, like a hot knife through butter.”

Iowa will host Columbia Friday at 8 p.m. It is the first stop for Columbia, which wrestles at UNI Sunday.

Cornell places 2nd

Cornell placed second at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Invitational on Saturday. The Rams scored 90 points and received a title from 157-pound sophomore Gabriel Smith. He was one of eight Rams to place.

Cornell finished second to national power Augsburg (Minn.) and edged third-place Wisconsin-Whitewater by a half-point.

Smith beat Augsburg’s Karsen Otis, 2-1, in the final. He recorded a pin, technical fall and three decisions in his five bouts, improving to 8-3 this season.

Brian Petry (174) and heavyweight Jackson Brinker placed third, Jayden Rael and Jase Van Pelt were fifth and sixth, respectively, at 125, Scott Scheidecker (165) was fifth and Eli Sneed (133) and heavyweight Quinn Wilcoxen were sixth for the Rams.

Dan Gable Donnybrook

The third annual Dan Gable Donnybrook was last weekend. The large field for boys’ and girls’ programs consists of teams from Iowa and six neighboring states.

Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren at 144 was the lone Gazette-area boys’ champion. He beat Jayden Haueter, 8-6, in the championship match. He went 5-0 overall and pinned his way to the finals.

Iowa City High duo Kael Kurtz and Kael Voinovich placed second at 138 and 157, respectively.

Future Hawkeye Dru Ayala won the 120 title and was one of three Fort Dodge Dodgers to finish first. He was joined by Koy Davidson (138) and 215-pounder Dreshaun Ross.

In the girls’ tournament, future Hawkeyes Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) and Naomi Simon, of Decorah, won titles. Djoumessi won the 140 title, while Simon claimed the 170 crown.

Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback, who wrestled for the boys’ program last season and placed at the state tournament in Des Moines, is competing in girls’ competition again and won the 115 title. Linn-Mar’s Ally Jelinek was first at 120. Decorah had a second champ in Kamryn Steines at 190.

Decorah was the girls’ team champion with 408 points, topping WSR by 41 points.

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