Iowa High School Sports

Girls basketball: After leading Cedar Rapids Xavier to the Class 4A state championship, Tom Lilly and Libby Fandel are duly rewarded as The Gazette’s 2005 area coach, player of the year.

University of Northern Iowa 184-pounder Parker Keckeisen wrestled for his second national title and a chance to play spoiler against Penn State’s Carter Starocci, who was going for his unprecedented fifth NCAA crown. Starocci won, 4-3.

Iowa’s Drake Ayala, Michael Caliendo and Stephen Buchanan and UNI’s Parker Keckeisen won semifinal bouts Friday, advancing to the finals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

See photos as the Hawkeyes prepare to take on the Murray State Racers and the Oklahoma Sooners prepare to face Florida Gulf Coast.

University of Iowa moved five into the quarterfinals and finished tied for fourth in the team race after Day 1 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. UNI has all 10 alive with Cael Happel and Parker Keckeisen in the quarterfinals. The Panthers are in seventh place.

College wrestling’s crown jewel is the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. University of Iowa, Iowa State and University of Northern Iowa are competing at the event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Here are five storylines from Thursday’s opening session.

The Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Dick Briggs

University of Iowa, Iowa State, University of Northern Iowa and a handful of others with state ties will compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia from Thursday through Saturday. Here are five storylines to follow at the national tournament.