Big 12 Wrestling Championships Rewind: Team runner-up UNI crowns 3 champions, Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson wins title

Former area standouts Cael Happel and Wyatt Voelker won Big 12 titles and almost lifted University of Northern Iowa to a team title. The Big 12 set an attendance record. Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson gets revenge and a title. Here are five takeaways from the Big 12 Wrestling Championships.

RUNNER-UP UNI POSTS BEST BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISH

The Big 12 team race came down to the very last match of the tournament. Oklahoma State and UNI were tied, entering the heavyweight finals between the Cowboys’ No. 1 seed Wyatt Hendrickson and Arizona State’s No. 2 Cohlton Schultz. Hendrickson posted an 8-5 decision to lift Oklahoma State over UNI, 153.5-149.5. The Panthers matched their best conference tournament finish, placing second for the first time since their initial appearance in 2018. UNI hadn’t finished better than fifth since 2020.

The Panthers led the conference with three individual champions, winning head-to-head finals against Oklahoma State in each. Interestingly, Hendrickson was the only one of six finalists to win.

UNI made up a lot of ground after a 4-6 record through the first two rounds. The Panthers rebounded with a 17-5 record in consolation matches. Julian Farber (133) and Ryder Downey (157) each placed third, running the backside gauntlet. Farber was upset in the opening round and won five consecutive matches for bronze. Downey won four in a row after a quarterfinal loss, including reversing a loss to Iowa State’s No. 1 seed Cody Chittum.

UNI closed strong and posted an 8-2 record in placing matches with all 10 Panthers getting seventh or better. The Panthers claimed nine automatic berths with heavyweight Lance Runyon awaiting a possible at-large berth. Nine qualifiers is the most in Coach Doug Schwab’s tenure at UNI and the most since 2008. If Runyon receives an at-large berth, it will be the second time in school history the Panthers qualified their entire team for the NCAA Division I Championships. The last was in 1986 under Coach Don Briggs.

HAPPEL, VOELKER WIN TITLES

Cael Happel and Wyatt Voelker won conference gold for the first time in their college careers. Happel (141) defeated Oklahoma State’s Tagen Jamison in a tiebreaker-1 thriller. Happel escaped to tie the score, 2-2, and won with an advantage in riding time over the two 30-second frames.

Happel, a four-time state champion from Lisbon, has made a steady progression not winning a match in his first Big 12 tournaments, placing second last season and winning it Sunday.

Voelker avenged two losses in his path to the 197-pound title. He defeated Wyoming’s Joseph Novak, 4-2, in the semifinals, and closed with a 4-1 decision over Oklahoma State’s Luke Surber in the finals. The West Delaware two-time state champion placed fifth at last year’s conference tournament.

Happel will make his third NCAA appearance, while Voelker has qualified twice.

Speaking of former Iowa preps, Lisbon’s Cobe Siebrecht placed second at 157 pounds and earned an automatic NCAA berth for South Dakota State. Siebrecht was a 2023 national qualifier for Iowa.

KECKEISEN EXTENDS STREAKS

UNI’s Parker Keckeisen defeated Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott, 8-1, in the 184-pound finals. He improved to 24-0 this season, extending his win streak to 55 straight matches, dating back to a loss in the 2023 NCAA finals.

The title also continues the Panthers’ reign at the weight since joining the conference in the 2017-18 season. UNI has won the 184 title eight straight seasons, including two golds from Drew Foster (2018-19) and Taylor Lujan in 2020.

Keckeisen won his fifth Big 12 crown, joining former Oklahoma State 133-pounder Daton Fix as the only ones to achieve that feat.

JOHNSON WINS GOLD FOR CYCLONES

Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson won his second Big 12 title, avenging a loss to UNI’s Colin Realbuto in the 149 final. Johnson scored a takedown and managed to ride out the remaining 22 seconds for a 5-4 decision. Johnson also became the Cyclones 39th two-time conference champion.

Iowa State finished fourth overall with 107 ½ points, 2 ½ back of third-place South Dakota State.

M.J. Gaitan was Iowa State’s next best finisher, getting third. He lost to Keegan O’Toole, who win the 174 title and earned tournament Outstanding Wrestler honors, in the semifinals and reeled off four straight consolation wins, knocking off Oklahoma’s No. 3 seed Gavin Sax, 6-4, in the placing round.

Iowa State finished with six automatic qualifiers but could earn a few at-large berths that will be announced by the NCAA Tuesday.

BIG 12 ATTENDANCE RECORD

The Big 12 Championships drew 21,309 over the two-day event, setting an attendance record for the event held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The previous mark was 19,892 in 2019.

BOK Center has hosted the national qualifier every year since 2017 and has surpassed 17,000 fans in six of nine years.

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