UNI’s Parker Keckeisen displays grit to place 3rd at NCAA Wrestling Championships

DETROIT — Seven minutes of hell.

The approach will never change for Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen.

In a seven-minute wrestling match, Keckeisen is going to wrestle all 430 seconds. And if it takes another 180 seconds to gain victory, he’s going to go full bore.

That attitude and effort were on full display Saturday at Little Caesars Arena as Keckeisen won two tough, gritty matches to finish third at 184 pounds for the second consecutive season.

In the third-place match, Keckeisen, the 35th two-time Division I All-American at UNI, avenged a quarterfinal loss to Cal Poly’s Bernie Truax, 6-4, with the match-winning takedown coming with 24 seconds left.

“We talk about seven minutes of hell,” Keckeisen said of his mindset. “Just going out there and wrestling those full seven minutes, and if it is longer, it is longer.”

It was a gritty two-match day for Keckeisen who took out last year’s NCAA runner-up Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State, 7-5, in tiebreakers, in the consolation semifinals.

Against Truax, for the second time in as many meetings, Keckeisen gave up a takedown in the opening seconds. But unlike Friday, where Keckeisen got to Truax’s legs multiple times, he finished Saturday.

A blast double with 55 seconds to go in the second gave him a 4-2 lead. Truax tied the score with a pair of escapes. The match appeared to be heading to sudden victory when the pair got in a wild scramble. Nearly put on his side, Keckeisen managed to maintain balance and came out on top for the winning score and he rode out Traux for the win.

“That dude has some unreal defense,” Keckeisen said of Truax. “It was just trying to finish quickly, and not letting him get to that split position where he is long, he is strong. That dude is gritty. That was a fun match.

“Just kept wrestling. It is not over until the fat lady sings. Just keep wrestling and see if I can get a takedown. If he takes me down, I’ve got to get an escape or reversal. Just got to keep wrestling.”

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Responding and coming back for third, Keckeisen says, will do wonders for his confidence heading into next season.

“Just believe in myself,” Keckeisen said. “Having more belief in myself. Trent (Hidlay) was a national finalist last year, and it was good to get that win for my brain.”

Keckeisen’s finish continued an incredible run for the Panthers in the 184-pound weight class. The All-America finish was not only the fourth-consecutive season UNI has had an All-American, but third straight at 184. That does not include Taylor Lujan earning the No. 1 seed at 184 for the 2020 COVID-canceled championships.

Additionally, it is the fourth time in five championships UNI has had an All-American at 184 — Drew Foster (2017, 2019), and now Keckheisen back-to-back. It is the fifth 184 All-America finish for UNI head coach Doug Schwab, who also coached Ryan Loder to seventh in 2013.

UNI will return all eight of its NCAA qualifiers next season — Brody Teske, Kyle Biscoglia, Colin Realbuto, Derek Holschlag, Austin Yant, Lance Runyon, Keckeisen and Tyrell Gordon. All eight won at least one match this weekend, and five of them won two.

Cael Happel, who was in the final RPI rankings at 141 but did not receive an at-large berth, and highly-touted freshman John Gunderson, who was pulled from redshirt midway through the season, will have another year of seasoning.

UNI finished tied for 20th with 28.5 points. Only three times in Schwab’s 12 seasons have the Panthers scored more NCAA points.

“This is a tough tournament,” Schwab said. “I’ve been in tournaments all over the world, at every level and this is as tough a tournament as you are going to get.

“College wrestling is as good as it has ever been. Put it back on me as a coach. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get these guys more prepared. We’ve got to jump another level, so we sure as heck have more than one guy wrestling on Saturday next year.”