In the state of Iowa when it comes to NCAA Division I wrestling, I'm not even sure if anyone at all ever paid much if any attention to Drake. When the Bulldogs dropped their program after the 1992-1993 season, you had Iowa at the head, Iowa State often not far behind and in the shadows after going from Division II to Division I, Northern Iowa.
It's always been unsaid, but understood that the Panthers took their spot behind the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. Doug Schwab isn't having it. He's not settling for that position. He may not be there yet, but it's more than apparent that he's doing what he can to get there.
This season I see the Panthers qualifying 9 to the NCAA championships with 3 possible All Americans and 1 that stands a shot at being an individual national champion.
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| 125 Brody Teske Sophomore Record: 25-7 NCAA: 21'R12 BIG 12: 21'1st |
I was happy to see Teske end up at Northern Iowa. It's clear to me that he is happy there, he's succeeding there and Schwab is getting the best out of him. Winning a second BIG 12 title isn't going to be easy. He still has Taylor Lamont of Utah Valley who he beat 9-7 last season and Killian Cardinale of West Virginia who he beat 6-4 to contend with. Teske should make a run at All American honors this season as well.
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| 133 Jack Skudlarczyck OR Kyle Biscoglia Junior OR Sophomore Record: 44-36 OR Record: 48-16 NCAA: 20'NQ OR BIG 12: 19'6th, 20'5th OR MIDLANDS: 20'R12 OR 19'7th |
This will be a good wrestle-off and honestly, even though Biscoglia has yet to start a BIG 12 tournament, I'm giving him the nod here. Skudlarczyck is tough, but I feel Biscoglia has a bit better of a showing. Skudlarczyck's best win is an 8-2 victory over Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, where Biscoglia has pinned Bryce West of Northern Illinois & Zach Price of South Dakota State, while also defeating Anthony Madrigal of Oklahoma and Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma State. Either of these guys are BIG 12 place-winners/NCAA qualifiers.
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| 141 Cael Happel Freshman Record: 7-6 |
Not a whole lot to go on here, but a 7-6 victory over Iowa State's Todd Small is enough to tell me that in the least Happel is NCAA qualification material.
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| 149 Triston Lara Junior Record: 39-28 NCAA: 21'NQ BIG 12: 21'5th |
I think Lara has a real shot at the BIG 12 title this year, I really do. He defeated Kyle Parco of Fresno State (now at Arizona State) 9-4 last season and he stuck Jarett Degen of Iowa State at the 5:31 mark into the third period. He's never faced Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State & his losses to both Brock Mauller of Missouri and Mitch Moore of Oklahoma were very close. He's gonna have to wrestle his heart out, but a BIG 12 title is within his abilities. For that matter, with wins like the 12-7 loss he handed Mike Van Brill of Rutgers, so is All American status.
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| 165 Austin Yant Junior Record: 47-30 NCAA: 21'NQ BIG 12: 20'7th, 21'5th MIDLANDS: 20'R12 |
I see Yant finishing up about the same place he did last season. Although I will say that Peyton Hall of West Virginia is not unbeatable so he could be as high as 4th.
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| 174 Lance Runyon Freshman Record: 11-5 NCAA: 21'NQ BIG 12: 21'WC |
I'd like to see more wins like the 2:10 first period fall of Anthony Mantanona of Oklahoma out of Runyon this season and I think we will. Schwab has a way of finding his wrestler's strengths and capitalizing upon them as well as finding their weaknesses and turning them into strengths. Expect improvements out of Runyon this season.
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| 184 Parker Keckeisen Freshman Record: 36-2 BIG 12: 21'1st NCAA: 21'3rd |
I might be speaking prematurely here, but I don't think so. I think we're looking at the best wrestler that Northern Iowa has ever produced. His only loss last season was to NCAA champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State in a match, that if wrestled 10 times, Keckeisen would win his fair share. His only other loss is to Abe Assad during his redshirt season, 6-5. I want to see him on the mat with Myles Amine of Michigan and with Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State, but I don't think my mind will change much once I do. He's not unbeatable. I'm not saying that, but if Northern Iowa has a shot at crowning an individual champion, it's Keckeisen.
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| 197 Jacob Holschlag Senior Record: 54-29 NCAA: 17'NQ, 18'5th MAC: 17'3rd BIG 12: 18'4th CKLV: 18'4th SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: 18'2nd |
Wishful thinking? At this point it probably is. To be honest I was shocked when I looked at the 2021-2022 Panther roster and found his name listed. He's a 7th year senior & he's wrestled two matches in the past 3 years. What a Hollywood ending it'd be if he were to come back in absolute redemption and be as good or even better than he was years prior? It's nice to think of that kind of ending to his career, but this is reality. 3 years is a long time to be out of the game in NCAA DI wrestling. Severe injuries aren't easy to overcome. If he is back this season, I do give him a nod for a third NCAA qualification. Without seeing how he holds up against the competition, holding out until I do for further comment.
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| HWT Carter Isley Senior Record: 92-45 NCAA: 20'NQ, 21'NQ BIG 12: 20'4th, 21'6th CKLV: 19'R12, 20'5th MIDLANDS: 20'5th |
Like with Lara, some may roll their eyes at me, but I honestly think that Isley has a shot at the BIG 12 title this season. He defeated Austin Harris of Oklahoma State 8-2, Zach Elam of Missouri 3-2 & he holds a 3 & 2 record against Brad Metz of North Dakota State. As to his losses, Brian Andrews of Wyoming has beaten him twice, once in overtime and one in a tiebreaker. A.J. Nevills of South Dakota State (Formally of Fresno State, Terry Tumey you sorry sack of rotten potatoes) also defeated him in overtime. Neither of these matches strike me as unwinnable. It'll be work, and he'll have to wrestle the best day he's ever had, but he IS capable of winning a BIG 12 title.
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125 - All American
133 - NQ
141 - NQ
149 - All American
157-DNQ
165 - NQ
174 - NQ
184 - Champion
197 - NQ
HWT - NQ
Yeah, I think this is a pretty good showing for Northern Iowa. Even though I feel that I'm being pretty optimistic about the team this year, I imagine if Schwab looks at this, he'll probably feel insulted. Can't say I always understand the man, but I will say that he is one heck of a good coach. He takes guys and he consistently gets them to improve. That's why seeing that Keckeisen technically has 4 years of eligibility left is extraordinarily exciting.
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