Big opportunities are on the horizon for the Northern Iowa wrestling program – and based on the Panthers’ form all season long, they appear more than ready to capitalize on them.

Ranked fourth in the latest NCAA dual rankings — its first top-four ranking since 1988) — UNI’s goals for 2024-25 have not changed since being set back in the preseason. A team trophy at the national tournament, which would be the program’s first at the Division I level since 1953, remains the aim for this year’s Panthers.

Thus far, the journey toward that intended destination has been a fruitful one.

A nip-and-tuck defeat against Oklahoma State is the lone blemish on UNI’s record (12-1) to date. And it’s that season-long track record — plus the hard work behind it — that has 15th-year head coach Doug Schwab bullish on his group entering the homestretch.

“We all know that the days are winding down (toward the postseason),” Schwab said. “And I feel like we’ve wrestled really well this whole season…just as a group we’ve been very consistent, pretty complete.”

“I’m really excited about where guys are at and the work they’ve done.”

A large part of that success and consistency can be attributed to an outgoing group of seniors — a group that Schwab praises for its ability to elevate the program in a similar manner to that of another recent class of Panther graduates.

Leaving Things In A Better Place

Interestingly, the first names that come to Schwab’s mind when asked about his 2025 senior class are wrestlers who haven’t donned the purple and yellow singlet in almost five years.

Seniors Taylor Lujan, Jay Schwarm, Bryce Steiert and Max Thomsen were all key leaders and contributors on the 2019-20 UNI team that never got the opportunity to cap its season at the NCAA Championships, which were canceled due to COVID. Even so, Schwab identifies strong parallels between the impacts of the 2020 and 2025 senior classes on the trajectory of his program.

“That 2020 class, some of these guys got to see those guys. A guy like Parker (Keckeisen) got to watch those guys…that to me, kind of elevated the program in their time,” Schwab said.

“(The 2025 class) always talked about taking the torch (from 2020) and putting it in a better place, and those guys have done just that — they’ve even raised the level.”

Starters Cael Happel (141), Parker Keckeisen (184), Colin Realbuto (149) and Lance Runyon (285) — among several other UNI seniors — all elicit lengthy responses from their head coach when asked to describe their meaning to both him and Northern Iowa wrestling. But it’s the impact of the entire group that Schwab returns to time and time again.

“There’s power in the collective, right? Especially when you get individuals who are buying in and believing in something bigger than themselves — and those guys, they live it,” Schwab said. 

“I know they elevated just the sheer volume of work that guys are going to do and how much they enjoy the sport and love the sport and really want to raise the level of the program here.”

Collectively, their true influence may not even be measurable until years down the line when perhaps another group of seniors takes the torch from them and carries the program to even greater heights.

“The impact that this class has had…I mean, I don’t know how you measure it,” Schwab said. “I think it’s something as we go down the line, we’ll be able to see it a lot more in what it’s done for the program.”

“We’re a top-five team in the country right now. Those guys did that…That collection of individuals. And I think that’s something for them to be proud of, but certainly something they’re not content with.”

One Of The All-Time Greats

Among the UNI seniors, there’s one who can’t help but stand out, even if his personality is hardly one to welcome the spotlight.

That’s what happens when your name is Parker Keckeisen and you’ve finished third, third, second and first in four career trips to the NCAA Championships — and you also own a quartet of Big 12 titles to boot.

“Parker’s raised the level and standard of our program, and it’s not just because of his results,” Schwab said. “The results are what everyone sees. What everyone doesn’t see is what we see every day. And when you see what he does every day and how he lives and how he embodies being selfless, gritty, coachable — the tenants of our program — the loyalty (and belief) that he’s shown to the program, it gets other guys to believe even more.

“He still keeps pretty quiet and does it with his actions, but he’s been a guy that’s led through just what he’s done every day.”

Keckheisen’s career to date has already placed him among the lofty heights of UNI wrestling greats, according to his head coach.

In fact, most of Schwab’s comparable Panthers in terms of pure impact on the program date back to the late-1940s and early-1950s when the school sent multiple wrestlers to the London and Helsinki Olympics, including 1952 gold medalist Bill Smith.

When asked strictly for his own opinion on his current 184-pounder, however, Schwab doesn’t hesitate:

“I’ve tried to make it clear to our fans and anyone that I’ve talked to about it that, ‘Hey, this guy’s one of the best in the country. He’s one of the best in the world. He’s one of the greatest UNI wrestlers in modern history.’”

And though he’s also quick to point out that Keckeisen has more goals and more to accomplish both in the last six weeks of his college career and beyond, the Glendale, Wisconsin native’s legacy has already been cemented in the eyes of the coach who recruited him to Cedar Falls all those years ago.

“Whatever he does the rest of the season, nothing can change that,” Schwab said. “Nothing can change the impact that he’s had on our program…how great it’s been and the visibility he’s brought to it.”

“You get a platform when you win, and he’s used it very well, so I’m incredibly proud of that and of him.”

‘We’ve Got Receipts’

When it comes to the remainder of UNI’s schedule, the Panthers have no shortage of marquee events to close out the season.

Of course, that includes the Big 12 and NCAA Championships in March. But first, in-state rival Iowa State visits the Panthers for Senior Day — live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on Flowrestling. 

Just like the postseason tournaments ahead, the UNI-ISU dual stokes plenty of its own anticipation.

That’d be the case anyway for two Division I wrestling programs in the state of Iowa duking it out against one another in a dual setting. But it’s even more charged up given the ascension of this year’s Panther team, the incredible group of seniors who’ll be competing at home for the final time and the fact that UNI appears primed and ready to knock off the Cyclones for the first time since 2019.

That last part might be most notable, because, according to previous comments by Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser, such a thing is impossible.

A few years ago, Dresser made waves in the rivalry by saying, “Schwab will never beat me again. He will never, ever beat me again – and ever is a long time.”

In case you were wondering if those comments had gone forgotten by Schwab — even a few years later — the answer is a resounding ‘no.’

Speaking with FloWrestling on Super Bowl Sunday — seven days before the Panthers and Cyclones meet again — Northern Iowa’s head coach had this to say regarding his team’s next opponent:

“On the other side, I know those guys don’t think they should ever lose to us. I know kind of how they think — I don’t want to say look down, but almost like they’re past us as a program. And you know what, you take some exception to that.

“You know, they’ve won a handful in a row, so good on them. They’re wrestling pretty well.”

Reminded that at least one member of the ISU program didn’t just think, but flat out said beating UNI would be the status quo moving forward, Schwab’s response was blunt:

“We’ve got receipts, man. I take notice of that.”

Clear The Noise Or Make Music With It

As for his team, Schwab’s approach is to offer any sort of direction and motivation that he thinks may be useful. But ultimately, it’s up to each athlete to decide what works best and the UNI coaching staff to help facilitate it.

“I’m just trying to help them clear that (external) noise as much as possible or be able to make music with it — whatever they need,” Schwab said.

In many ways, the hay is in the barn so to speak when it comes to physical preparation for this part of the wrestling calendar. Instead, the focus now becomes refining the mentality of each wrestler so that they can be the best version of themselves when the lights are brightest.

Schwab constantly uses words like trust and belief when referring to his wrestlers. A trust/belief in what the coaches are telling them? Sure. But more importantly, a trust/belief in themselves —  that’s the key when it comes to performing at their best.

And when it comes to Sunday’s rivalry showdown, who’s to say how many Panthers have latched onto past comments from the Cyclone camp? It could very well be blinders on, noise cleared for all 10 wrestlers in the UNI lineup. And if that’s what suits them best, so be it.

But as for the guy in their corner on Sunday, well, you can expect him to make as sweet (and perhaps loud) of music with that ‘noise’ as possible.

“You remember that stuff, but I use it as it dials me in,” Schwab said of the Dresser comments. “I love it. I’m like, ‘OK, you wanna deal with some absolutes like that? OK, well, we’ll see about that.’

“Our guys know, and they certainly want to win this dual, but I just think we’ve got to continue to build on what we’ve been doing all year. Man, we’ve wrestled really well. We’ve got a hell of a team. And I know Sunday afternoon, for 420 seconds each and every time, those guys better be ready to freaking go to war.”