Iowa
Early Line-up Look: Northern Iowa Panthers – FloWrestling
Overview
Head coach: Doug Schwab (14th season)
Assistants: Randy Pugh, Lee Roper
2023 NCAA tournament finish: T-16
2023 NCAA tournament points: 29
2023 NCAA tournament record: 16-13
2023 Big 12 tournament finish: 7th
2023 dual record: 7-5 (5-3)
Returning national qualifiers: 4 (Cael Happel, Lance Runyon, Parker Keckeisen, Tyrell Gordon)
Returning All-Americans: 1 (Parker Keckeisen)
Last NCAA champion: Drew Foster (2019)
Highest NCAA team finish: 1st (1950)
Highest NCAA team finish under Schwab: 13th (2019)
Most place winners under Schwab: 3 (2014)
Last 10 NCAA Championships
2013: 15th
2014: 15th
2015: 34th
2016: 25th
2017: 18th
2018: 24th
2019: 13th
2020: Canceled (COVID)
2021: 19th
2022: 20th
2023: 16th
Summary
Northern Iowa has built quite a reputation in the 184-pound class of late. Only Penn State has a better five-year production, thanks to Aaron Brooks winning three consecutive NCAA titles (2021-23). That tradition should continue now that Brooks is moving up to 184 pounds, which makes Keckeisen the favorite entering the season.
Northern Iowa’s NCAA tournament history at 184 pounds
2019: Drew Foster (first)
2020: Taylor Lujan (seeded first, tournament canceled)
2021: Parker Keckeisen (third)
2022: Parker Keckeisen (third)
2023: Parker Keckeisen (second)
2024: Parker Keckeisen (ranked first)
Keckeisen is the foundation of a team that is seeking to add another All-American at the NCAA Championships. The Panther star has been the lone national placer during each of the past three seasons.
Wyatt Voelker hasn’t earned the 197-pound spot yet, but he seems like a logical choice to contend. He recently made a U20 Greco World team after a 15-4 true freshman campaign. He has Foster, Lujan, and Keckeisen to train with, which should lead to improvements.
Cael Happel won a pair of matches at the NCAA Championships and will be an All-American contender, as will Lance Runyon if he can get healthy. Tyrell Gordon is a solid heavyweight but the 285-pound class continues to be deep, so a run to the podium will take the tournament of his life. Colin Realbuto is redshirting in an attempt to make the Italian Olympic team.
The remainder of the team will be fresh faces after losing a handful of quality wrestlers to graduation. Former U17 Greco World silver medalist Cory Land will contend for the 133-pound spot but is coming off of surgery. Jack Thomsen transferred from South Dakota State and will challenge at 149 pounds.
Head coach Doug Schwab likes to win with homegrown Iowans. He’ll have plenty to choose from as he builds his 2023-24 line-up.
Northern Iowa’s Projected 2023-24 Line-up
125: Kyle Golhoffer, JR
133: Julian Farber, JR
141: Cael Happel, JR
149: Adam Allard, JR
157: RJ Weston, SO
165: Jack Thomsen, JR
174: Lance Runyon, JR
184: Parker Keckeisen, JR
197: Wyatt Voelker, FR
285: Tyrell Gordon, SR
125: Kyle Golhoffer, JR
2023 record: 8-13
Golhoffer started last season and is the front-runner for the 125-pound spot. He went 0-2 at the Big 12 Championships. The Cartersville, Georgia, native is seeking his first winning season since 2021.
133: Julian Farber, JR
2023 record: 9-4
Farber gets the nod until we see how Cory Land recovers from ACL surgery. Land is one of the best wrestlers that Alabama has produced, and there are high hopes in Panther Nation that he will deliver. Farber wrestled in the Missouri dual on January 8 (losing to Allan Hart, 10-4) and was a quality backup for Kyle Biscoglia last season. He and Land will be in a dogfight for the spot.
141: Cael Happel, JR
2023 record: 18-8
2023 NCAA tournament record: 2-2 (R16)
Happel has some nice wins on his resume and made the country take notice when he reached the finals of the 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The 141-pound class is still a tangled plate of spaghetti, so reaching the podium is all about match-ups at the national championships. Either way, Schwab is looking to Happel for consistency and for a spark in the line-up. Happel should deliver both.
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Happel reached the CKLV finals with this win over South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson
149: Adam Allard, JR
2023 record: 10-9
The 149-pound starter is anyone’s guess since Realbuto is taking an Olympic redshirt. It could be Allard, Ethan Basile, Cael Rahnavardi, or someone else. This weight is truly up for grabs. Allard gets the early nod since he started in two duals last season and went 1-1.
157: RJ Weston, SO
2023 record: 8-5
Another weight with options and little clarity. Weston seems like a good choice, but others will contend. This is another wait-and-see class for the Panthers.
165: Jack Thomsen, JR
2023 record: 12-4
Thomsen transferred from South Dakota State but hasn’t seen the varsity line-up yet. He will compete with Christian Minto and others for the spot.
174: Lance Runyon, JR
2023 record: 5-7
Runyon’s losing record from last season isn’t indicative of what he can do. He reached the Round of 16 at the 2022 NCAA Championships but has been plagued by shoulder injuries for most of his college career. His fall over Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott during a 2022 dual triggered one of the biggest wins in program history. We’ll see if he can recreate that kind of magic in 2024. The operative word for Runyon is health.
184: Parker Keckeisen, JR
2023 record: 26-2
2023 NCAA tournament record: 4-1 (2nd)
Keckeisen will be the heart and soul of the team for the fourth consecutive season. He is ranked first at 184 pounds ahead of Penn State’s Bernie Truax — an opponent he split with at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Northern Iowa has only had two D1 NCAA champions since 1963. Could Keckeisen make it three in 2024?
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Parker Keckeisen reached the 2023 NCAA tournament finals with this win over Oregon State’s Trey Munoz
197: Wyatt Voelker, FR
2023 record: 15-4
When Schwab talks about homegrown Iowa talent, he’s likely referring to Wyatt Voelker. Voelker grew up an hour from Northern Iowa and was among the best upper-weight recruits in the country when he signed with the Panthers. He’ll attempt to win a medal at the U20 World Championships this summer and then attempt to earn a varsity spot at 197 pounds. He entered the line-up twice last season, losing to Oklahoma State’s Luke Surber, 2-1, and to Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida, 12-6.
285: Tyrell Gordon, SR
2023 record: 20-13
Gordon made improvements from 2022 to 2023. Can he make another jump during his senior season? The Waterloo, Iowa, native began his career at 197 pounds and made the jump up to heavyweight. He had a few signature wins last season but will need to make big gains to place at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Chet Buss and John Gunderson will contend.
Iowa
Kirk Ferentz’s Reputation On The Line In Iowa vs Washington
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.
Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.
Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.
That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.
Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.
The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.
However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.
Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.
But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.
The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.
Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.
Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.
And Iowa fans are sick of it.
The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.
Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.
Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.
Iowa
Who the ranked Iowa high school football teams face in Week 7
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Here’s who all 71 Iowa high school football teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face in Week 7 games Friday night.
Class 3A gets the spotlight this week as its top two teams face top-seven opponents. No. 1 Algona visits No. 7 Humboldt, while second-ranked Williamsburg hosts a Solon team eager to bounce back from last week’s loss to Benton Community that dropped it from the top spot.
There is intrigue in the 8-Player top five as well, where three of the top five teams face fellow unbeaten foes. That includes No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s taking on No. 10 Woodbine and No. 2 Algona Garrigan hosting Ruthven GTRA.
Class 5A
No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (5-1) vs. Waterloo West (5-1)
No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (5-1) at Urbandale (3-3)
No. 3 Bettendorf (6-0) at Davenport Central (2-4)
No. 4 Pleasant Valley (5-1) vs. Muscatine (2-4)
No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (4-2) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (1-5)
No. 6 Linn-Mar (5-1) vs. Davenport West (0-6)
No. 7 Johnston (4-2) vs. Council Bluffs Lincoln (4-2)
No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (5-1) vs. Ankeny (3-3)
No. 9 Waukee (4-2) at Southeast Polk (3-3)
No. 10 Sioux City East (4-2) vs. Des Moines Lincoln (1-5)
Class 4A
No. 1 Lewis Central (6-0) at Winterset (4-2)
No. 2 Pella (6-0) at Des Moines Hoover (0-6), Thursday
No. 3 North Polk (6-0) at No. 10 Indianola (4-2)
No. 4 Gilbert (6-0) vs. Bondurant-Farrar (1-5)
No. 5 Decorah (6-0) at Marion (2-4)
No. 6 Adel ADM (5-1) at Ballard (3-3)
No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Oskaloosa (1-5)
No. 8 North Scott (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)
No. 9 Newton (4-2) vs. Carlisle (0-6)
No. 10 Indianola (4-2) vs. No. 3 North Polk (6-0)
No. 10 Western Dubuque (4-2) at Waterloo East (2-4)
Class 3A
No. 1 Algona (6-0) at No. 7 Humboldt (5-1)
No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1) vs. No. 5 Solon (5-1)
No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (6-0) at West Delaware (4-2)
No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-0) vs. Carroll (4-2)
No. 5 Mount Vernon (5-1) vs. Fort Madison (0-6)
No. 5 Solon (5-1) at No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1)
No. 7 Humboldt (5-1) vs. No. 1 Algona (6-0)
No. 8 Sioux City Heelan (4-2) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (1-5)
No. 9 Independence (4-2) at Maquoketa (1-5)
No. 10 Nevada (5-1) at Harlan (3-3)
Class 2A
No. 1 West Lyon (6-0) at Sheldon (2-4)
No. 2 Monroe PCM (6-0) at West Marshall (5-1)
No. 3 Spirit Lake (5-1) at Garner GHV (1-5)
No. 4 Van Meter (5-1) vs. Centerville (4-2)
No. 5 Carroll Kuemper (5-1) vs. Saydel (1-5)
No. 6 North Fayette Valley (5-1) vs. Oelwein (0-6) — canceled, Oelwein to forfeit
No. 7 Northeast (6-0) at Tipton (2-4)
No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2) vs. No. 10 Western Christian (4-2)
No. 9 Roland-Story (4-2) vs. Des Moines Christian (4-2)
No. 10 Western Christian (4-2) at No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2)
Class 1A
No. 1 Grundy Center (6-0) at Alburnett (4-2)
No. 2 Wilton (6-0) at West Branch (2-4)
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford (5-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-4)
No. 4 Emmetsburg (6-0) vs. Eagle Grove (0-6)
No. 5 Iowa City Regina (6-0) at Dyersville Beckman (4-2)
No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1) vs. No. 10 Hinton (5-1)
No. 7 South Hardin (5-1) at Hudson (5-1)
No. 8 Treynor (5-1) vs. Shenandoah (3-3)
No. 9 Sigourney-Keota (5-1) at Colfax-Mingo (1-5)
No. 10 Hinton (5-1) at No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1)
Class A
No. 1 West Hancock (6-0) at Lake Mills (4-2)
No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC (6-0) vs. Mount Ayr (5-1)
No. 3 Saint Ansgar (5-1) at West Fork (1-5)
No. 4 Lisbon (6-0) vs. Danville (4-2)
No. 5 Earlham (5-1) at Oakland Riverside (4-2)
No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1) vs. No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1)
No. 7 Le Mars Gehlen (5-1) at South O’Brien (0-6)
No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1) at No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1)
No. 9 North Linn (6-0) vs. Maquoketa Valley (5-1)
No. 10 Madrid (4-2) at North Mahaska (3-3)
8-Player
No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0) vs. No. 10 Woodbine (6-0)
No. 2 Algona Garrigan (6-0) vs. Ruthven GTRA (6-0)
No. 3 Don Bosco (6-0) vs. Turkey Valley (3-3)
No. 4 Audubon (6-0) vs. Collins-Maxwell (4-2)
No. 5 Lenox (6-0) vs. Southeast Warren (6-0)
No. 6 Iowa Valley (6-0) vs. HLV (1-6)
No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (5-1) at Clarksville (5-2)
No. 8 Anita CAM (5-1) at Fremont-Mills (5-1)
No. 9 Bedford (5-1) vs. Lamoni (4-2)
No. 10 Woodbine (6-0) at No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0)
Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com
Iowa
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.
Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.
“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.
Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.
Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.
Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”
During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.
“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.
How to get help
For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.
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