Iowa

Northern Iowa Wrestling Seniors Have Taken Panthers To ‘A Better Place’ – FloWrestling

Published

1 year ago

February 13, 2025

Northern Iowa Wrestling Seniors Have Taken Panthers To ‘A Better Place’ – FloWrestling

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.”

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Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds signs ban on local civil rights ordinances

Published

3 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Kim Reynolds signs ban on local civil rights ordinances

DES MOINES, Iowa (Iowa State Capitol Bureau) – Local governments in Iowa will no longer be able to protect civil rights that are not protected by the state.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law Tuesday. The law follows another bill Reynolds signed last year that removed gender identity as a protected class in Iowa.

When lawmakers first debated the legislation, protesters showed up in opposition. Those against the law say local governments should be able to protect their residents.

Reynolds said the law clears up confusion for businesses and schools.

“We just believe that locals should follow the state laws, especially when it comes to civil rights,” Reynolds said. “Otherwise, we have a mismatch of rights out there, and we felt that it was the right thing to do.”

Reynolds also said the law ensures girls are protected in women’s sports and in public bathrooms.

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Iowa

‘¿Habla español?’ Iowa schools look overseas to find Spanish teachers

Published

15 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

‘¿Habla español?’ Iowa schools look overseas to find Spanish teachers

The Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain helps schools find qualified Spanish teachers.
World language teaching positions are hard to fill in rural areas.

The sounds of Dallas Center-Grimes High School Spanish students singing “¿Por Que Te Vas?” by Jeanette with varying levels of gusto and prodding by teacher Antton Zuazu Hernández may seem like an unusual way to learn.

But the sing-along is how Zuazu Hernández, a native of Spain, helps engage his students and share his culture as part of a teacher-exchange program.

“I feel I’m a messenger in a way, and this is part of the program,” he said. “We’re expected to both bring our culture here and bring your culture back to Spain.”

Zuazu Hernández — who taught English in Spain — is among 26 bilingual teachers in Iowa as part of an exchange program between the Iowa Department of Education and Spain’s Ministry of Education and Culture.

“(The program) was created to address the shortage of qualified Spanish teachers in the state and helps expose students to different world cultures,” said Heather Doe, the department’s spokesperson. “… The Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain program has been very successful in helping schools, especially in rural communities, hire highly qualified Spanish teachers.”

Iowa has nearly 1,200 world language teachers in kindergarten through college, according to the Iowa World Language Association website.

Some foreign language teachers in Iowa moved to the U.S. and later obtained teaching credentials. Others were recruited to work in Iowa schools.

Iowa schools, including Waukee Community School District, even offer financial incentives as a recruitment tool for hard to fill positions.

“Many of them, like me, will arrive with teaching experience from our home countries, but in the process of validating the credentials in the U.S. we find obstacles,” said Elizabeth Bulthuis, a Waukee High School world languages teacher who immigrated from Ecuador in 2003, “and the validating of credentials also can be lengthy and costly, because of all the educational systems and how they are structured differently.”

Exchange program is beneficial to schools, superintendent

The Spain exchange program — which brings hundreds of teachers to schools across the U.S. — comes with several requirements.

The Spanish teachers must be certified in the language with at least two years of experience, Doe said. Additionally, candidates go through a vetting process at the federal, state and local levels. Teachers also attend a three-day state orientation.

Schools and districts participating in the program pay an $895 fee to offset licensing and orientation costs, Doe said.

The program is a blessing for rural areas struggling to fill positions teaching foreign language, special education, math and science.

“It’s very difficult to even get an applicant,” said Deron Stender, the superintendent at the rural Creston Community School District, “… When I say it’s difficult to even find (the candidates) they don’t exist. And if they do, they’re probably going to be in a larger metro, urban, suburban areas where there’s just more opportunities.”

St. Anthony’s conducts bilingual class for its students

St. Anthony’s Catholic school brings Spanish speaking teachers to the U.S. to teach students the language.

Zuazu Hernández taught Spanish and drove a bus at Creston during the 2024-25 school year. But falling enrollment and budget cuts resulted in his position being eliminated.

A program drawback is teachers only have three-year visas, he said.

“When you have a very good individual that comes to your district from a foreign country after the third year, you still have that need again,” Stender said. “So, we just open it back up to the same program, but you’re doing another refresh of the process, and while that’s a challenge, it’s still better than not having a teacher in the classroom.”

Not every world language teacher comes from Spain

Another issue schools have faced is filling teaching positions for immersion programs.

In the early 2000s, St. Anthony’s started a Spanish-immersion program after several families with children of Honduras and Guatemala descent wanted their kids to have a Catholic school education and maintain their connection to the Spanish language.

“A lot of teachers go to school to teach Spanish, but they go to school to teach it as a standalone Spanish class,” principal Jennifer Raes said. “… We were really searching for teachers that could come here and teach in any subject, just a regular teacher, but also has the skills of teaching in Spanish and English.”

Marisol Guerra, a Honduras native, came to the U.S. in 2010 to help start St. Anthony’s program. Guerra manage to come to the U.S. as part of that year’s Spain exchange program cohort.

More than a decade later, the school offers classes in English and an immersive track where 85% of the students’ day is spent learning in Spanish. While families were hesitant in the beginning to take part in the immersion program, there is now a waitlist of almost a dozen families.

“There was uncertainty, (but) they wanted their children to learn a second language,” Guerra said, “and they wanted without knowing, I think, they also were exposing them to other cultures and opening their minds to other things.”

The over the years, St. Anthony’s has employed teachers who moved to America from Spain, Mexico and other Latin American countries.

The over representation of teachers from Spain likely is due to other countries not offering similar exchange programs, said Bulthuis, a member of the Iowa World Language Association.

It took several years for the veteran teacher — who came to Iowa in 2005 — to become credentialed to teach in the U.S. because she was not part of an exchange program.

“I think that world language teachers can be difficult to recruit because the pool of candidates is relatively small, so teachers need a strong language proficiency, cultural knowledge and all the teaching certifications,” said Bulthuis, who left Ecuador in 2003 because of the country’s financial crisis, “(but) many people who speak another language also have opportunity in other careers.”

Bulthuis does not recommend loosening the criteria to teach in Iowa but suggests improving or streamlining the process for an international teacher to obtain a state teaching license.

“… Not every Spanish speaking country is going to have (an exchange) program like that in place to help their community,” Bulthuis said,

Cultural exchange

Educators say employing international teachers goes beyond language skills.

“International educators can bring tremendous cultural and linguistic expertise to the classroom, which is an incredible skill and very valuable for students,” Bulthuis said.

That cultural exchange can carry over into a school’s lesson plans.

Zuazu Hernández often lets his American students’ interests drive what he teaches them about Spanish culture. These questions have ranged from wanting more insight into bullfighting, the Spanish school system, stereotypes and politics.

“Sometimes, they are more interested in me as a person, or the things I can tell them about Spain than the actual Spanish language,” he said, “but they have that curiosity that I think all teachers, we have to take advantage of.”

While reading “¡Viva el toro!” by Lisa Ray Turner and Blaine Ray, a novel about bullfighting, Zuazu Hernández talked to students about his family’s love of the cultural spectacle and how it is losing popularity in Spain because of how the bulls are treated.

Zuazu Hernández is open about his perspective on the practice to his students.

“To me, bullfighting is not worth sustaining just because it’s a tradition — traditions are not always good or acceptable — but rather because it’s an art, and it expands the depth of human understanding of the most intense truths in life, with death as the scariest of all,” he told the Des Moines Register in an email.

His students appreciate his candidness and the chance to learn from teachers with different lived experiences.

“I like having different teachers because they have different experiences, and I think it adds to the overall class,” said Grace Heston, an 11th grader Dallas Center-Grimes High School. “When you’re learning about Spanish, you’re not just learning about a language, you’re learning about the culture associated with it.”

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com.

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Iowa

NCAA Wrestling Championships at-large bids announced

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

NCAA Wrestling Championships at-large bids announced

The 330 wrestlers competing in Cleveland at the NCAA Championships are now set.

After the conference tournaments established the lion’s share of wrestlers, the NCAA announced the at-large bids on Tuesday, March 10, completing the rest of the field.

Brackets and seeds will be announced on March 10, but here’s a look at the contingents each state of Iowa program will be sending after the at-large bids were announced.

Iowa wrestling NCAA qualifiers

For the third year in a row, Iowa wrestling will be sending nine to the NCAA Championships. Victor Voinovich did not earn an at-large bid at 157 pounds after finishing ninth at the Big Ten Championships, one place outside of NCAA automatic qualification. He concludes his season with a 12-6 record.

Voinovich narrowly earned the starting job over Jordan Williams at 157, with Iowa coach Tom Brands saying it was very close, but Voinovich had shown a little more “fight” this year. Now that Voinovich hasn’t qualified for NCAAs, it’s a decision that will go further under the microscope.

What’s done is done, however, for Iowa. They’ll take Dean Peterson (125), Drake Ayala (133), Nasir Bailey (141), Ryder Block (149), Michael Caliendo (165), Patrick Kennedy (174), Angelo Ferrari (184), Gabe Arnold (197) and Ben Kueter (285) to Cleveland in hopes of salvaging what has been a tough season.

Iowa State wrestling NCAA qualifiers

For the first time since 2010, Iowa State will send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Vinny Zerban earned an at-large bid at 157 pounds despite falling short of the automatic qualifying threshold at the Big 12 Championships. Zerban suffered a concussion and medically forfeited out of the tournament after his first match in Tulsa. His health status will be worth monitoring NCAAs inch closer, from March 19-22.

The Cyclones look poised for one of their best postseasons in recent memory with their 10 qualifiers ―Stevo Poulin (125), Garrett Grice (133), Anthony Echemendia (141), Jacob Frost (149), Zerban, Connor Euton (165), MJ Gaitan (174), Isaac Dean (184), Rocky Elam (197) and Yonger Bastida (285). The loss of Evan Frost hurts the Cyclones, considering his pedigree and season as a whole, but Grice’s has earned several ranked wins since entering the lineup in February and could still add some much-needed team points as the team chases a team trophy.

Behind title contenders Elam and Bastida, proven podium threats in Poulin, Echemnedia, Jacob Frost and Zerban (if healthy), Iowa State will be in the mix for a top-four finish in Cleveland.

UNI wrestling NCAA qualifiers

Northern Iowa will send five to the NCAA Championships. Automatic qualifiers Julian Farber (133), Caleb Rathjen (149) and Ryder Downey (165) will be joined by Jared Simma (174) and Nick Fox (184), who each earned at-large bids. The number of qualifiers could extend to six, with Trever Anderson (125) being the alternate at 125 pounds for NCAAs. However, he had to medically forfeit out of the Big 12 Championships, so his health status would be in question if he got called up.

With that, Max Brady (141), Cael Rahnavardi (157), John Gunderson (197) and Adam Ahrendsen (285) will have their seasons come to an end. Brady, a true freshman, will still have three NCAA chances in his career after showing promising moments in relief of Cory Land’s season-ending injury. Gunderson, a U23 World team member, will return for next season as well. Rahnavardi and Ahrendsen were both in their final seasons of eligibility.

Following injuries to Land and Wyatt Voelker, it’s been a hard year for the Panthers. This is half the number of NCAA qualifiers that UNI had last season when they qualified 10 for the first time since 1986. The last time UNI had five or fewer qualifiers was 2016.

However, all five of their wrestlers have each shown moments of brilliance, either this season or in prior NCAA Championships. They may be a smaller crew than normal, but Downey, Rathjen, Farber, Simma and Fox are all ones to watch in Cleveland.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

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