UNI loses a heartbreaker to No. 14-ranked Iowa State

In a highly contested and back-and-forth affair between intra-state rivals, the No. 14-ranked Iowa State University Cyclones upended the University of Northern Iowa Panthers, 19-17. The West Gym housed a sold-out crowd of 2,200 to see the Friday night dual meet come down to the final match.  

The first match provided an early intensity that would continue to grow with each passing match. UNI senior Cruse Aarhus (125 pounds) matched up against No. 12-ranked Ryak Finch. Finch built an early lead that Aarhus was unable to overcome, winning the match with a 15-4 major decision.  

Reigning Western Wrestling Conference "Wrestler of the Week," UNI's Joe Colon, answered with a technical fall. No. 11 Colon (133 pounds) beat R.J. Hallman with a 17-2 technical fall, giving the Panthers the team lead at 5-4.

"(Colon) is going out and scoring points. He's attacking and building leads," said UNI head coach Doug Schwab. "He's wrestling really well right now and we got to keep building on that."

Featuring the third consecutive ranked wrestler, the 141-pound bout saw Levi Wolfensperger of UNI lose a close 5-1 decision to No. 18-ranked Luke Goettl of ISU. The Panthers would answer with a decision of their own as Seth Noble (149 pounds) beat Joe Cozart by a 7-4 decision.  

At 157 pounds, the Panthers built upon their slim team lead. David Bonin won a hard-fought 2-0 decision over Michael Moreno, giving the Panthers an 11-7 team lead heading into intermission.

Following the intermission, when President Ben Allen and Athletic Director Troy Dannen announced new plans for a renovated wrestling training facility, the Panthers forfeited the 164-pound match to No. 4-ranked Andrew Sorenson of Iowa State.

Normally, Riley Banach represents UNI in that slot, but instead, the team chose to have Banach face Mikey England of ISU in the 174-pound match. However, the strategy did not yield positive results as England won an 8-3 decision over Banach. The win built upon the team lead for Iowa State, at 16-11.

"It was the best thing at the time," said Schwab. "We got to try to win the meet, and that's what we tried to do."

The 184-pound match featured two ranked wrestlers as No. 6 Ryan Loder of UNI won a close 1-0 decision over No. 16-ranked Boaz Beard of ISU. The win cut the Cyclone lead to an even slimmer margin of 16-14. Taylor Kettman (197 pounds) kept the momentum up as he won another close match for the Panthers, with a 4-2 decision over Trevor Voelker.  

Entering the final match of the night, the Panthers found themselves in a similar position they had been in against Utah Valley University just last week. UNI's Blayne Beale (285 pounds) would face off against No. 12-ranked Matt Gibson of Iowa State with the winner taking their match and the dual for their respective squad. Unfortunately for the Panther faithful, Gibson was able to win the final match by a score of 7-1, giving ISU a 19-17 victory.

"Close doesn't make you feel better. Close doesn't change the scoreboard," Schwab said. "That's enough with the moral victories and the fought hard. You want to get the victory and I don't think our guys are very happy with it."

After Sunday's matchup with South Dakota State University and North Dakota State University, the Panthers return to action Feb. 12 in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Ames, Iowa.