UNI wrestling square off with Cal Baptist on Friday, Visit West Virginia on Sunday

California Baptist (2-10/1-5 Big 12) vs. No. 14 UNI Wrestling

• 7 p.m. February 3
• McLeod Center (6,500) | Cedar Falls, Iowa

No. 14 UNI Wrestling at RV West Virginia (7-3 / 1-3 West Virginia)

• 1 p.m. February 5th
• WVU Coliseum (14,000) | Morgantown, West Virginia

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Doug Schwab will have the opportunity to become the third most successful head coach in UNI wrestling history and the Panthers moved up to 14th in the NWCA rankings this week.

UNI will host the California Baptist at the McLeod Center on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then travel to West Virginia on Sunday. WVU is currently receiving votes in the coach poll.

With 102 wins, Schwab is level on points with former coach Dave McCuskey.

• Chuck Patten 1965-82 / 218 wins
• Don Briggs 1983-97 / 163 wins
• Dave McCuskey 1931-52 / 102 victories
• Doug Schwab 2011-Pres. / 102 wins

CAL BAPTIST LANCERS

Friday’s clash with the CBU will be the first meeting between the Lancers and the UNI Panthers. Cal Baptist is the latest school to affiliate with the Big 12. The Lancer program started in 2009 and became a Division I competitor in 2020.

California Baptist opened last weekend with its first-ever Big 12 win, beating Wyoming 22-10 on Saturday.

Elijah Griffin is ranked 32nd by Intermat and received an honorable mention in the FloWrestling leaderboard, but is not expected to compete at 125lbs this weekend.

WEST VIRGINIA CLIMBERS

UNI is unbeaten against West Virginia (6-0, 3-0 under Schwab).

• 1982 | W, 30-12 in West Virginia
• 1986 | W, 23-16 at Virginia Duals
• 1991 | W, 23-16 at National Duals (Virginia)
• 2019 | W, 27-19 in West Virginia
• 2020 | W, 36-6 at UNI
• 2022 | W, 31-10 v West Virginia (neutral side)

Returning All-American Peyton Hall tops the rankings for WVU at 165 pounds. The junior is the third best wrestler from the Big 12 Conference.

Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram earned his first trip to the national teams last year after winning 20-9, including five wins over ranked opponents.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (No. 28) at 141lbs, junior Sam Hillegas (No. 25) at 149lbs, redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (No. 25) at 157lbs, redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 25) at 184 pounds and Redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 28) at 197 pounds.

Additionally, Killian Cardinale, a fifth-year starter, is currently 6-0 and will likely cement a place in the 125-pound leaderboard if he competes in West Virginia’s duels with Oklahoma and No. 12 Oklahoma State, earning him the eighth There are games required for the exam.

The Mountaineers are led by Killian Cardinale (125), senior fifth-year, and Peyton Hall (165), junior. Hall comes from a 2022 All-America campaign in which he led the team with a 28-6 overall record and finished eighth at the NCAA championships to become the 34th All-American in program history. He finished second at the Big 12 Championships.

At 125 pounds, Cardinale is the reigning Big 12 champion. Heavyweight Michael Wolfgram enjoyed a 20-win season in 2022 to make his Nationals debut in Detroit, Michigan.

Also in the rankings: redshirt junior Anthony Carman at 184 pounds and junior freshman Sam Hillegas in the 149-pound weight class.

LAST MEETING

FEB. 5, 2022 – #22 UNI 31, WEST VIRGINIA 10

125 | #6 Killian Cardinale Maj. Dec. #11 Brody Teske (UNI) 12-4

133 | #29 Kyle Biscoglia (UNI) Garett Lautzenheiser pinned 2:08 F

141 | #20 Cael Happel (UNI) pinned Caleb Rea 5:28 F

149 | #31 Colin Realbuto (UNI) Dec Jeffrey Boyd 8-5

157 | Derek Holschlag (UNI) Maj. Dec. Alex Hornfeck 12-2

165 | #9 Peyton Hall Dec 17/9 Austin Yant (UNI) 4-2 SV1

174 | Lance Runyon (UNI) Maj. Dec. Dennis Robin 8-0

184 | #4 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) Maj. Dec. Anthony Carman 12-3

197 | John Gunderson (UNI) Maj. Dec. Jackson Moomau 8-0

285 | #21 Michael Wolfgram Dec. Tyrell Gordon (UNI) 3:1 SV1

POSSIBLE LINEUPS: #NCAA (Intermat / FloWrestling)

125 | Kyle Gollhofer

CBU – Devin Garcia (1-5/0-0 doubles): The junior went 10-11 last year and won the Harold Cyclone Open.

WVU – (4/9) Killian Cardinale, Redshirt Senior: reigning Big 12 champion and 2021 All-American, finishes seventh. A three-time NCAA qualifier, he earned his first trip to the national teams battling for Old Dominion in 2020. For the 2021 season he switched to WVU.

133 | #11 (11/18) Kyle Biscoglia

CBU – Antonio Saldate (6-4 / 1-1 doubles): Saldate is a redshirt junior who won 3-5 last season.

WVU – Davin Rhoads, Redshirt Rookie: Played in an Open last year and won 5-2.

141 | #7 (10/9) Cael Happel

CBU – Brady Hoshino (1-5/0-2 dual) or Christian Nunez (3-8/1-5): Hoshino is a redshirt freshman who went 4-11 wrestling unaffiliated last year. Nunez was 5-12 overall in 2022.

WVU — #28 (NR/HM) Jordan Titus, redshirt freshman: Was 20-7 in 2022 and hopped between 133 and 141 pounds.

149 | #11 (14/13) Colin Realbuto

CBU — Chaz Hallmark (3-11/1-7 Dual): Hallmark is a sophomore redshirt who started in all 2022 CBU duals at 149 pounds and won five of the 10.

WVU – #25 (25/21) Sam Hillegas or Jeffrey Boyd: Hillegas, a junior, transferred from Virginia Tech after completing his freshman and sophomore years there. A true freshman in 2021, he was 3-3 in dual action. Last year he was 5-3. Boyd, a junior, placed eighth at last year’s Big 12 Championships.

RETURN MATCHES: Realbuto pinned CBU’s Hallmark at the 2021 Harold Nichols Cyclone Open in 6 minutes and 46 seconds. Realbuto defeated Jeffrey Boyd 8-5 in last year’s duel.

157 | #20 (20/19) Derek Holschlag

CBU — Nolan Miller-Johnston (4-9 / 0-4 doubles): The junior wrestled three seasons at Iowa Central Community College and finished third at the 2022 NJCAA Championships at 157 pounds.

WVU — #25 Alex Hornfeck, Redshirt Senior or Caleb Dowling, Junior: Hornfeck was seventh at the 2022 Big 12 Championships and sixth in 2021. He started every dual last year.

REVIEW: Holschlag has defeated Hornfeck twice: 6-1 decision at the 2022 Big 12s and 12-2 major decision in last year’s dual.

165 | #12 (13/23) Austin Yant

CBU – (UR/HM) Frank Almaguer (3-4): Almaguer is a redshirt sophomore who won 11-2 last season.

WVU – #8 (10/11) Peyton Hall, Junior: A two-time NCAA qualifier who finished eighth at the 2022 NCAA Championships and finished runner-up in the 2022 Big 12. He was also second in the U23 Worlds Team Trials at 74 kg.

REVIEW: Hall (WVU) has bested Yant three times: 5-4 decision (2021 Big 12s); 4:2 SV1 decision (2022 doubles); and in a 4-1 decision at the 2022 Big 12 Championships.

174 | (24/21) Lance Runyon or Carson Babcock

CBU — Louis Rojas, a redshirt sophomore, was 4-13 last year.

WVU – Scott Joll, Senior: Sixth in the U23 World Team Trials at 87 kg.

184 | #1 (2) Parker Keckeisen

CBU – Peter Acciardi: Acciardi is a redshirt junior who transferred from Buffalo. He finished seventh at the 2022 Mid-American Conference.

WVU – #25 (32/HM) Anthony Carman, Redshirt Junior: Finished 8th in the Big 12 Championships for the last two seasons.

REVIEW: Keckeisen defeated Carman (WVU) 12-3 major decision in last year’s dual

197 | Noah Glaser

CBU — Caden Gerlach (4-13/4-6): Gerlach opened the 2023 season at 184 pounds in the doubles. He went 16-9 and was 7-3 in doubles last season.

WVU – #28 (31/HM) Austin Cooley, Redshirt sophomore, or Brian Finnerty, freshman, or Ian Bush, freshman: Cooley moved from Pittsburgh after the 2021 season. Last year he finished fifth in the U23 World Team Trials at 92kg. Finnerty was 121-49 in prep in Pennsylvania. Bush is a true freshman having competed in two duals this season. He was a two-time state champion as a prep in West Virginia.

RETURN: Glaser beat Lopez (CBU) 8-2 at the 2021 Harold Nichols Open

285 | #11 (15/12) Tyrell Gordon

CBU – Christopher Island: Island is a sophomore who went 7-10 last season.

WVU – (25/19) Michael Wolfgram, redshirt junior: Earned his first trip to the NCAA tournament in 2022 with a seventh-place finish in the Big 12 championships. He was also seventh in the Big 12s in 2021.

RETURN: Wolfgram (WVU) won the 2022 duel 3-1 in a sudden victory