The UNI Panthers return home after nearly a month on the road to take on The Monarchs of Old Dominion tomorrow night at 7pm. The dual is the final one of the year for the Panthers, and it’s their first home dual in more than a month.
UNI will honor two seniors as well on Friday night, Taylor Kettman and Basil Minto. Both men have represented UNI at 197 pounds during their careers. Kettman wrestled in all but two duals his sophomore season, but sat out the West Regional due to injury. He did not compete his junior or senior years, but holds a 16-18 overall record with the Panthers.
Basil Minto is the current starter at 197 pounds and was a junior college transfer for head coach Doug Schwab. Minto holds an 18-11 career record with the Panthers after coming in from NIACC, where he was ranked number one during his sophomore season at 184 pounds. He would take 5th in the NJCAA National Championships both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Old Dominion brings in some good wrestlers. Their top man, Jack Dechow, comes in with a number four rank and a Midlands championship, but is still ranked second in the MAC after falling to Missouri’s Willie Miklus back in November. Miklus’ is Dechow’s only loss on the year, but UNI’s Cody Caldwell will look to change that.
The dual will feature only one match between top twenty wrestlers, and that one comes at 165 with #13 Cooper Moore going up against #15 Tristan Warner. Moore is coming off a loss to Iowa State’s #3 Mike Moreno, so bouncing back against a solid opponent in Warner would be a good confidence booster for the post season.
#6 Dylan Peters and #10 Blaize Cabell are the other two Panthers who are favored in their matches. Although neither is ranked nationally, Brandon Jeske (125) and Jake Henderson (285) are both ranked third in the February MAC Coaches Poll, and both will be solid tests for the Panthers. Wins, and especially bonus point wins, from either Panther would be big wins for the team.
The fourth ranked wrestler in the MAC poll looks to keep his winning streak alive. Jarrett Jensen has been rolling a bit lately, winning three straight matches and seven of his last ten. Jensen most recently took down ISU’s Luke Goettl 4-2, but beat then-number two Ian Miller at Kent State 5-4 two weeks ago. Jensen will get either Devin Geoghegan or TC Warner at 157 pounds.
The dual can be seen on UNI’s Inside Access for a fee, and we will have a play by play thread going Friday night, so be sure to check back for updates if you can’t get out to the dual.
UNI vs #22 Old Dominion
125 – #6 Dylan Peters vs Brandon Jeske
133 – Leighton Gaul vs Michael Hayes
141 – Jake Hodges or Tyler Willers vs #11 Chris Mecate
149 – Gunnar Wolfensperger or Tyler Patten vs #10 Alexander Richardson
157 – Jarrett Jensen vs Devin Geoghegan or TC Warner
165 – #13 Cooper Moore vs #15 Tristan Warner
174 – Curt Maas vs Austin Coburn
184 – Cody Caldwell vs #4 Jack Dechow
197 – Basil Minto vs Kevin Beazley
285 – #10 Blaize Cabell vs Jake Henderson