Takedown Report

Northern Iowa wrestling rallies for senior day win over Wisconsin

Panthers overcome early deficit to close out regular season with 16-15 win over Badgers.
OFFICIALS – Eric Boucher, Ben Marshall
ATTENDANCE – 3,190
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The 18th ranked UNI wrestling team closed out the 2025-26 dual schedule in style on Sunday, rallying from an early deficit to defeat No. 16 Wisconsin by a score of 16-15 inside the McLeod Center in non-conference action.
After the Badgers won the first four matches of the day, Northern Iowa responded with victories in five of the remaining six bouts, kicked off by a bonus-point win from Maximus Brady at 141 pounds after UNI trailed 12-0. The Panthers finish the regular season with an 11-8 record and 4-3 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents.
Prior to the dual, the Panthers recognized its senior class of wrestlers, including Jack Thomsen, Cael Rahnavardi, Julian Farber, Connor Thorpe, Adam Ahrendsen, Ethan Basile, Garrett Funk, RJ Weston and Caleb Rathjen.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Moving up a weight class to open the dual at 197 pounds, CJ Walrath came up short in an 8-2 loss to No. 20 Wyatt Ingham, while Ahrendsen faced a challenging ride from No. 10 Braxton Amos at heavyweight in a 6-1 loss.
Trever Anderson challenged No. 18 Nicolar Rivera but fell short in an 8-5 loss at 125, as Farber battled No. 13 Zan Fuggitt at 133 pounds. After a high-scoring first period with both wrestlers tied up at 8-8, Fuggitt took a one-point lead on a second period escape with Farber tying the match in the third on locked hands, but was unable to score an escape as Fuggitt rode out Farber for riding time in a 10-9 win over the Panther senior.
Brady put the Panthers on the board in a dominant performance at 141 pounds against Peter Tomazevic, scoring a pair of takedowns in the first frame. The offense continued for Brady with a third takedown and a solid ride to extend the lead, while adding two more takedowns in the third period along with a stalling point en route to a 17-4 major decision, Brady’s team-high tying 18th win of the season.
Rathjen kept the Panther Train rolling at 149 pounds, jumping out to a 4-1 lead on No. 10 Joseph Zargo. After Zargo tied the match with a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, it took Rathjen only 17 seconds of overtime to score the winning takedown for a 7-4 sudden victory decision and his third career win over Zargo.
Following a 6-3 win for No. 23 Luke Mechler … more at … https://unipanthers.com/news/2026/2/22/wrestling-uni-wrestling-rallies-for-senior-day-win-over-wisconsin

February 27, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | sports, wrestling