Lopers Battle Second of Three Top 20 D1 Teams

Wrestling 12/14/2024 9:13:00 PM

Lopers Battle Second of Three Top 20 D1 Teams

Kearney, Neb. – Junior Crew Howard and sophomore Zach Ourada picked up major decisions, but 10th-ranked Northern Iowa claimed a 35-8 win over Nebraska Kearney Saturday night in Cedar Falls.

The Lopers (3-2), ranked fifth in NCAA Division II, fell to D1 No. 20 Arkansas-Little Rock, 38-10, last month. The final D1 dual of the year comes next Friday night at No. 4 Nebraska.

Both Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) and Ourada (Omaha Skutt) earned UNK's lone wins against the UALR Trojans. Tonight, the third-ranked Ourada had a takedown and a three-point near fall in the opening period to blank UNI senior Kyle Gollohofer, 8-0. In the last dual, top-ranked Howard moved to 10-0 by having takedowns in each period to roll by a 15-3 margin over Panther senior Adam Ahrendsen. He now has three wins vs. D1 competition and, overall, eight bonus point wins.

At 133 pounds, Kansas redshirt junior Hector Serratos was up 5-4 heading into the third period against redshirt freshman Garret Rinken. However, Rinken got an escape to force overtime and then recorded a takedown to win. A weight higher, Colorado redshirt sophomore Joseph Airola battled true freshman Carter Freeman but lost by 4-2 count. Airola escaped twice with Freeman using an early takedown to win. Finally, UNI's other victories were three majors, two falls and a tech fall.

Next Friday in Lincoln, the Lopers face No. 8 Augustana at 2 p.m. and then the 'Huskers at 5:30 p.m. The dual against UNL will air on the BIG 10 Plus Network.

#10 UNI 35, UNK 8

	125	#3 Zachary Ourada over Kyle Gollhofer (Northern Iowa) (Maj Dec 8-0)	0	4
	133	Garret Rinken (Northern Iowa) over Hector Serratos (Sudden Victory-1; 8-5)	3	0
	141	Carter Freeman (Northern Iowa) over Joseph Airola (Dec 4-2)	3	0
	149	Adam Allard (Northern Iowa) over Beau Hostler (Tech Fall 15-0; 1:53)	5	0
	157	Cael Rahnavardi (Northern Iowa) over Cael Robb (Maj Dec 8-0)	4	0
	165	Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) over #14 Trenton Munoz (Maj Dec 16-5)	4	0
	174	Nick Fox (Northern Iowa) over Dylan Vodicka (Fall 2:46)	6	0
	184	#2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) over Jacobi Deal (Fall 6:12)	6	0
	197	Kalob Runyon (Northern Iowa) over #3 Jackson Kinsella (Maj Dec 12-3)	4	0
	285	#1 Crew Howard over Adam Ahrendsen (Northern Iowa) (Maj Dec 15-3)	0	4
Team Score:			35	8

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Players Mentioned

Joseph Airola: 141; Redshirt Sophomore

Crew Howard: 285; Redshirt Junior

Zach Ourada: 125; Redshirt Sophomore

Hector Serratos: 133; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Joseph Airola
: Redshirt Sophomore
: 141

Crew Howard
: Redshirt Junior
: 285

Zach Ourada
: Redshirt Sophomore
: 125

Hector Serratos
: Redshirt Junior
: 133