Former Waverly-Shell Rock Wrestler in Hunt for Cliff Keen Wrestling Title

One UNI Panther wrestler and former North East Iowa all star is in the hunt for a 2015 Cliff Keen title, and three more are going for third.

Just one day after being named MAC Wrestler of the Week, freshman Bryce Steiert knocked off two top-20 opponents with a 3-2 decision over No. 17 Elezar DeLuca of Northern Colorado and No. 14 Dylan Cottrell of West Virginia. DeLuca was seeded fifth in the tournament, and Cottrell was seeded fourth. He will face the top seed, No. 2 Ian Miller of Kent State in the 157-pound semifinals Saturday.

Steiert is no stranger to success on the mat. The former Waverly-Shell Rock wrestler is a four-time medalist at the Iowa High School State Tournament in Class 3A. He ended his high school career ranked #3 in the nation. As a senior, he won the Iowa High School Class 3A state champion at 160 pounds. During his junior year, he won the title at 145 pounds. Steiert also finished as a runner-up (sophomore) and seventh (freshman).

Blaize Cabell got knocked into the consolation rounds after a loss to Tanner Hall of Arizona State.

No. 4 Cooper Moore moved up a seed to second at the 165-pound weight class. He earned two major decisions with wins over Vincent DePrez of Binghamton and Devon Gobbo of Harvard, but he lost to Purdue’s Chad Welch to get bumped into Saturday’s consolation rounds.

Josh Alber (133 pounds) earned a 14-5 major decision over Zach Davis of Navy and pinned Keegan Moore of West Virginia just before time expired. He won a medical forfeit over No. 5 Johnni Dijulius of Ohio State to stay alive.

Before being knocked out of the tournament, Drew Foster earned a 12-0 major decision over Mike Marshall of San Francisco State and followed it up by pinning MAC opponent Mike Vollant of Kent State in 6:23.

No. 7 Dylan Peters was the first Panther to score bonus points with his 19-3 tech fall over Vince Pallone of Columbia at 125 pounds. He followed it up with a first-period fall over Bryan Damon of Hofstra. Peters now has 32 falls, giving him sole possession of the sixth place position for most career falls among all Panthers. He medically forfeited his final matches.

The team is looking to improve on its 14th-place finish from last year. The Panthers’ highest place-winner was Cooper Moore, who took fourth for the second consecutive year.

Action resumes at 11 a.m. CT Saturday. The championship rounds are set for 5 p.m. CT. Several Panthers are also competing Saturday at the Buena Vista Open in Storm Lake, Iowa.

RESULTS

125 pounds – #7 Dylan Peters (4th seed) - DNP
Peters tech fall Vince Pallone (Columbia), 19-3
Peters pinned Bryan Damon (Hofstra), 1:34
#17 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma) def. Peters
Trey Andrews (Northern Colorado) wins by medical forfeit

133 pounds – #16 Josh Alber (12th seed)
Alber maj. dec. Zach Davis (Navy), 14-5
#7 Earl Hall (Iowa State) dec. Alber, 9-7
Alber dec. Josh Newburg (Boise State), 6-4
Alber pinned Keegan Moore (West Virginia), 7:00
Alber won by medical forfeit over #5 Johnni Dijulius (Ohio State)

141 pounds – Trevor Jauch - DNP
#9 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) maj. dec. Jauch, 10-2
Jauch dec. Sonny Espinoza (Northern Colorado), 8-3
Jauch dec. Jarod Maynes (Utah Valley), 8-3
Jauch dec. Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 7-5
Logan Everett (Army) dec. Jauch, 7-1

149 pounds – Gunnar Wolfensperger - DNP
#13 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) dec. Wolfensperger, 6-5
Benjamin Polkowske (Northern Colorado) dec. Wolfensperger, 8-4

157 pounds – Bryce Steiert
Steiert dec. #17 Elezar DeLuca (Northern Colorado), 3-2
Steiert dec. Jordan Amine (Michigan), 7-3
Steiert dec. #14 Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia), 8-3
#2 Ian Miller (Kent State)

165 pounds – #4 Cooper Moore (2nd seed)
Moore maj. dec. Vincent DePrez (Binghamton), 10-2
Moore maj. dec. Devon Gobbo (Harvard), 13-1
Chad Welch (Purdue) pinned Moore, 2:25
Brandon Krone (Minnesota)

174 pounds – Drew Foster - DNP
Foster maj. dec. Mike Marshall (San Francisco State), 12-0
#5 Blaise Butler (Missouri) dec. Foster, 3-1
Foster pinned Mike Vollant (Kent State), 6:23
Frank Affonti (Hofstra) dec. Foster, 6-0

184 pounds – Cody Caldwell – DNP
Caldwell dec. Mike Fetchet (Columbia), 10-4
#4 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. Caldwell, 3-1
Dane Pestano (Iowa State) dec. Caldwell, 8-6

197 pounds – Jared Bartel – DNP
#5 Max Huntley (Michigan) maj. dec. Bartel, 14-4
Bartel dec. Troy Hembury (Columbia), 2-0
#8 Zach Nye (Virginia) dec. Bartel, 5-0

285 pounds – #6 Blaize Cabell
Cabell dec. Ben Tynan (North Dakota State), 7-5
Cabell dec. Trevor Smith (Army), 9-2
Tanner Hall (Arizona State) dec. Cabell, 4-1