TULSA, Oklahoma – Parker Keckeisen talked about doubt after the first day of the NCAA wrestling championships.
He spoke on how he can’t allow it to creep into his mind not before a match and definitely not during a match.
Friday, Keckeisen left little doubt on the mat.
Using a takedown, two escapes, plus a riding time point, the Northern Iowa star advanced to the 184-pound national finals with a 5-1 win over Oregon State’s Trey Munoz in a semifinal Friday at the BOK Center.
“God has blessed me with an incredible moment,” Keckeisen said.
Keckeisen, the 14th three-time all-American in UNI history, is the second to reach the 184 finals in four years and will try to do what Drew Foster did in 2019 in Pittsburgh, win a national title.
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“He has been incredibly consistent, every day,” UNI head coach Doug Schwab said. “Not once in a while, but every day and he has done it for a long. He earned that spot in the finals.”
Keckeisen has also talked about being proud of his effort, whether it be in a win or loss and that was what was on his mind in the semifinals.
“That’s honestly the only thing I can control is my effort, right” Keckeisen said. “In the match, I can only control my output, can’t control the score on the board. You are going to get scored on and you’re going to get takedowns, too. Just go out there and give 100 percent the whole time and that’s being in the moment, like this interview, giving 100 percent to you.”
Keckeisen advances to face an old adversary in Penn State two-time national champion Aaron Brooks who beat him in the 2021 National Semifinals, and earlier this year in the NWCA All-Star Classic.
“I’ve said it a lot, control what I can and be in the moment,” Keckeisen said. “At the end of seven minutes or longer, be proud. Be proud and control what I can and control your effort and let the man above control the outcome of that.
“I’m going to go out there and try to get to my attacks, ride hard, wrestle hard…and that’s the game plan. Aaron is a great wrestler, I remember wrestling him in Fargo, wrestling him earlier this year… and it didn’t go so hot, but there is always tomorrow. Hopefully there is a tomorrow, it’s not guaranteed, but there is always the next time.”
Two other Panthers just missed making the podium Kyle Biscoglia at 133 and Austin Yant at 165.
After winning two straight backside matches to reach the blood round, Biscoglia lost to North Carolina State’s Kai Orine, 7-1, to see his tournament end. Yant dropped a 10-2 decision to Wisconsin all-American Dean Hamiti in his final collegiate match.
“It is hard,” Schwab said. “You guys are back in these hallways and see the pain they go through, but I could tell you this … I know they want to have all-American beside their name, want to have national champion beside their name, but they are so much more than that.
“Kyle Biscoglia is so much more than that, Austin Yant so much more…they are already more than that. There were some things they wanted to accomplish and they put everything into that. You are incredible proud of them, hurt with them but also celebrate the hell out of them because of what they have done and how they’ve done it.”
Keckeisen reached the semifinals for the second time in his career with a 3-2 victory over Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar at 184.
Keckeisen said Salazar did a great job of staying in position and reattacking when Keckeisen attempted shots.
But unlike last year when Bernie Truax beat Keckeisen because he could get to the legs and finish, Keckeisen was ready this time.
“He got in on my legs,” Keckeisen said. “That is something I worked on this summer to …where it was, ‘ooh, I’m good here too.
“It was just a point of emphasis…last year if you got to my legs you probably were scoring. My head and hands defense is pretty good, if you break that, get past that I have added a layer there.”
Salazar was never able to finish, and eventually Keckeisen was able to break though the Gopher’s defense and scored on a low double-leg with 1:21 left in the third period and that takedown turned out to be the difference.
“It feels good,” Keckeisen. “It is just going out there and giving my best effort. That is the standard is giving your best effort and I felt I did that.”
The victory assured Keckeisen of his third all-American performance as he became the 14th all-time three-time all-American in Northern Iowa history.
Biscoglia topped Joe Heilmann of Rutgers, 6-1, and then Michael Colaiocco of Penn, 7-4, to reach the all-American round.
Yant had a pair of dominant wins to reach the blood round, downing Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Sheets, 10-5, then blanking Bubba Wilson of Nebraska, 10-0.
Cael Happel at 141, Colin Realbuto at 149, Derek Holschlag at 157 and Tyrell Gordon at 285 were all eliminated Friday morning.
All seven of UNI’s qualifiers won at least one match, and five of them have won two or more.
