NCAA Wrestling: UNI's Parker Keckeisen falls to Penn State's Aaron Brooks in 184-pound final

TULSA, Okla. — Parker Keckeisen just can't seem to solve Aaron Brooks.

Keckeisen, the high-octane 184-pounder for the Northern Iowa wrestling program, lost 7-2 to Brooks in the 184-pound final at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday night here at the BOK Center. Brooks, a fourth-year junior for Penn State, is now a three-time NCAA champ.

"I'm blessed," Brooks said in a post-match interview afterward with ESPN's Quint Kessenich. "God used me. He gives me this platform for this right here. I'm suffering cutting weight, gone and away from my family, but it's all for His glory."

Brooks picked up a single leg and patiently finished for a takedown to take a 2-0 lead with 30 seconds left in the first period. Keckeisen escaped to start the second to make it 2-1, but Brooks was immediately in on another shot and finished near the edge to lead 4-1.

He surpassed a minute of riding-time before Keckeisen escaped to make it 4-2, Brooks, entering the third. A third caution on Keckeisen made it 5-2, Brooks, who then quickly escaped to make it 6-2. Keckeisen only got off a few shots throughout the bout, struggling to break through Brooks' initial head-hands defense.

"Brooks is obviously a great competitor. ," Northern Iowa coach Doug Schwab said afterward. "You have to give him a lot of credit. Parker usually gets to legs and gets to attacks, but he didn't really get deep to anything. He kept (Parker) away."

Keckeisen finishes the season 26-2 overall, and is now 74-5 in three seasons at Northern Iowa. Three of those loses have come to Brooks — 6-4 in the NCAA semifinals in 2021, 3-2 in a December dual meet last season, then on Saturday night in the NCAA finals.

Keckeisen, who still has two years of eligibility left, is now a three-time All-American, adding a pair of third-place finishes from 2021 and 2022 to his runner-up showing this week. He was Northern Iowa's only All-American this week. The Panthers finished with 29 team points to finish 16th overall in the team standings.

"Parker has set the bar incredibly high," Schwab said. "The consistency that he comes in with, the work he continues to do, the level that he sets. I can tell you this, he's not going to change. He said, 'I know what I'm doing Monday.' He's going to go back to work and get better.

"He loves the process, he loves the sport, even when it tears your heart out. It's still something that you're grateful for. You hurt for him, but you know he put everything and all his effort into it, and you're incredibly proud of that."

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: NCAA Wrestling: UNI's Keckeisen loses 7-2 to PSU's Brooks in 184 final