Paniro Johnson claims Big 12 wrestling championship

Iowa State 149-pounder earns thrilling 5-4 win in finals for second straight title

Iowa State's Paniro Johnson won his second Big 12 title Sunday night. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Paniro Johnson defended his Big 12 wrestling championship on Sunday night, securing gold for Iowa State at 149 pounds.

Johnson earned a thrilling 5-4 victory over Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa in the finals from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Came through in the clutch.

📺 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/iQygXSFvol

— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) March 10, 2025

A redshirt sophomore from Pennsylvania, Johnson earned some revenge for a 10-7 loss to Realbuto earlier this year. He will also return to the NCAA Championships alongside several of his Cyclone teammates.

Podium pic 😀@PaniroJohnson1 pic.twitter.com/pJ3YrMK5v3

— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) March 10, 2025

Johnson is the 39th two-time conference champion for Iowa State and the first since David Carr won four straight. This is the seventh consecutive season Kevin Dresser has had at least one league winner and the 11th since he took over the program as head coach.

MJ Gaitan showed what he is capable of, battling back following a loss to former NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole at 174 pounds by winning four straight to place third. Gaitan earned a fall and three decisions for the tournament.

Jacob Frost and Aiden Riggins were each fourth while Daniel Herrera was fifth at heavyweight. Cody Chittum and Evan Bockman each finished fifth while Evan Frost and Nathan Schon were both seventh.

Iowa State finished fourth in the team standings. 

Six Cyclones will be headed to the NCAA Championships as automatic qualifiers in Jacob Frost, Johnson, Chittum, Riggins, Gaitan and Bockman. The rest will find out on Tuesday when NCAA announces the full list of qualifiers.