Husker Wrestlers Head to Las Vegas Invitational - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

The 14th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Action starts Friday, Dec. 6 and concludes Saturday, Dec. 7, with the semifinals and finals.

Forty-five teams will compete in the meet, with 11 of those ranked in the Top 25 by InterMat. Third-ranked Minnesota headlines the field that includes No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 West Virginia, No. 10 Illinois, No. 12 Boise State, No. 13 Missouri, No. 16 Arizona State, No. 19 Penn State, No. 23 Purdue.

The Huskers enter the tournament looking to contend for the team title. At last year's event, the Huskers recorded one individual champion with Bryan Snyder at 157 pounds with the team finishing seventh. Currently four Huskers are ranked in the top 15 of their weight class and will be competing for individual crowns.

At 149-pounds, 15th-ranked Travis Shufelt will face his toughest competition so far this season. The sophomore will see nine ranked opponents in his bracket, including the top-three ranked wrestlers in the class.

Sophomore Travis Pascoe could also face some stiff competition this weekend. Pascoe, who is currently ranked fourth according to Amateur Wrestling News, possibly could see a matchup with defending NCAA Champion Greg Jones of West Virginia.

Top-ranked 197-pounder Justin Ruiz will have a chance to solidify his position atop the 197-pound division. Five of the nation's top 20 197-pounders will join Ruiz as competition begins Friday.

Huskers Take Second; Ruiz Secures Individual Title
Justin Ruiz led the Husker wrestling team to a second-place finish at the 2002 Mat Town Invite on Nov. 30.

Nebraska finished with a team total of 156.5 points, 11 points behind Purdue. Penn State finished third, followed by Lock Haven, Pittsburgh, Buffalo with Ohio, Oregon, Slippery Rock and Franklin & Marshall.

Ruiz won by injury default over Purdue's Jon Bush in the finals. NU's Jason Powell, B.J. Padden and Joey Malia each finished second. Powell lost an 8-1 decision to second ranked Chris Fleeger of Purdue.

Freshman Jacob Klein and Mitch Manstedt finished third. Sophomore Travis Shufelt was fourth with sophomore Matt Murray, Nate McMillin and Nathan McClain finishing fifth.Second-ranked Travis Pascoe and freshman James Pummel took sixth.

Huskers Drop Sun Devils, 20-19
Nebraska opened its 2002-03 season Friday, Nov. 22 with a 20-19 win over 12th-ranked Arizona State in front of 733 fans at the NU Coliseum. Leading the way for the Huskers was junior 125-pounder Jason Powell, who registered a fall at the 2:05 mark. The pin gave the Huskers a 17-10 lead that they would not relinquish.

Heading into the 125-pound match NU held a one-point lead at 11-10, after junior heavyweight Nathan McClain nearly knocked off seventh-ranked Kellan Fluckiger. McClain held a 4-1 lead in the middle of the third period before Fluckiger battled back to send the match into overtime. Fluckiger scored a takedown 18 seconds into the extra frame for a 6-4 win.

The Sun Devils got off to a quick start winning the first two matches of the day at 157 and 165 pounds, taking a early 7-0 lead. At 174 pounds, fourth-ranked Travis Pascoe got NU on the scoreboard with a 13-6 decision over 12th-ranked Curtis Owen. Following the victory at 174 pounds, redshirt freshman B.J. Padden scored his first varsity win with a 14-6 major decision over Mazi Burke at 184 pounds.

NU recorded its third-straight victory of the night when second-ranked Justin Ruiz recorded a technical fall over Ryan Bader, 21-6, putting the Huskers up by four heading into heavyweight.

After McClain's tough loss and Powell