HUSKERS FINISH SECOND BEHIND NO. 1 OSU AT RENO CHALLENGE

Reno, Nev.--The 14th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team finished second behind No. 1 Oklahoma State late Sunday evening at the Reno Challenge. Oklahoma State finished the competition with 99 points, edging the Huskers' effort of 85.

Neither team faced the other in the three-dual competition and both teams made it through the contest undefeated. Scoring was determined by the number of points scored in three different dual competitions, which were held at the University of Nevada-Reno's Lawlor Event Center.

Oklahoma State (6-0) defeated Boise State, 39-6; Cal-State Bakersfield, 27-12; and Central Michigan, 31-7 to claim the title.

Nebraska, now 5-1 for the season in dual competition, defeated 19th-ranked Cal State-Bakersfield, 24-9, in the first round before beating ninth-ranked Arizona State, 26-11, and Cal-Poly, 35-10 to complete the evening of competition.

Against Cal State-Bakersfield, the Huskers won all but one event. Husker sophomore J.R. Plienis, ranked No. 10 in the nation, fell to defending national champion Steven Neal in the heavyweight match, 7-3. Paul Gomez, Todd Beckerman, Jose DeAnda, Joe Henson, Bryan Snyder, Josh Henson, Charles McTorry, Brad Vering and Scott Munson each picked up wins in the dual, which ended Cal State-Bakersfield's 23-match winning streak.

The Huskers upset the ninth-ranked Sun Devils in the second round, winning seven of the ten matches. Gomez, ranked seventh in the nation, defeated fifth-ranked Matt Azavido to give the Huskers an early edge. In other key match-ups, Plienis was leading 18-2 before winning by technical fall over Randy Leydecker; unranked Joe Henson beat No. 17 Quinn Foster, 9-3; Josh Henson was defeated by eighth-ranked Steve Blackford, 14-3; and ninth-ranked Vering lost to No. 2 Casey Strand in a hard-fought contest, 3-2.

Nebraska dominated its third dual of the day with Cal-Poly, winning eight match-ups en route to a 35-10 victory. Vering and Plienis led the way for the Huskers with two pins. Vering pinned Mike Perez at 1:13 in the 184-pound match, and Plienis pinned Jan McGee at 1:23 in the heavyweight match. Gomez and Joe Henson each recorded major decisions, and Munson won by forfeit at 197 pounds. Sophomore Billy Gabel made his season debut in the varsity lineup against Cal-Poly, but lost to Steve Strange, 15-6.

Husker senior Jose DeAnda, ranked ninth in the nation at 141 pounds, kept his unblemished record in tact on Sunday with three wins to move his record to 11-0 and 6-0 for the season. Seventh-ranked Paul Gomez continued to dominate as well, posting three wins to move to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in dual competition for the season. Freshman Joe Henson earned three wins to keep a perfect 5-0 dual mark for the season.

"This was a very competitive meet with all of the ranked teams and wrestlers who attended," Husker Head Coach Tim Neumann said. "We faced some stiff competition, and wrestled very well today."

The Huskers will not hold practice for a few days before preparing for a dual with Big 12 rival Oklahoma State at Stillwater, Okla., on Jan. 3.

THE 1998 RENO CHALLENGE - Final Team Standings
1. #1 Oklahoma State (99)
2. #14 Nebraska (85)
3. #9 Arizona State (60)
4. #16 Purdue (53)
5. #19 Cal-Bakersfield (47)
6. Cal-Poly (38)
7. #8 Central Michigan (35)
8. Boise State (29)

#14 NEBRASKA 24, #19 CAL STATE-BAKERSFIELD 9
125--#7 Paul Gomez (6-1, 3-1), NU dec. Moses Delfin, CSB 7-3
133--#18 Todd Beckerman (6-3, 3-1), NU dec. Brad Hull, CSB 4-2
141--#9 Jose DeAnda (9-0, 4-0), NU dec. Jonathan Archuleta, CSB 11-10
149--Joe Henson (7-1, 3-0), NU dec. Mike Mendoza, CSB 2-0
157--#19 Bryan Snyder (7-1, 3-1), NU dec. Nathan Vasquez, CSB 12-6
165--Josh Henson (8-1, 3-1), NU pinned Andy Varner, CSB 2:32
174--Charles McTorry (5-3, 2-2), NU dec. Ian Nelms, CSB 11-7
184--#9 Brad Vering (8-1, 4-0), NU dec. Lionel Halsey, CSB 6-4
197--#16 Scott Munson (7-2, 3-1), NU dec. Raphael Davis, CSB 7-4
Hwt--#1 Stephen Neal, CSB dec. #10 J.R. Plienis (5-3, 3-1), NU 7-3

#14 NEBRASKA 26, #9 ARIZONA STATE 11
125--#7 Paul Gomez (7-1, 4-1), NU dec. #5 Matthew Azebedo, ASU 15-8
133--#8 Eric Larkin, ASU maj. dec. #18 Todd Beckerman (7-3, 4-1), NU 9-0
141--#9 Jose DeAnda (10-0, 5-0), NU dec. David Douglas, ASU 7-6
149--Joe Henson (8-1, 4-0), NU dec. #17 Quinn Foster, ASU 9-3
157--#19 Bryan Snyder (8-1, 4-1), NU pinned Jose Moreno 3:50
165--#8 Steve Blackford, ASU maj. dec. Josh Henson (8-2, 3-2), NU 14-3
174--Charles McTorry (6-3, 3-2), NU dec. Patrick Catarello, ASU 13-10
184--#2 Casey Strand, ASU dec. #9 Brad Vering (8-2, 4-1), NU 3-2
197--#16 Scott Munson (8-2, 4-1), NU dec. Micah Daggy, ASU 10-4
Hwt--#10 J.R. Plienis (6-3, 4-1), NU tech. fall Randy Leydecker, ASU [18-2]

#14 NEBRASKA 35, CAL-POLY 10
125--#7 Paul Gomez (8-1, 5-1), NU maj. dec. John Garza, CPY 10-2
133--#18 Todd Beckerman (8-3, 5-1), NU dec. Andy Garza, CPY 11-5
141--#9 Jose DeAnda (11-0, 6-0), NU dec. Cedric Haymon, CPY 8-4
149--Joe Henson (9-1, 5-0), NU maj. dec. Jason Guitterez, CPY 13-3
157--#19 Bryan Snyder (9-1, 5-1), NU dec. Lita, CPY 6-3
165--Steve Strange, CPY maj. dec. Billy Gabel (3-2, 0-1), NU 15-6
174--David Wells, CPY win by forfeit
184--#9 Brad Vering (9-2, 5-1), NU pinned Mike Perez, CPY 1:13
197--#16 Scott Munson (9-2, 5-1), NU win by forfeit
Hwt--#10 J.R. Plienis (7-3, 5-1), NU pinned Jan McGee, CPY 1:23