Huskers Head West To Take on Fresno State and Cal Poly

Lincoln -- The 12th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team is set to travel to the state of California for two duals against Cal Poly and Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003. The 11-3 Huskers face Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo at 1 p.m (PST) and then travel to Fresno to take on the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. (PST).

Scouting the Opponents
The Mustangs enter the matchup against the Cornhuskers with 3-4 record. Cal Poly is coming off of a 26-18 loss to fifth-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 11. Cal Poly enters, this weekend's matchup with three individuals currently ranked in their respective weight classes. At 125 pounds, sophomore Vic Moreno is currently ranked 13th and owns a 16-5 record.At 184 pounds, freshman Ryan Halsey owns a 15-6 record and is currently ranked 15th. At 197 pounds, senior David Schenk is currently ranked 15th and is 17-5 on the season.

Fresno State (2-4) enters the match against the Cornhuskers after nearly upsetting fifth-ranked Oklahoma, falling 23-18 on Jan. 11.The Bulldogs currently do not have anyone ranked in the latest themat.com individual coaches poll.

However, the Bulldogs are led by senior Eddie Grifford who enters the dual with the Huskers on a five-match win streak and junior Zhon Kuraspediani who, last weekend against Oklahoma upset No. 19 Nate Parker at 149 pounds.

Nebraska has faced both Fresno State and Cal Poly three times in school history. The Huskers are 3-0 against each school.The last time the Huskers faced Fresno State and Cal Poly was in 1999-2000, when NU defeated the Bulldogs, 28-12 and the Mustangs, 30-18.

The Last Time Out (@ Virginia Duals)
The Nebraska wrestling team earned a second-place finish at the 23rd annual Virginia Duals on Jan. 10-11 in Hampton, Va.

vs. Brown, 26-10
Against Brown, the Huskers won seven of the 10 weight classes. Of Nebraska's seven wins four of the winners earned bonus points.At 125 pounds, Jeremy Emerson, won his first career dual with a 5-0 decision over Dan Apelo.

vs. #21 Hofstra, 22-17
Leading by two heading into the final weight class, sophomore heaveyweight Mitch Manstedt defeated Dan Garay in overtime to secure a 22-17 victory. Tied at one in overtime Manstedt held on to Garay for 30 seconds to earn the win.

Redshirt freshman Jacob Klein upset sixth-ranked Noel Thompson, 4-3. Klein scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds left to steal the win.

vs. #4 Illinois, 20-17
Against the Illini, the Huskers again needed a victory by Manstedt to notch the win. Tied at 17 heading into the final weight class, Manstedt defeated Chris Little, 5-3.

vs. #13 Lehigh, 34-7
The Mountain Hawks proved to be too much as theywon eight of the 10 weight classes for the 34-7 victory. Junior Jason Powell and sophomore Travis Shufelt were the only Huskers to earn victories.

Shufelt Named Big 12 Wrestler-of-the-Week
Sophomore Travis Shufelt was named the Big 12 Wrestler-of-theWeek for the week of Jan. 6-12. This past weekend Shufelt went 4-0 at the two-day Virginia Duals. On Jan. 7 he nearley upset third-ranked Jared Lawrence of Minnesota, losing the match 8-6.

Shufelt is the first Husker to capture Big 12 wrestler-of-the-week since Bryan Snyder won the award on Jan. 15, 2002

Shufelt named Most Outstanding Wrestler
Shufelt was also honored for his outstanding effort at the Virginia Duals. He was awarded the most outstanding award at the Virginia Duals. Shufelt went a perfect 4-0, defeating Jason Mercado of Brown (15-0), eighth-ranked Jon Masa of Hofstra (by fall), Tony Pedrosa of Illinois (17-2) and of Lehigh Tommy Rohn (15-6).

Huskers Have Another 10-Win Seaon
With three wins at the Virgina Duals, the NU wrestlng raised its season win total to 11. The 11 wins tied Mark Manning's previous Nebraska high of 11victories he had in his first year at NU in 2000-01. The season also marked the 11th time since 1990-91 that NU has recorded double-digets wins.

Huskers Get First Win over Top-Five Opponent Since 98-99
Nebraska's 20-17 upset win over Illinois last Saturday marked the first time since 1998-99 that the Husker wrestling team beat a team ranked in the nation's top-five. In 1998-99, NU defeated fourth-ranked Oklahoma, 18-17, in Norman. The win also was Mark Manning's first win over a top-five ranked opponent while at NU and his 10th win in 27 matches against ranked teams at NU.

The win over Illinois also marked the fist time since 2000-01 that NU has posted more than one win over a ranked opponent (NU has defeated, #12 Arizona State, #21 Hofstra and #4 Illinois).