Huskers Look To Corral Boise State

Lincoln -- The eighth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will look to continue its strong start to the season against Boise State University at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Track, Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.

Scouting the Broncos
Boise State returns eight letterwinners and four starters from last season's squad that placed 12th at the NCAA Championships.

The Broncos are led by sophomore, 197-pounder and NCAA qualifier K.C. Walsh. Last season Walsh placed second at the Pac-10 tournament and went 16-10. This season he is off to a 3-1 start with a second-place finish at the Wyoming Open. Boise State's other standout is sophomore Casey Phelps, who is off to a 4-0 start after earning a first-place finish at the Wyoming Open. This is Boise State's first dual of the 2003-04 season.

Boise State is coached by Greg Randall, who beings his second year.

A win for NU would mean....

With a victory over Boise State this Friday, the Huskers would
u Start 3-0 for the third consecutive season
u Head Coach Mark Manning's 38th win at Nebraska
uGive NU its ninth straight win over a Pac-10 conference opponent
u Give NU its fifth straight dual win dating back to last season
u Give NU its ninth win in its last 10 matches at home

The Last Time We Met
In their only meeting in school history, NU recorded a 26-14 victory over the Broncos at the 1988 Cowboy Open in Stillwater, Okla.

Last Time Out
The Nebraska wrestling team opened its 2003-04 season with a pair of dominant victories at the NU Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 15. The Huskers used a combined seven pins in the two duals to roll to a 46-3 win over Portland State, before closing the day with a 33-9 win over visiting Oregon State.

Five Huskers were a perfect 2-0 on the day, highlighted by strong performances from juniors B.J. Wright and Matt Murray and sophomore B.J. Padden. Wright, a 157-pounder who won the first two varsity matches of his career, pinned Portland State’s Kainoa Casco at the one-minute mark to open the day, before posting a 17-8 major decision over Oregon State’s Brian Duhrkoop. Murray pinned Portland State’s Josh Carroll at 1:31, before notching a 16-4 major decision over Oregon State’s Mike Unger at 141 pounds. At 197 pounds, Padden produced a pair of pins with a win by fall at the 4:14 mark over Portland State’s Matt O’Conner and a pin of Oregon State’s Jed Lowe at 6:21.

Huskers in the Rankings
In the preseason Intermat rankings, the Huskers enter the poll at No. 8. They are the third-highest ranked Big 12 school, following preseason No. 1 Oklahoma State and sixth ranked Iowa State. Missouri follows NU at No. 9 with Oklahoma rounding out the Big 12 schools at No. 17.

In individual rankings, senior 125-pounder Jason Powell is preseason No.1 according to Intermat. Senior 133-pounder Joey Malia enters at No. 14, followed by junior Travis Shufelt at 149 pounds who is eighth, junior B.J. Wright enters at 10th (157). Sophomore Jacob Klein is preseason 14th at 165 pounds, junior Travis Pascoe is fourth at 184 pounds, while sophomore, junior, heavyweight Mitch Manstedt is 16th.

Huskers face Weight Changes
With the loss of two-time All-American Justin Ruiz to an Olympic redshirt, Head Coach Mark Manning has been forced to make some changes in the starting lineup. Two-time NCAA qualifier Travis Pascoe will return to the 184-pound weight class after competing last season at 174 pounds. Sophomore B.J. Padden will move up one weight class to 197 pounds after wrestling at 184 in 2002-03. Sophomore Kyle Gubbels will challenge for the starting position at 174 pounds after wrestling last season at 197 pounds.

Huskers Have Bronco Connection
Assistant coach Charles Burton wrestled collegiately at Boise State University. Burton posted a career record of 101-32-1. During his senior year, he posted a 36-4 mark en route to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors.

Huskers Strong at Home
With two victories on Nov. 15, NU recorded its eighth and ninth vicotories in its last 10 match. The Huskers have won six straight at home losing to only third-ranked Minnesota last January. In the nine d ual wins in that stretch, NU has defeated three ranked opponents and had an average margin of victory of 17.8 points.

Team Preview
Nebraska returns eight starters from last season's squad that placed 13th at the NCAA Championships. NU returns two-time All-American Jason Powell, who finished last season with a 35-6 record while adding a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Senior Joey Malia returns at 133 pounds after qualifying for his first NCAA Championships last season. At 141 pounds, there will be a three-way battle between senior Dusty Spaulding, junior Matt Murray and junior college transfer Chris Nedens. At 149 pounds, two-time NCAA qualifier Travis Shufelt returns after finishing last season with a 28-13 record. At battle will take place at 157 pounds between junior B.J. Wright, sophomores David Ingalls and James Pummel. Wright appears to be the favorite at this weight class.

At 165 pounds, Jacob Klein returns and will be looking to claim All-American honors in his sophomore season. Sophomore Kyle Gubbels look to be the favorite at 174-pounds replacing two-time NCAA qualifier Travis Pascoe who will jump up to the 184-pound weight class. Pascoe finished last season with a 22-15 mark. At 197-pounds, sophomore B.J. Padden will fill in for a redshirting Justin Ruiz after finishing last season with a 17-16 records. Junior Mitch Manstedt is slated again to be the starter at heavyweight after just missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Championships last season.

Huskers to Be Shown on CSTV
The University of Nebraska wrestling team is scheduled to have two duals to be televised on College Sports Television this season.

Nebraska's matches against Missouri on Jan. 25 and Iowa State on Feb. 17 are slated to be seen live.

Wrestling legends Dan Gable and Jeff Blatnick will call the action on selected CSTV telecasts.

Huskers Ink Four
Head Coach Mark Manning announced that four wrestlers have signed National Letters-of-Intent to wrestle for the Huskers beginning in 2004-05.

The signees include Chris Oliver of Omaha Creighton Prep, Paul Donahoe of Davison, Mich., Matt Nelson of Wayne, Neb., and Mike Rodgers of Easton, Pa.

Oliver, a three-time state champion, is 97-0 during his prep career and was won state titles at 103, 119 and 140 pounds. He picked NU over Minnesota. His father, Ray, wrestled for NU from 1981 to 1983, earning All-American honors in 1983.
Donahoe, a two-time national junior freestyle champion, picked NU after receiving offers from Michigan and Michigan State. Competing for Davison High School, Donahoe won state titles in 2000 and 2001 at 103 pounds and finished second last year at 119.

Nelson is a three-time place winner and is the defending state champion at 135 pounds. Rodgers is currently ranked second in the nation at 145 pounds and is a three-time place winner for Easton High. Rodgers is from the same high school that produced four-time Big 12 champion and All-American Bryan Snyder and current Husker Chad Sportelli

Manning Named Finalist for Olympic Wrestling Coaching Position
University of Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning as been named a finalist for an Olympic wrestling coaching position for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Manning along with Tom Brands of Iowa City, Iowa, Bruce Burnett of Annapolis, Md., Bobby Douglas of Ames, Iowa and Zeke Jones of Morgantown, W. Va. were also named to the list. Manning was the Head Coach for the 2001 U.S. Freestyle World Team. He also served on the coaching staff of the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams. He served as the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed sixth in the team standings. He served on the coaching staff of the U.S. World team five times.

Huskers Again Face Difficult Schedule
Nebraska is scheduled to face some of college wrestling's top programs this season. The Huskers are to face nine of InterMat's Preseason top 25-poll, including defending national champion Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Feb. 7.

In addition to facing the Cowboys, the Huskers will face three other to the preseason top 10 teams. The Huskers will square off against No. 6 Iowa State, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 9 Missouri, along with No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 20 Arizona State, No. 21 North Carolina and No. 22 Boise State.

Non-Varsity Schedule
The Husker non-varsity and freshmen will also be in action during the 2003-04 season beginning with the South Dakota State Open on November 8. They will compete in the Northern Colorado Open (Nov. 22). The Huskers will also take part in the UNO Open (Nov. 22), and Northern Iowa Open (Dec. 6), before finishing up with the UNK Open (Dec. 13), Dana College (Jan. 3), Glen Brand Open and Denker Open (Jan. 10) and Missouri Valley Open (Jan. 31)

This season the Huskers are off to a strong start led by 133 pounder Derek Pirner, who took home a first place showing at the South Dakota State Open. Heavyweight Jon May has two third place showing for NU at the South Dakota State and Harold Nichols Open.

Last season the NU redshirts were led by 149-pounder Marc Harwood, 133-pounder Matt Keller and 157-pounder B.J. Wright. Harwood went 21-2 with the open titles, while Keller added three individual titles and a 28-3 record. Wright led all NU redshirts with a 34-5 and four open titles.

Up Next
The Huskers will next be in action on Nov. 29, 2003, they travel to Hempstead, N.Y. for duals against No. 11 Hofstra and Rugters.