Huskers Seek Road Wins at Air Force and Wyoming

Lincoln, Neb. -- The second-ranked Nebraska wrestling team (13-1) hopes to extend its five-match winning streak when the Huskers travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., and Laramie, Wyo., to take on the Air Force Falcons (1-1) and the Wyoming Cowboys (2-2) this weekend. The Huskers will face off against Air Force on Friday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. before facing Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m.

Scouting the Opponents
The Falcons enter the matchup against the Huskers with a 1-1 dual meet record. They recorded a 35-3 victory over Utah Valley and suffered a 27-9 loss to UC-Davis. The Falcons are led by their 125-pounder Heath McKim. McKim enters the match ranked No. 19 and is 10-5 on the season. Blain Brown is the other Falcon standout as he leads the team in takedowns (39), three-point near-falls (20) and is tied for the team lead in wins with 14.

Air Force is coached by Wayne Baughman who is in his 25th year as head coach of the Falcons. He has compiled an overall dual record of 173-112-4.

Wyoming is 2-2 on the season after competing in the Virginia Duals on Jan. 9-10. They upset No. 22 Edinboro, 23-16 in the consolation’s second round. In the opening round, they fell by two to No. 20 Purdue, 19-17.

The Cowboys are led by No. 10 Levi Prevost at 174 pounds and Andrew Shuler at 157 pounds. Prevost is 15-3 on the season and has recorded three top-five finishes ,including a first-place showing at the Cowboy Open. Shuler enters the match with the Huskers with a 17-5 record. At the Virginia Duals he went 4-0 and has two top-three finishes on the year. Shuler leads the Cowboys in wins, while Prevost is second.

The Cowboys other standout is senior Blake Gunter, who is 15-5 on the year.

Wyoming is coached by Steven Suder, who is in his 15th year at Wyoming. Suder owns a career record of 94-96-2.

A win for NU would mean....
With victories at Air Force and Wyoming this weekend, the Huskers would....
u Improve to 15-1 and mark only the 12th time in school history that NU has won 15 or more duals.
u Give Mark Manning his 49th and 50th career victories at NU
u Give NU its 16th straight victory over Wyoming.

The Last Time We Met
The Huskers lead the all-time series against the Falcons winning six of 10 matches including one tie. Last season in Lincoln, Nebraska defeated the Falcons, 35-10 on Feb. 22, 2003.

On the day, Nebraska won eight of 10 matches en route to handing Air Force its first loss of the season. At 125 pounds, Jason Powell scored the only point of his match against 17th-ranked Heath McKim with an escape 1:36 into the second period to record the 1-0 win.

The Huskers lead the all-time series against the Cowboys, 24-13 and have won the last 15 matches in the series. Last year the Huskers defeated Wyoming, 29-12, in Lincoln on Jan. 25, 2003.

Against the Cowboys last season, the Huskers jumped out to a 23-3 lead highlighted by back-to-back last second victories by Jacob Klein and Nate McMillion. Klein upset 11th-ranked Levi Prevost, 7-6 scoring a takedown as time expired, while McMillin also recorded a takedown in the final second to defeat Andrew Shuler, 7-6.

Last Time Out
Nebraska won itssecond team title of the season as it defeated No. 7 Lehigh, 25-13 at the 2004 Virginia Duals on Jan. 10. The Huskers reached the championship match after defeating No. 12 Arizona State, 37-(-1). In the opening rounds, The Huskers defeated Virginia (31-10) and Rider (31-3). In the two-day dual tournament, Travis Shufelt, B.J. Wright, Travis Pascoe and Nathan McClain went 4-0, while Jason Powell and B.J. Padden posted 3-0 marks.

Huskers Against the West Regional
Nebraska owns a 40-18-1 all-time record vs. current West Regional teams. Nebraska and Wyoming have faced each other a total of 37 times, with NU winning 24, including 15 in a row. The Huskers are 6-4-1 against Air Force, while having won all seven matches against Northern Iowa.

Huskers on Winning Streak
Dating back, to last season’s NCAA Championships, top-ranked Jason Powell enters this weekends duals on an 18-match winning streak. Powell who is off to a 14-0 start this season, ended last season on a four-match win streak and finished third at the NCAA Championships. At the Virginia Duals, Juniors Travis Pascoe and Travis Shufelt extended their individual win streaks to 19 and 20 matches, respectively. Senior heavyweight Nathan McClain is currently riding a nine-match win streak.

Huskers Rolling Up the Points
After recording 30 or more points three times at the Virginia Duals, the Huskers have now scored 30 or more points in 12 of their last 14 duals.

Huskers Have Another 10-win Season
With three wins at the Virginia Duals, the NU wrestling team raised its season win total to 13. The 13 wins are the second most in Mark Manning’s four seasons at Nebraska. He is three wins short of tying last season’s high of 16. This season also marks the 12th time since 1990-91 that NU has recorded double-digit wins. This also mark third time in four season that NU has reached the 10 win plateau under Head Coach Mark Manning. Nebraska is just two dual victories shy of 15 wins, a mark that has been reached just 11 times in school history.

With eight duals remaining, the Huskers are five wins short of tying the school record for season dual victories of 21, set in 1989-90.

Pascoe Garners Big 12 Wrestler of the Month
Junior Travis Pascoe earned the Big 12 Conference December Wrestler-of-the-Month honor the Big 12 offices announced Monday, Jan. 5.

Pascoe, a Rathdrum, Idaho native, posted nine victories in December to improve to a perfect 15-0 overall in the 184-pound weight class. Pascoe is currently ranked third in the nation according to W.I.N. Magazine. He posted three technical falls, along with one major decision, a pin and forfeit last month.

On Dec. 5-6 at the Cliff Keen Invitational, Pascoe led the Huskers to their first team tournament title since the 1999 Billy Sheridan Invitational as he won the 184-pound title by defeating two ranked opponents in Las Vegas in No. 19 Luke Calvert of Army (10-4) and eighth-ranked Blake Kaplan of Ohio State in the championship round.

At the Nebraska Duals on Dec. 22, Pascoe went 3-0 while leading the Huskers to victories over Nebraska-Kearney (46-0), Chadron State (45-0) and Dana College (44-3).

Who’s Hot Among Husker Wrestlers
Jason Powell, Sr., 125, Midwest City, Okla. q The two-time All-American is off to a 14-0 start this season and has earned the Huskers bonus points in eight of his victories. Powell has defeated all four ranked opponents he has faced this season. Powell earned a first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6.

Travis Shufelt, Jr., 149, Oconto, Wis. q The Oconto, Wis. native is off to a dominating start, compiling a 20-0 record, including 14-0 in dual matches. He is currently second on the team in falls with eight and is tied for second on the team in technical falls with three. Of Shufelt’s 20 wins, 14 have earned the Huskers bonus points. His last nine matches seven have earned bonus points. Shufelt earned a first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6.

Travis Pascoe, Jr., 184, Rathdrum, Idaho q After a change in weight class, Pascoe is off to a 19-0 start, which includes a first-place showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6. The team leader in takedowns with 36, Pascoe has only been taken to the mat three times. Eleven of Pascoe’s last 14 wins have earned the Huskers bonus points. Pascoe also leads the Huskers in technical falls with five.

Nathan McClain, Sr., HWT, Flora Vista, N.M. q One of the biggest surprises of the season, McClain is off to a 16-3 record, while taking over for an injured Mitch Manstedt. McClain leads the team in major decisions with nine and is second on the team in takedowns with 34. At the Cliff Keen Invitational, McClain earned a seventh-place finish. McClain has matches his win total from all of last season.

Huskers in the Rankings
In the latest W.I.N Magazine rankings, the Huskers after capturing the Virginia Duals title jumped six spots from No. 8 to No. 2 behind behind Big 12 rivals, Oklahoma State (No.1). Missouri follows at No. 3, two spots ahead of Iowa State with Oklahoma rounding out the Big 12 schools at No. 13

In individual rankings, senior 125-pounder Jason Powell is No.1 according to W.I.N. Redshirt-freshman 133-pounder Matt Keller enters at No. 10, followed by junior Matt Murray, who is 11th, at 141 pounds. Junior Travis Shufelt is ranked third at 149 pounds.

Junior B.J. Wright is at 13th (157) while Sophomore Jacob Klein is 19th at 165 pounds, junior Travis Pascoe is third at 184 pounds, and senior heavyweight Nathan McClain is 10th. Sophomore B.J. Padden is third at 197 pounds.

In other wrestling rankings, the University of Nebraska rises to second in the nation behind Big 12 rival Oklahoma State according to InterMat. Jason Powell continues his strong hold on the No. 1 ranking at the 125 pounds weight class. Sophomore B.J. Padden is currently ranked second, while Travis Shufelt and Travis Pascoe are ranked second in their respective weight classes.

Other ranked Huskers according to InterMat are Matt Murray (11th, 141 pounds), B.J. Wright (12th, 157 pounds), Nathan McClain (12th, HWT), Matt Keller (13th, 133 pounds), Jacob Klein (17th, 165 pounds),

Huskers Rank Among Nations Best
Sophomore B.J. Padden currently leads the 197-pound weight class in pins with 10 according to the last fall leaders by InterMat. Padden’s 10 pins place him fourth among all Division I wrestlers. Junior Travis Shufelt is tied for second in the 149-pound weight class with eight falls.

Matt Keller and Travis Shufelt are tied for fourth in their respective weight classes in wins with 20, while Travis Pascoe is tied for fifth and B.J. Padden is tied for 10th.

Huskers Strong at Home
With its 44-0 defeat over Oregon on Jan. 3, NU recorded its 14th victory in its last 15 home matches. The Huskers have won 11 straight at home, last losing to Minnesota in 2003.

During that 11-match stretch, NU has defeated four ranked opponents. The average margin of victory during this stretch is 25.3 points.

The 11-match home win streak is the second-longest in school history, three short of the mark that was set 1989-90.

Huskers Have Strong Recruiting Class
The Husker coaching staff announced that three of the nation’s top 30 high wrestlers according to InterMat have signed National Letters-of-Intent to compete for the Huskers beginning in 2004-05.

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

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. According to InterMat, Oliver is the 27th-ranked high school senior in the country.
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. Donahoe is ranked as the 24th best High School wrestler in the county.

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. Rodgers is listed as the 29th-best high school senior in the country according to Intermat wrestling. Nelson is a three-time placewinner and is the defending state champion at 135 pounds.

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

Nebraska’s matches against Missouri on Jan. 24 and Iowa State on Feb. 5 are slated to be seen live.

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

Up Next
Following the duals against Air Force and Wyoming, the Huskers return to home to start Big 12 competition as the face off against fourth-ranked Missouri on Jan. 24 at the NU Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.