Powell Records 100th Career Victory in Loss to OSU

Stillwater, Okla. ? Top-ranked Jason Powell became the 15th wrestler in school history to record 100 career victory, but it wasn?t enough as the second-ranked Nebraska wrestling team saw its nine-match winning streak snapped, falling to top-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma State, 25-9, Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Powell fell behind early to Cody Stites, 2-0 before recording an escape to tie the match up at two heading into the second period. After Stites regained the lead, Powell tied the match up with a reversal at the 1:56 mark in the third period. Stites was then given a point for an illegal hold but wasn’t able to win in regulation, as Powell had over 3:30 minutes of riding time to force overtime. Powell then took the match, 7-5 with a takedown in 30 seconds into the extra frame.

After the Powell win, redshirt freshman Matt Keller (McDonald, Tenn.) squared off against two-time defending national champion Johnny Thompson. Keller took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown at the: 52 second mark in the first period. Thompson tied the match at two with a reversal with ten seconds remaining in the first period. Keller took the lead again with an escape at the 1:55 mark in the second period.

Leading by one, Thompson tied the match with an escape with 1:43 left before Keller regained the lead with a takedown at 1:24 mark in the third period. Thompson again cut the lead to one with an escape at the 1:18 mark, before taking the lead with a takedown with 37 seconds left. Keller tied the match at six with another escape forcing overtime. With 29 second left, Thompson scored a controversial takedown to give him the match 8-6. After the match, Nebraska had a team point taken away resulting in unsportsmanlike conduct extending the OSU lead to 19-6.

Following the Keller loss, junior Matt Murray (Colby, Kan.) recorded his 18th victory of the season as he was able to withstand a last second takedown attempt by Ronnie Delk, winning the match 7-5 to bring NU within ten at 19-9.

The 149-pound weight class saw two of the nation’s best in third-ranked Travis Shufelt (Oconto, Wis.) and second-ranked Zack Esposito. Despite Shufelt’s attempt to score an offensive point last in the third period, Esposito was able to hold him off as he took the match 7-6.

The final match of the night saw B.J. Wright (Elberta, Utah) drop a 7-2 decision to sixth-ranked Johny Hendricks.

Starting at 165 pounds, sophomore Jacob Klein (Valley Center, Kan.) dropped an 12-4 major decision to second-ranked Tyrone Lewis to give Oklahoma State an early 4-0 lead. Oklahoma State extended its lead to 10-0 as James Pummel (Spearfish, S.D.) fell to top-ranked Chris Pendleton at the 6:26 mark in the third period.

The first of two matches of the night featuring two of the countries top-two wrestlers saw fourth-ranked Travis Pascoe (Rathdrum, Idaho) face-off against defending national champion and third-ranked Jake Rosholt. Pascoe jumped out to a 2-0 lead after first period before Rosholt recorded an escape to cut the lead to 2-1. After an exchange of moves, Rosholt got Pascoe on a takedown and a three point near fall to give him a 6-2 lead heading into the third period. Pascoe recorded an escape to cut the lead to three at the 1:48 mark, but wasn’t able to get any closer as Rosholt took the match sending Pascoe to his first loss of the season, 6-3.

Following the Pascoe loss, third-ranked B.J. Padden (Buffalo County, S.D.), ended Oklahoma State’s three-match winning streak, as he recorded his 20th victory and fourth major decision of the season over Rusty Blackmon, 12-3, at 197 pounds.

After Padden’s victory, with the score tied at one, Willie Gruenwald scored a takedown at the 1:28 mark in the third period to give him a 3-1 lead. Nathan McClain (Flora Vista, N.M.) cut into the Greunwald lead with an escape but wasn’t able to score as time expire as Gruenwald took the match, 3-2 to extend the OSU lead to 16-4.

"Oklahoma State deserved to win tonight." Head Coach Mark Manning said. "They used a little bit better strategy tonight. We lost some close matches and we lost some matches we shouldn't have."

The Huskers return to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, as they play host to North Carolina at the NU Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.

Note: The dual between Nebraska and Iowa State has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26, in Ames, Iowa, beginning at 7 p.m. The dual was originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5 but was forced to be rescheduled due to inclement weather.

#1 Oklahoma State 25, #2 Nebraska 9
165 #2 Tyrone Lewis (OSU) by major decision over #17 Jacob Klein (NU), 12-4 OSU 4, NU 0
174 #1 Chris Pendelton (OSU) by fall over James Pummel (NU), 6:26 OSU 10, NU 0
184 #3 Jake Rosholt (OSU) by decision over #4 Travis Pascoe (NU), 6-3 OSU 13, NU 0
197 #3 B.J. Padden (NU) by major decision over #19 Rusty Blackmon (OSU), 12-3 OSU 13, NU 4
HWT #13 Willie Gruenwald (OSU) by decision over #9 Nathan McClain (NU), 3-2 OSU 16, NU 4
125 #1 Jason Powell (NU) by decision over Cody Stites (OSU), 7-5 ot OSU 16, NU 7
133 #5 Johny Thompson (OSU) by decision over #9 Matt Keller (NU), 8-6 ot OSU 19, NU 6
(Nebraska minus one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct)
141 #11 Matt Murray (NU) by decision over Ronnie Delk (OSU), 7-5 OSU 19, NU 9
149 #2 Zack Esposito (OSU) by decision over #3 Travis Shufelt (NU), 7-6 OSU 22, NU 9
157 #6 Johny Hendricks (OSU) by decision over #11 B.J. Wright (NU), 7-2 OSU 25, NU 9