Huskers Set for Big 12 Title Run

Lincoln -- The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will travel to Ames, Iowa, this weekend for the 2004 Big 12 Championships. Action gets underway at the Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, March 6 at 11 a.m. with pigtail and first-round matches. The semifinals begin at noon to close out the first session. Consolation and third-place matches start at 4 p.m., with the finals scheduled for 7 p.m.

NU finished the regular season with a 19-3 record and is ranked second in the nation in all major wrestling polls. NU will bring nine ranked wrestlers to the conference tournament.

Headlining the Nebraska lineup are four grapplers that are ranked in the top five in their respective weight class. Top-ranked Jason Powell (125) brings a 20-1 record into the championships and will be looking for the second conference championships of this career and the Husker first since Bryan Snyder captured a crown in 2002. Powell was a champion as a redshirt-freshman in 2001 and finished third in 2002 and 03.

After a disappointing 2003 Big 12 Championships, second-ranked B.J. Padden looks to be the favored to capture the 197 pound conference championships as he enters the championships with a 4-0 record against Big 12 foes. Of Padden’s 22 wins, 10 have come via pin.

Junior Travis Shufelt was a runner-up last season and will look to challenge in a very difficult 149-pound weight class. Shufelt brings a 23-4 record into the meet, with 17 of those wins earning the Huskers bonus points.

Fourth-ranked Travis Pascoe (174) enters with a 24-3 record and is one of the favorites to claim his first conference championship. He will be challenged by defending national champion Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State who defeated Pascoe by a score of 6-3 in Stillwater, Okla. on Feb. 8.

At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Matt Keller is ranked ninth nationally and enters with a 23-9 overall record and a 2-2 mark against Big 12 foes. In a weight class that features five ranked grapplers, Keller is a strong contender to challenge top-ranked and three-time conference champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State. Thompson won the only meeting between the two, 8-6 in overtime on Feb. 7.

Also eyeing possible berths in the NCAA Championships are junior Matt Murray (141), B.J. Wright (157) and Nathan McClain (HWT).

In addition to the top-three finishers in each weight class, six wild cards will be selected by the Big 12 Coaches to travel to the NCAA Championships, March 18-20 in St. Louis.

Nebraska at the Big 12 Championships
In the seven-year history of the Big 12 Conference the Huskers finished third in 1998, while finishing fourth each of the other six years.  The Huskers have captured eight individual conference champions, including current Huskers Jason Powell, who won the 125 pound championship in 2001.  NU last won a league title in 1995 and also captured the conference crown in 1993.

Last Time Out
The Huskers ended the regular season with a 22-9 loss to fourth-ranked Iowa State as Jason Powell, Travis Shufelt and B.J. Padden recorded victories.  Shufelt fell behind, 5-0 to sixth-ranked Travis Paulson before scoring eight of the final nine points to record a 8-6 victory.

Huskers Place Seven
The Nebraska wrestling team placed seven athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 teams 

Nebraska’s four first team honorees were Jeremy Baker (Community Health), Jeremy Emerson (Architectural Studies), Trevor Hill (Chemical Engineering) and Matt Murray (Mathematics). The second-team members include starters Travis Shufelt (Community Health), B.J. Wright (Accounting) and Jacob Klein (Communication Studies). Emerson earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors last season, while the other members are first-time honorees.

Oklahoma State and Nebraska each placed seven on the first and second teams, which tied for the most in the Big 12 conference .

Huskers Attendance Up
Attendance at Nebraska wrestling has seen an increase this season. In eight home duals during the 2002-03 season, the Huskers had 4,490 total fans for an average of 561. This season, 6,490 fans have packed the NU Coliseum and the Bob Devaney Sports Center Track for seven duals an average of 927 fans. Against the Tigers on Jan. 24, NU competed in front of 1,372 and in the season finale against Oklahoma in which 2,072 fans showed up.

Powell Hits Century Mark
With a 7-5 victory over Cody Stites of Oklahoma State Feb. 7, top-ranked Jason Powell became the 15th wrestler in school history to win 100 career matches. With a 10-4 decision over Grant Nakamura of Iowa State on Feb. 26, Powell raised his career total to 104 wins placing him in sole possession of 13th place in NU history.

Huskers Wrestling Up NU Charts
Senior heavyweight Nathan McClain has recorded 17 dual victories which is good for 13th all-time on the season dual victories list.  Juniors Travis Shufelt and Travis Pascoe each have recorded 18 dual victories, good for seventh all-time on the season dual wins list. With his victory over Mimi Miller of Oklahoma, last Friday redshirt freshman Matt Keller recorded his 23rd victory of the season. His 23 victories put him in a tie for 10th all-time for wins during a freshman year with current Husker Travis Pascoe and former All-American Todd Beckerman.

Huskers Scoring Big
Nebraska’s 10 regular starters have recorded 176 victories. Of those 176 victories, 99 of them have scored NU bonus points. That is a team percentage of 56.2, while six of NU’s starters have had more than 50 percent of their victories go for bonus points, including two (Travis Shufelt and Travis Pascoe) that have had more than 70 percent of their wins score NU bonus points.

Huskers Receiving Honors
Travis Pascoe, Jacob Klein and Keller each have received the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week award during the 2003-04 season.
Pascoe received the honor for his action during the month of December, when he went 9-0, including a first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational. He also received the CSTV national Wrestler of the Week for posting victories in dual wins over Rutgers and Hofstra on Nov. 29.

Klein won the honor for the week of Jan. 18-25 after leading the Huskers to a victory over Missouri on Jan. 24 as he defeated defending Big 12 champion, Tyron Woodley. The victory over Woodley was Klein’s first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

He also received the CSTV national Wrestler of the Week award for his victory over Woodley.
Redshirt freshman Matt Keller became the third Husker wrestler to win the conference’s Big 12 wrestler of the week for the week of Feb. 17-23

Keller led the Huskers to their first victory over Oklahoma since 1999 as he opened the dual with his second fall of the season over 18th-ranked Mimi Miller of Oklahoma, 5:24.

Huskers Place Six Grapplers on Big 12 Honor Roll
The University of Nebraska wrestling team placed six wrestlers on the Fall 2003 Big 12 Commissioners Honor Roll.
Jeremy Baker (Community Heath), Jeremy Emerson (Architectural Studies), Trevor Hill (Chemical Engineering), Matt Murray (Mathematics Education), Chris Nedens (Diverse Ag. Studies) and B.J. Wright (Finance) were the honorees.
The honor roll includes all students-athletes who achieved a 3.0 GPA or better during the semester.

Manning Records Career Coaching Victory No. 75
With a 26-9 victory over Arizona State on Jan. 30, Mark Manning recorded his 75th career coaching victory. In his seventh season as a head coach Manning has produced a record of 77-49-2. At his previous stop, Manning owned a record of 23-24-2 at Northern Iowa, while at Nebraska he owns a mark of 54-25-0 and recorded his 50th coaching win at Nebraska against Wyoming on Jan. 17.

Huskers Rolling Up the Points
After recording 47 points on Feb. 14 against North Carolina, the Huskers have now scored 30 or more points in 16 duals this season.
The 47 points recorded by NU marked the sixth time this season that NU has reached the 40-point plateau. The six 40-point outings are a school record, bettering the previous mark of three set in 1982-83 and 1985-86.

Huskers Just Dominating 
*- Nebraska averages better than 30 points in duals this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 32.2-8.2 in duals (709-182 total points).
*- Fifteen of Nebraska’s 19 dual victories this season have been by 20 points or more, with six victories by 40 or more points.
*- The five shutouts NU has recorded is a school record, with all five of them coming at home.

Huskers Reach 19 Dual Wins
With the victory over Oklahoma on Feb., 20, the Huskers raised their season win total to 19.
*- The 19 wins are the most in Mark Manning’s four seasons at Nebraska. This season also marks the 12th time since 1990-91 that NU has recorded double-digit wins. This marks only the fourth time in school history NU has recorded 17 or more dual victories.
*- This marks the third time in four seasons that NU has reached the 10-win plateau under Manning.
*- This season marks the 13th time in school history Nebraska has reached 15 or more wins.

Pascoe Leads Big 12 for Second Straight Year
For the second straight year, junior Travis Pascoe finished the dual season leading the Big 12 Conference in takedowns.
Last season Pascoe recorded 93 takedowns, 16 more than the closest competition. This season he finished the dual season with 81, nine more than teammate Travis Shufelt.

Who’s Hot Among Husker Wrestlers
Matt Keller, RFr., 133, McDonald, Tenn. q
First-year starter Matt Keller has won 12 of his last 15 matches, including seven that earned the Huskers bonus points. Keller is second on the team in wins with 23 and is 7-3 against ranked opponents this season. His 23 wins place him 10th on the all-time freshman season win list.

Matt Murray, Jr., 141,Colby, Kan. q He has compiled a 19-5 overall record, including a 15-4 mark in dual. All four of his three dual losses, have come against ranked opponents, including top-ranked Scott Moore of Virginia, in which Murray lost, 5-1.

Jacob Klein, So., 165, Valley Center, Kan. q After injuries slowed him during the first part of the season, sophomore Jacob Klein enters the conference championships victorious in six of his last eight matches. For the year Klein, has recorded five bonus point victories and has defeated one ranked opponent.

B.J. Padden, So, 197, Buffalo County, S.D. q Currently ranked second in the nation at 197 pounds, sophomore B.J. Padden has already eclipse last season?s win total. This season Padden has recorded 22 wins including 10 of his last 11. He went 4-0 against wrestlers from the Big 12 conference.

Huskers Strong at Home
With its 25-12 victory over 10th-ranked Oklahoma on Feb. 20, NU recorded its 14th straight home victory last losing at home to Minnesota on Jan. 7, 2003 During that 14-match stretch, NU has defeated six ranked opponents. The average margin of victory during this stretch is 27.2 points.

The 14-match home win streak ties the longest in school history originally set in 1989-90.

During the home winning streak the Huskers have posted four shutouts, while scoring 30 or more points nine times and 40 or more points six times.

The Huskers have also won 11 straight home matches against non-conference opponents. NU has also won 30 straight matches at home against unranked opponents since 1990-91 when the school began weekly tracking of rankings.

Huskers Make Carolina Blue
In their 47-0 victory of North Carolina, the Huskers gave up only one takedown the entire match.  While the Huskers gave up just a single takedown, NU recorded 25 takedowns, lead by Jacob Klein’s 10-takedown performance against Garret Atkinson at 165 pounds.

That’s a First
With holding Arizona State to -1 on Jan. 11 at the Virginia Duals, it marked the first time in school history that the Huskers have held a team to a negative score. Coincidentally, it was not the first negative score that the Sun Devils have been associated with. In 1978, ASU downed Utah, 50-(-2).

Up Next
Following the conference championships, the Huskers will look to improve on last season’s 13th-place finish, when they travel to St. Louis, Mo. for the 2004 NCAA Championships on March 18-20.