NU Closes 2004-05 Season

St. Louis, Mo.---The Nebraska wrestling team completed its 2004-05 season Saturday with B.J. Padden finishing fifth at 197 pounds and 184-pound wrestler Travis Pascoe finishing sixth at the 2005 NCAA Championships at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo.  <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Nebraska finished in 19th place in the team standings with 31.5 points.  Oklahoma State won the national title with 153 points.  Despite being disappointed about the team's performance at nationals, Nebraska head coach Mark Manning was pleased with his 2004-05 squad.

 

“This was a very gratifying season for me, though we didn't finish it as well as I wanted to,” Manning said.  “We faced a lot of adversity off the mat as well as on both this tournament and this season, and this is a great lesson for our guys.”

 

B.J. Padden finished fifth at 197 pounds after his 4-3 victory over Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan.  Padden scored the match's first four points and held on for the victory. 

 

“Padden did a great job in a tough weight class,” Manning said.  “A lot of former All-Americans from that weight class didn't place.”

 

Padden reached the fifth-place match after a 7-6 loss to Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma.  The match was tied at five when Flaggert took down Padden with 26 seconds to go to take a 7-5 lead.  A second stall warning was called on Flaggert with one second remaining in the match, but it was not enough to close the deficit. 

 

“I was disappointed about the third-place match, but I wanted to end the season on a high note,” Padden said.  “It shows that we have something to look forward to for next season.”

 

An All-American at 197 pounds this season, Padden finished 2004-05 with a 28-12 record.  Padden caught fire late in the year, winning the Big 12 Championship with an upset of Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State in the finals of the conference tournament and  a fifth place finish at nationals.

 

At 184 pounds, Travis Pascoe finished sixth with his 3-1 loss to Paul Bradley of Iowa.  The match was tied at one when Bradley notched a takedown with 12 seconds to go in the match. 

 

Earlier in the day, Pascoe lost to Eric Bradley of Penn State, 12-10 in overtime.  Bradley notched a takedown in the closing moments of the one-minute sudden victory period. 

 

Pascoe finishes his All-America senior season with a 28-6 record on the year, and his  career at Nebraska with a mark of 101-37. 

 

This season, Nebraska had a dual record of 19-2-1, marking the second straight year NU has notched 19 dual wins.  The Huskers were 3-1 in Big 12 duals, including wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma, and a narrow 19-18 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma State on Feb. 10. 

 

CONSOLATION MATCHES

184-Eric Bradley (Penn St.) by dec. over Travis Pascoe (NU), 12-10, OT (SV)

197-Joel Flaggert (Okla.) by dec. over B.J. Padden (NU), 7-6

 

FIFTH PLACE MATCHES

184-Paul Bradley (Iowa) by dec. over Travis Pascoe (NU), 3-1

197-B.J. Padden (NU) by dec. over Wynn Michalak (Cent. Mich.), 4-3