Padden Wins Second Big 12 Crown, Nine Huskers Advance

Ames, Iowa - B.J. Padden became Nebraska's first back-to-back Big 12 champion since Bryan Snyder in 2002 and nine Nebraska wrestlers earned bids to the 2006 NCAA Championships at the Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa on Saturday.  In the team race, Nebraska took third with 52 points, just a half point behind conference runner-up Oklahoma.  Oklahoma State won the team championship with 80 points. 

Padden earned his second career conference championship with his 4-0 win over Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State in the 197-pound finals.  After a scoreless first period, Padden rose Rosholt for the entire second period to take a 1:59 lead in the riding time advantage.  Then in the third period, Padden scored a takedown and earned a extra point for his riding time advantage to earn his fourth point.  Padden, who has beaten the defending national champion Rosholt all three times they've faced each other this year, will enter nationals with a 22-3 record.

At 174 pounds, Jacob Klein fell in the final to top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri, 17-6.  Klein's second-place finish, however, was good enough for Klein to move on to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in his career.  Klein, a 2004 All-American at 165 pounds, will look for his second All-America honor in his career in Oklahoma City.

Paul Donahoe clinched first career bid to the NCAA Championships with his 10-7 win over Austin DeVoe of Missouri in the third-place match at 125 pounds.  Donahoe sprinted out to an 8-1 lead 50 seconds into the second period and cruised to the win from there.  Donahoe earned his bid into the third-place match with a 14-4 major decision win over Ben Hanisch of Iowa State.  Donahoe will enter nationals with a record of 24-7.

At 133 pounds, No. 4 seed Patrick Aleksanyan finished third after a 10-9 win over Jesse Sundell of Iowa State.  Aleksanyan built a 6-2 lead in the first period and held on to qualify for his first trip to the NCAA Championships.  Aleksanyan heads to Oklahoma City with a 16-14 record. 

Dominick Moyer will make his second career appearance at nationals after his 7-4 win over Oklahoma State's Ethan Kyle. Moyer, who finished second in the 2005 Big 12 Championships at 133 pounds, will head to the NCAA Championship this year with a 18-10 record.  Earlier in the night session, Moyer dominated Missouri's Chris McCormick in a 15-3 major decision victory.

Heavyweight Jon May will also head to nationals on the strength of a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships.  After a first-round overtime loss to Jake Hager, May pinned Sean Connole of Missouri with 34 seconds left in the first period to clinch a spot in the third-place match.  May then defeated Richard Schopf of Iowa State, 5-2, to earn his first career trip to nationals. 

The No. 5 seed entering the Big 12 Championships, Robert Sanders qualified for nationals with a third-place finish.  Sanders clinched third with his 6-3 win over Iowa State's Jason Knipp.  Sanders ran out to a 5-0 lead after two periods and was able to hold on from there.  Sanders enters nationals with a 12-11 record.

Nebraska also received two of the conference's eight wild card berths.  165-pound wrestler Marc Harwood and 184-pound wrestler Vince Jones were awarded the wild-card spots, while Chris Oliver was named a second alternate for the wild-card bid.

Marc Harwood finished fourth at 165 pounds after losing 4-1 to Iowa State's Travis Paulson.  Harwood finished the day 1-2 advanced to nationals with a 14-8 record.

Vince Jones also fell just short of third-place in a 6-2 loss to Oklahoma State's Rusty Blackmon.  Jones clinched a bid in the third-place match with his 13-5 major decision victory over Oklahoma's Justin Dyer.  Jones earned a bonus point Nebraska with a strong finish.  In the final 23 seconds, Jones bolstered his lead to eight with a reversal and a three-point near fall.  Jones earns a bid to nationals as a true freshman with a 20-11 record.

Chris Oliver's bid for third place ended in a 6-5 loss to Oklahoma's Will Rowe.  The difference in the match was Rowe's 3:20 riding time advantage, gained by Rowe riding Oliver through the duration of the second period.  In a fourth-place challenge match, Missouri's Michael Chandler defeated Oliver by fall with 45 seconds left in the first period.

The Huskers move onto the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., which begin on Thursday, March 16 with the finals on Saturday, March 18.

Big 12 Championship
Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
Outstanding Wrestler: Nate Gallick, Iowa State
Attendance-2,628

Team Standings
1-Oklahoma State-80
2-Oklahoma-52.5
3-Nebraska-52
4-Iowa State-47.5
5-Missouri-42

Nebraska Individual Results
125-Coleman Scott (OSU) by dec. over Paul Donahoe (NU), 4-1
125-Paul Donahoe (NU) by major dec. over Ben Hanisch (ISU), 14-4
125-Paul Donahoe (NU) by dec. over Austin DeVoe (MU), 10-7

133-Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) by dec. over Joe Comparin (OU), 3-1
133-Nathan Morgan (OSU) by dec. over Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 8-3
133-Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) by dec. over Jesse Sundell (ISU), 10-9

141-Teyon Ware (OU) by fall over Dominick Moyer (NU), 4:45
141-Dominick Moyer (NU) by major dec. over Chris McCormick (MU), 15-3
141-Dominick Moyer (NU) by dec. over Ethan Kyle (OSU), 7-4

149-Robert Sanders (NU) by major dec. over Josh Wagner (MU), 12-3
149 -Zack Esposito (OSU) by major dec. over Robert Sanders (NU), 12-3
149-Robert Sanders (NU) by dec. over Jason Knipp (ISU), 6-3

157-Kevin Ward (OSU) by dec. over Chris Oliver (NU), 3-1
157-Will Rowe (OU) by dec. over Chris Oliver (NU), 6-5
157-Michael Chandler (MU) by fall over Chris Oliver (NU), 2:15

165-Marc Harwood (NU) by dec. over Jarrod King (OU), 11-4
165-Johny Hendricks (OSU) by dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 11-4
165-Travis Paulson (ISU) by dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 4-1

174-Jacob Klein (NU) by dec. over Brandon Mason (OSU), 3-0
174-Ben Askren (MU) by major dec. over Jacob Klein (NU), 17-6

184-Raymond Jordan (MU) by dec. over Vince Jones (NU), 11-10
184-Vince Jones (NU) by major dec. over Justin Dyer (OU), 13-5
184-Rusty Blackmon (OSU) by dec. over Vince Jones (NU), 6-2

197-B.J. Padden (NU) by major dec. over Jeff Foust (MU), 10-2
197-B.J. Padden (NU) by dec. over Jake Rosholt (OSU), 4-0

HWT-Jake Hager (OU) by dec. over Jon May (NU), 3-2; TB2
HWT-Jon May (NU) by fall over Sean Connole (MU), 2:26
HWT-Jon May (NU) by dec. over Richard Schopf (ISU), 5-2