Husker Wrestlers Honored at Banquet

Lincoln - Senior All-Americans B.J. Padden and Jacob Klein were among the awardwinners at the annual wrestling postseason banquet held at the Stadium View Lounge at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Padden was named the 2006 Husker Power Lifter of the Year and 2006 Outstanding Wrestler, while Klein earned the Most Dedicated Wrestler award.

"Padden and Klein led our team in a lot of different ways," NU head coach Mark Manning said.

Padden and Klein closed their careers by earning All-America honors at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Padden finished third at 197 pounds, while Klein took seventh at 174 pounds.

Among other awardwinners were fellow national qualifiers Vince Jones, who earned the Spirit of Excellence Award, Dominick Moyer, the Granite Award winner for his toughness through injuries, and Robert Sanders, who was named the Most Improved Wrestler of the 2005-06 season.

Rounding out the awards was the Lincoln Optimist Club Award, won by true freshman Robert Plambeck, and the Redshirt of the Year Award, which was shared by heavyweight Stefan Tighe, 197-pound wrestler Levi Wofford, 174-pound wrestler Craig Brester and 133-pounders Kenny Jordan and Mike Rowe.

Nebraska finished 16th at the 2006 NCAA Championships after a 12-5 dual season that included a third-place finish at the NWCA National Duals. The Huskers will return seven national qualifiers and eight starters for the 2006-07 season.

Awards-2006 Nebraska Wrestling Banquet

Lincoln Optimist-Rob Plambeck

Husker Power-B.J. Padden

Spirit of Excellence-Vince Jones

Most Improved-Robert Sanders

Granite-Dominick Moyer

Most Dedicated-Jacob Klein

Co-Redshirts of the Year-Stefan Tighe, Levi Wofford, Kenny Jordan, Craig Brester, Mike Rowe

Outstanding Wrestler-B.J. Padden