Huskers Seek Third Straight Win over Cyclones

Dual No. 11:<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

No. 22/20 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (7-3) vs. No. 3/3 IowaState (6-3)

NU Coliseum?Lincoln, Neb.?Saturday, Jan. 20?7 p.m.

Series History: ISU leads, 72-13-2

Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 22-21, on Feb. 19, 2006 in Ames, Iowa

 

Huskers Seek Third Straight Win over Cyclones

The 20th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team opens up a tough Big 12 Conference schedule at home against third-ranked IowaState.  The recent series has been hotly contested, as eight of the last 13 duals have been decided by five points or less, of which the Huskers have won the last seven.  In fact, 11 of the last 13 duals have been decided by 10 points or less, with NU winning seven. 

 

Last year, Nebraska won five of the first seven matches and held on to win, 22-21.  Three straight wins from B.J. Padden (197), Jon May (HWT) and Paul Donahoe (125) gave the Huskers the needed breathing room for the victory.  In 2005, neither the Cyclones nor the Huskers held a lead larger than four points as both teams won five matches, but a major decision triumph by Jacob Klein at 165 pounds was the deciding factor in Nebraska’s 16-15 win over IowaState.

 

Last Time Out: National Duals, Nebraska: 1-2

The 20th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team wrestled to a 1-2 mark at the 2007 NWCA National Duals at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Huskers fell in the first round to No. 3 Hofstra, 32-6, then split a pair of consolation matches, defeating No. 11 Michigan, 23-13, before being eliminated by fifth-ranked Iowa, 30-5.

 

In its first consolation bracket dual, Nebraska sprinted out to an early 11-0 lead after three matches against Michigan. Paul Donahoe earned his 15th straight win with a 20-7 major decision victory over Michael Watts of Michigan. Patrick Aleksanyan followed with an 8-5 win over Chris Diehl at 133 pounds, and Dominick Moyer earned his team-leading sixth major decision win with a 14-5 triumph over Justin Chrzanowski. After a setback at 149 pounds, Chris Oliver earned his sixth fall of the season, pinning Michigan’s Jeff Marsh with 16 seconds remaining in the first period to give NU a 17-3 lead halfway through the dual. After a loss at 165 pounds, Marc Harwood got the Huskers back on the winning track with a 4-1 win over Jordan Sherrod at 174 pounds. A loss at 184 pounds cut Nebraska’s lead to 10, but Craig Brester clinched the dual win for the Huskers with his 5-2 win at 197 pounds over Nick Roy.

 

Nebraska fell into the consolation bracket after a 32-6 loss to Hofstra in the first round of the tournament. Donahoe defeated fifth-ranked Dave Tomasette at 125 pounds, but the Pride rattled off seven straight wins to put the dual out of reach for the Huskers. With the dual decided, Brester won at 197 pounds over fourth-ranked Chris Weidman, 13-8.

 

NU was eliminated from the National Duals in a 30-5 loss to Iowa. The Hawkeyes built a 12-point lead through the first three matches before 149-pound wrestler Robert Sanders gave the Huskers their first win of the dual in a 7-2 triumph over Alex Grunder. Four straight Iowa wins gave the Hawkeyes a 24-3 lead with two matches to go. At 197 pounds, Brester won his third straight match of the day and his eighth straight match overall in a 10-5 win over Dan Erekson.

 

Scouting IowaState

No. 3 Iowa State is looking to build off winning the 2006 Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. on Dec. 30 and a third-place finish at the National Duals on Jan. 14.  Under first-year head coach Cael Sanderson, the Cyclones are 6-3 in duals, but their three losses came to fifth-ranked Iowa and second-ranked Minnesota.  IowaState has seven freshmen in the starting lineup.  Of those, five are ranked, led by ninth-ranked Jake Varner at 184 pounds.  Brothers Trent and Travis Paulson, ranked at No. 4 at 157 and and No. 3 at 165 pounds, respectively, provide senior leadership for ISU.

 

Last Matchup: Nebraska 22, IowaState 21, Feb. 19, 2006 in Ames, Iowa

The fifth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team picked up wins in five of the first seven matches and never looked back en route to a 22-21 win over seventh-ranked IowaState at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.  The win was the Huskers’ 11th over IowaState in the last 18 duals between the two schools including three of the last four and is Nebraska’s first win over IowaState in Ames since the Huskers knocked off the then fifth-ranked Cyclones, 21-17, on Jan. 27, 1996.

 

Nebraska took an early 6-0 lead after Chris Oliver won by injury default at 157 pounds.  After a major decision loss at 165 pounds, the Huskers answered with a 2-0 victory by third-ranked Jacob Klein at 174 pounds.  IowaState’s Kurt Backes would respond with a technical fall victory to even the dual.  Nebraska took a 13-9 lead in the fifth match of the dual with an 18-5 major decision victory by fifth-ranked B.J. Padden over Joe Curran at 197 pounds.  Padden scored the first seven points of the match and never looked back en route to his 20th win of the season.  19th-ranked Jon May extended the Huskers’ lead to seven with a 4-0 win over Richard Schopf.  May took the lead with an escape in the second period, then added a two-point near fall in the third period after Schopf started the period down.  May ended the match with a 1:50 advantage in riding time.

 

Paul Donahoe earned Nebraska’s third straight win with a pin of Ben Hanisch with 20 seconds left in their 125-pound match.  Donahoe, the ninth-ranked 125-pound wrestler, held a 10-3 lead in the match after a takedown with 54 seconds to go of Hanisch before closing out the match 14 seconds later.  Three straight wins by IowaState would draw the Cyclones within one of the Huskers, but the advantage gained by Nebraska in winning five of the first seven matches proved to be enough for the Huskers’ 12th dual win of the season.

 

Husker Wrestling Adds Rice to Roster

After the season-ending injury to Jon May, Nebraska was left without a heavyweight on the roster just one month into the season.  Enter Thomas Rice, a Lincoln East graduate who is a defensive end on the Husker football team.  Rice joined the NU wrestling squad soon after the football team returned from the Cotton Bowl, and made his debut as Husker wrestler with a 2-2 showing at the 2007 Dana College Open Jan. 6 in Blair, Neb.  Rice made his dual debut for Nebraska at the National Duals, moving into a heavyweight spot in which the Huskers have taken forfeits in their last five duals. 

 

A member of two state championship teams at Lincoln East and a high school All-American after a sixth-place finish at the Greco Roman National Championships, Rice is not the first Husker heavyweight to come over from the football ranks under head coach Mark Manning.  Mitch Manstedt also participated in both sports during his time at Nebraska.  A three-year starter, Manstedt joined the wrestling team his freshman year in mid-January 2001 after the football season, then wrestled full-time for the duration of his college career. 

 

Experienced but Young Huskers Set to Tackle the 2006-07 Season

Nebraska was in a unique position entering the 2006-07 season.  The Huskers returned eight starters and seven NCAA qualifiers from last year’s team, which ranked among the highest total in those two categories in Mark Manning’s seven years as the Huskers’ head coach.  However, the two seniors on Nebraska’s roster matched the fewest that Manning has had at NU.   

 

Both experience and youth have proven valuable for Manning as Nebraska’s coach.  When the Huskers had only two seniors in 2001-02, they rebounded from an 8-9 regular season to take eighth at the NCAA Championships, the program’s 14th top-10 finish.  The two times that Nebraska returned eight starters (2004 and 2005), the Huskers won 19 duals and, in 2004, took fifth at nationals.

 

Three Accomplished Student-Athletes Join NU Wrestling

Nebraska head wrestling coach Mark Manning announced the signing of three student-athletes during the early signing period that will join the Huskers for the 2007-08 academic year.  The three signees, Andy Pokorny of Bennington, Neb., Tucker Lane of Nucla, Colo., and Chris Hacker of El Reno, Okla., represent Nebraska’s continued success in wrestling both on and off the mat.

 

Pokorny is a two-time state champion, winning last year’s class C crown at 112 pounds after winning in 2005 at 103.  A 2006 Junior Freestyle All-American, Pokorny is the fourth-ranked 112-pound wrestler in the nation by Wrestling USA and is the 52nd ranked high school wrestler overall by Intermat.  His accomplishments are not limited to the mat, however, as he is currently second in his class with at 3.935 GPA and a 30 on his ACT.

 

Lane also comes to Nebraska with glittering athletic and academic credentials.  A two-time state champion, Lane is the nation’s second-ranked 215-pound wrestler by Wrestling USA and is the 40th ranked high school wrestler overall, according to Intermat, which has recognized him as a four-star recruit.  Lane also was a Junior Freestyle All-American in 2006.  Like Pokorny, Lane is also accomplished in the classroom.  He earned a 31 on his ACT and entered his senior year at NuclaHigh School with a 4.25 GPA, tops in his graduating class.

 

A four-time Cadet All-American and two-time Junior All-American, Hacker also joins the Huskers with an impressive resume at both the state and national levels.  Hacker captured the Class 4A championships at 152 pounds last year, and is the No. 6 152-pounder according to Wrestling USA and is the 53rd-best high school wrestler in the nation, according to Intermat.  Hacker also received recruiting attention from Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Missouri, among others.

 

Tough Road To Detroit Awaits Nebraska

The Nebraska wrestling program has always dealt with a difficult schedule in the Big 12 Conference.  But few years have seen one conference so thoroughly dominate the rankings.  In both major polls, three of the top four teams in the nation are from the Big 12.  After wrestling fifth-ranked Iowa and sixth-ranked Hofstra at the National Duals, the Huskers’ schedule now includes the top six teams in the nation.  The National Duals begin a challenging stretch of the schedule for Nebraska, in which they will face the top seven teams in the nation in a month-long stretch between Jan. 13 to Feb. 11.  The Huskers, one of only three teams in the nation to see five of the preseason top six in the nation on their schedule, opens Big 12 competition on Jan. 20 at home against No. 6 Iowa State before hitting the road the following week to take on second-ranked Missouri.

Non-Varsity Notes

Nebraska’s non-varsity wrestlers will compete in their last scheduled competition on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Glen Brand Open in Omaha, Neb. 

 

In the first weekend of the season, Matt Vacanti was the lone Husker to place at the Harold Nichols Open.  Vacanti took third with a 5-3 win over Robert Struthers of Wartburg at 125 pounds.  Austin Baier advanced to the semifinals at 141 pounds before he was defeated by Joey Slaton of Iowa.  Meanwhile, a pair of true freshmen earned gold medals at the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo.  Salazar was 4-0 in a championship run in the amateur division at 149 pounds, while Dwyer was 4-0 en route to the 165-pound amateur championship.

 

At the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 18, the Huskers were led by Vacanti, who dominated the field on his way to the championship in the 125-pound amateur bracket.  He won his first three matches in the tournament by fall in a total of 7:12.  Vacanti defeated Terrance Young of Iowa Central by decision, 3-1, before knocking off OklahomaState’s Ben Ashmore, 3-2, in the finals.  In addition to Vacanti’s title, a pair of Nebraska wrestlers earned third-place finishes in their respective amateur brackets, including Salazar at 149 pounds and Stephen Dwyer at 165 pounds.  Jordan Burroughs took fourth at 149 pounds, while Casey Gubbels and Cameron Browne finished in fifth place at 141 and 197, respectively.  Alex Ward finished sixth at 165 pounds.  On Dec. 2, Vacanti earned a third-place finish at 125 pounds to lead the Huskers’ effort at the UNI Open.  Curtis Salazar finished fourth at 149 pounds at the UNK Loper Open on Dec. 9 in Kearney, Neb.

 

Five Nebraska wrestlers earned top-four finishes at the Dana College Open on Jan. 6 in Blair, Neb.  The Huskers were led by Cameron Browne, who won the 197-pound championship.  Austin Baier (133) and Robert Sanders (149) finished third in their respective weight classes, while Derek Moyer (149) and Cody Foust (165) earned fouth-place finishes.

 

Next up: Nebraska vs. Missouri, Jan. 28, 2007, HearnesCenter, Columbia, Mo.

Nebraska faces another tough Big 12 foe on Sunday, Jan. 28, as the Huskers take on No. 2 Missouri at the HearnesCenter in Columbia, Mo.  The Tigers are led by 2006 NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler Ben Askren at 174 pounds, and are coming off a second-place finish at the National Duals.  The Huskers have won the last three meetings between the two schools, inclduing last year’s 21-18 triumph by NU over No. 11 Missouri in Lincoln, Neb.