Huskers Compete for Conference Title

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No. 23/19 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (10-7-1) at 2007 Big 12 Championships

Hearnes Center?Columbia, Mo.?Saturday, March 3

Last Year: Third Place, 52 pts, 9 NCAA qualifiers, one champion (Padden-197)

TV: Tape-Delayed on FSN (channel 37 in Lincoln), Sunday, March 11, 12:30 p.m.

 

Huskers Compete for Conference Title

The 19th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will aim for the program’s seventh conference championship at the 2007 Big 12 Championships at the HearnesCenter in Columbia, Mo.  Thirty-eight wrestlers will qualify for the NCAA Championships, including the top-three finishers in each weight class and eight wild-card selections. 

 

Last year, 197-pound Big 12 champion B.J. Padden led the way as nine Husker wrestlers earned bids to nationals from the Big 12 Championships.  Along with Padden, 174-pound wrestler Jacob Klein reached the finals, while Paul Donahoe (125), Patrick Aleksanyan (133), Dominick Moyer (141), Robert Sanders (149) and Jon May (HWT) all earned third-place finishes.  Marc Harwood (174) and Vince Jones (184) finished fourth in their respective weight classes, but were awarded wild-card bids. 

 

Nebraska’s nine qualifiers for the 2006 NCAA Championships were the most for NU since nine qualified in 1996.  Under seventh-year head coach Mark Manning, Nebraska has qualified at least six wrestlers every year for nationals.  In the last three years, the Huskers have sent at least seven every year to the NCAAs.

 

Last Time Out: Nebraska 25, Drexel 13; Nebraska 17, Penn 17, Feb. 17, 2007, Philadelphia

The 19th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team defeated Drexel, 25-13, before finishing its regular season with a 17-17 tie against No. 20 Penn.  The Huskers completed the regular season with a 10-7-1 record, marking the fifth straight season and the 17th in the last 18 years in which the Huskers have won at least 10 duals.

 

In the first dual, Nebraska won the last three matches to earn the dual win over the Dragons.  With the Huskers trailing 13-12 through seven matches, Dominick Moyer earned a major decision win over Dave Gilio at 141 pounds, 12-4.  Moyer outlasted Gilio, scoring four takedowns in the third period to build from a 3-0 lead in the first two periods.

 

Jordan Burroughs then defeated Mark Cartella at 149 pounds, 5-1.  After a scoreless first period, Burroughs scored an escape and a takedown to take a 3-0 lead through two periods.  The win gave Nebraska a 19-13 lead through nine matches.

 

In the final match of the dual, Chris Oliver slammed the door on any hopes of a Drexel comeback bid with his pin of Ryan Hluschak at 157 pounds with 29 seconds remaining in the match.  In the lone match in the dual featuring a pair of ranked wrestlers, Hluschak took a 4-1 lead after the first period and an 8-4 lead through the second.  But after Hluschak scored an escape early in the third period, Oliver took him down with under one minute to go in the match, then pinned him moments later to clinch the dual victory for NU. 

 

Nebraska won three of the first five matches against Drexel to take a 12-9 lead through six matches.  After a setback at 165 pounds, Marc Harwood, Levi Wofford and Craig Brester earned three consecutive wins for the Huskers to give NU a 9-6 lead.  Harwood defeated Nick Kozar in the second tiebreaker period, 4-3, at 174 pounds.  The match was tied 1-1 through regulation and 2-2 through the first round of tiebreaker periods.  After a second scoreless sudden-victory period, both Harwood and Kozar escaped in the tiebreaker period, but Harwood held a five-second advantage in riding time after the second tiebreaker period to earn the extra point and the victory. 

 

Wofford broke a personal eight-match losing streak with a 4-1 win over Brian Stouffer at 184 pounds.  Wofford started the second period down and earned an escape and a takedown to build a 3-0 lead early in the period.  At 197 pounds, Brester edged Jon Oplinger, 4-2.  Brester also took a 3-0 lead in the second period.

 

After a setback at heavyweight, Paul Donahoe defeated Steve Mytych, 13-6.  Donahoe led the match throughout, taking a 4-1 lead in the first period and a 9-5 lead after two periods. 

 

A loss at 133 pounds gave Drexel a 13-12 lead before the Huskers won the last three matches to earn the dual win.

 

No. 20 Penn took an early 10-0 lead on Nebraska after winning the first three matches before Brester stopped the Quaker winning streak with his 14-5 major decision win over Jack Sullivan at 197 pounds.  The win was Brester’s third of the weekend and his 14th in his last 16 matches heading into the Big 12 Championships.  A loss at heavyweight would build Penn’s lead to 13-4 halfway through the dual.

 

Donahoe earned his third win of the weekend with an 8-2 win over Matt Eveleth at 125 pounds.  He has won six of his last seven matches since losing back-to-back matches in mid-January.  At 133 pounds, top-ranked Matt Valenti earned a major decision win to give Penn a 17-7 lead with three matches remaining.

 

Again, Nebraska got three consecutive wins to end the dual, starting with Moyer at 141 pounds.  Moyer defeated Brett McCurdy, 5-2 to break the Quakers’ winning streak.  Burroughs followed at 149 with his third win on the weekend and his second bonus-point triumph in a 19-7 major decision win over Rob Hitschler. 

 

Oliver tied the dual for the Huskers with a 4-1 win over Matt Dragon at 157 pounds.  Oliver won three matches on the weekend.

 

Last Year at the Big 12 Championships: Nebraska-3rd, 52.0 pts, Nine NCAA Qualfiers

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.  In the team race, Nebraska took third with 52 points, just a half point behind conference runner-up Oklahoma.  OklahomaState won the team championship with 80 points. 

 

Padden earned his second career conference championship with his 4-0 win over Jake Rosholt of OklahomaState in the 197-pound finals.  After a scoreless first period, Padden rode 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 beat the defending national champion Rosholt all three times they faced each other in 2006, earned his second career All-America honor with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

 

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 earned his second career All-America honor at the NCAA Championships in 2006.

 

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 IowaState.  Donahoe finished 2-2 at the NCAA Championships.

 

At 133 pounds, No. 4 seed Patrick Aleksanyan finished third after a 10-9 win over Jesse Sundell of IowaState.  Aleksanyan built a 6-2 lead in the first period and held on to qualify for his first trip to the NCAA Championships.  Aleksanyan went 1-2 at nationals. 

 

Dominick Moyer made his second career appearance at nationals after his 7-4 win over OklahomaState’s Ethan Kyle. Moyer, who finished second in the 2005 Big 12 Championships at 133 pounds.  Earlier in the night session, Moyer dominated Missouri’s Chris McCormick in a 15-3 major decision victory.

 

Heavyweight Jon May headed 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 IowaState, 5-2, to earn his first career trip to nationals.  May was 1-2 at NCAAs in 2006. 

 

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 IowaState’s Jason Knipp.  Sanders ran out to a 5-0 lead after two periods and was able to hold on from there.

 

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 IowaState’s Travis Paulson.  Harwood finished the day 1-2 and advanced to nationals.

 

Vince Jones also fell just short of third-place in a 6-2 loss to OklahomaState’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 went 3-2 in his first trip to nationals as a true freshman.

 

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.

 

Scouting IowaState

Iowa State won its final eight duals including all four Big 12 duals to cap to 13-3 season under first-year coach Cael Sanderson.  The Cyclones earned the Midlands Tournament championship in mid-December and took third at the NWCA National Duals, losing only to top-ranked Minnesota in the semifinals.  No. 2 ISU has five wrestlers ranked in the top 10, including second-ranked Trent Paulson (157) and third-ranked Travis Paulson (165). 

 

Scouting Missouri

Missouri earned a 12-3 record and a No. 3 national ranking in dual competition this season.  The Tigers finished second at the National Duals, losing only to No. 1 Minnesota in the finals.  Mizzou also finished second in dual competition in the Big 12 Conference, with its only blemish in league competition being a 27-12 loss at home to IowaState on Feb. 11.  The Tigers have five wrestlers ranked in the top 10, led by 2006 NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler Ben Askren at 174 pounds. 

 

Scouting Oklahoma

Oklahoma enters the Big 12 Championships with an 11-7 record, including back-to-back wins over Hofstra and MichiganState to close the season.  Four Sooners are ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes, led by top-ranked Sam Hazewinkel at 125 pounds and second-ranked Matt Storniolo at 149 pounds.  Also in the top 10 are fifth-ranked Joel Flaggert (197) and eighth-ranked Josh Weitzel (174).  Oklahoma was 0-5 in Big 12 duals, including a narrow 17-15 loss to OklahomaState in December. 

 

Scouting OklahomaState

No. 4 Oklahoma State completed the regular season with a 14-5 record, including a 3-2 Big 12 dual mark.  The Cowboys will be well-rested entering the Big 12 Championships, having last wrestled on Mar. 11 in a 29-6 win over Oklahoma in Stillwater.  While OklahomaState lost six starters and three All-Americans from last year’s national championship squad, OSU enters the conference tournament with a strong lineup that includes three wrestlers ranked in the top 10, led by defending national champion Johny Hendricks at 165 pounds. 

 

Nebraska’s History at the Conference Championships

While Nebraska has not won a conference championship since securing the Big Eight crown in 1995, the Huskers have been in the thick of the conference title chase the last three years.  NU has finished in the top three the last three years, including a runner-up finish in 2004 and a pair of third-place finishes.  Last year, Nebraska finished just one half-point behind second-place Oklahoma. 

 

Individually, Husker wrestlers have earned 50 conference championships over the years, including 10 since the Big 12 Conference was formed in 1997.  The list of recent conference champions is led by four-time Big 12 champion Bryan Snyder at 157 pounds.  The four-time All-American brought home the conference gold for Nebraska from 1999-2002, but was the last Husker to win a conference championship until 197-pound wrestler B.J. Padden broke the NU drought with championships in 2005 and 2006. 

 

Nine NU Wrestlers Named to Big 12 Honor Roll

The Nebraska wrestling team had nine wrestlers named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, awarding those who achieved a 3.0 or higher grade-point average during the 2006 fall semester.

 

The list was led by former Husker Matt Murray, who earned a 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.  Murray, who was an All-American in 2004 and a two-year letterwinner for the Huskers before completing his eligibility in the spring of 2005, also was a two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 performer, a two-time NWCA All-Academic Team honoree and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. 

 

Also included on the list were four NU wrestlers who have earned the honor multiple times, led by Casey Roberts.  An architecture major from Lincoln, Roberts has been named to the last five Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Rolls.  Robert Sanders earned his fourth straight appearance on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.   Sanders, a Blanding, Utah native, is a nutrition, fitness and health promotion major. 

 

Austin Baier and Rob Plambeck were honored for the third time in their respective careers.  Baier is a business administration major from Greenfield, Iowa, while Plambeck is a biological sciences major from Lincoln.  Brady LaMar rounds out the list of multiple-time honorees as the finance major from Silver Lake, Kan., earned his second straight honor roll citation. 

 

Three true freshmen, Casey Gubbels, Andy Johnson and Frank Jonas, earned honor roll status in their first semesters at Nebraska. 

 

Nebraska had a total of 270 honorees through 23 sports, including 33 who had a 4.0 GPA.

 

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 forfeited for five straight 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 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. 

 

Huskers Continue Winning Tradition

With its victory over Oklahoma on Feb. 9, the Nebraska wrestling team continued a streak of 29 years in which the Huskers have won at least eight duals.  The streak dates back to the 1978-79 season, Bob Fehrs’ first as Nebraska’s head coach.  In the 58 seasons of NU wrestling before the streak started, the Huskers had only four seasons with eight or more dual wins, only 13 winning seasons and a record of 174-344-18 with a winning percentage of .341.  In the 29 campaigns since, the Huskers have had only three losing seasons and have earned a record of 389-160-10 with a winning percentage of .705.  With a pair of wins in the last weekend of the regular season, Nebraska earned double-figure wins for the fifth straight season and for the 18th time in 19 years. 

 

Experienced but Young Huskers 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 who 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.

 

Huskers Complete Tough Road to Postseason

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 Iowa and Hofstra at the National Duals, the Huskers’ schedule included six of the top 10 teams in the nation.  The Huskers, one of only three teams in the country to see five of the preseason top six in the nation on their schedule, wrestled eight of the top 10 teams in the nation during a month-long stretch.  Eleven of Nebraska’s last 12 dual opponents are ranked, including a stretch of 10 straight ranked dual opponents which concluded with the Huskers’ 27-15 win over Lehigh on Feb. 16.

Non-Varsity Notes

Eight Nebraska non-varsity wrestlers finished in the top four in their respective weight classes at the Glen Brand Open on Saturday, Jan. 20 in Omaha, Neb.  Matt Vacanti won the championship at 125 pounds, while Patrick Aleksanyan finished second at 133 and Andy Johnson took second at 174.  Cody Foust (165) and Casey Roberts (184) earned third-place finishes, while Austin Baier (141), Casey Gubbels (149) and Rob Plambeck (157) took fourth in their respective weight classes.  The Brand Open is the last scheduled non-varsity competition for NU wrestlers this season.

 

In the first weekend of the season, 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. 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.  Curtis Salazar was 4-0 in a championship run in the amateur division at 149 pounds, while Stephen 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 Dwyer at 165 pounds.  Jordan Burroughs took fourth at 149 pounds, while 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.  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 Browne, who won the 197-pound championship. Baier (133) and Robert Sanders (149) finished third in their respective weight classes, while Derek Moyer (149) and Foust (165) earned fourth-place finishes.

 

Next up: Nebraska at the NCAA Championships, March 15-17, Auburn Hills, Mich.    

Wrestlers who finish in the top three in their respective weight class along with eight wild-card selections will advance to the 2007 NCAA Championships at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., on March 15-17.  Nebraska will look for the program’s 16th top-10 finish at nationals.  The Huskers have finished in the top 20 each of the last eight years and 16 of the last 18, while at least two NU wrestlers have earned All-America honors in each of the last eight years.  For the first time since the 2002 NCAA Championships in Albany, N.Y., the NCAA Championships will be held outside Big 12 country.  After a year in Kansas City, Mo., nationals were held in St. Louis, Mo., in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Oklahoma City in 2006.