Huskers Complete Conference, Home Schedules This Weekend

Dual No. 14:<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

No. 22/21 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (7-6) at No. 8/14 Oklahoma (8-5)

McCasland Field House?Norman, Okla.?Friday, Feb. 9?7 p.m.

Series History: Oklahoma leads, 34-15-3

Last Meeting: Oklahoma won, 19-16, on Feb. 10, 2006 in Lincoln, Neb.

 

Dual No. 15:

No. 22/21 Nebraska (7-6) vs. No. 1/1 Minnesota (16-1)

NU Coliseum?Lincoln, Neb.?Sunday, Feb. 11?1 p.m.

Series History: Minnesota leads, 44-17
Last Meeting: Minnesota won, 27-11, on Dec. 11, 2005 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Live Streaming Video: HuskersNside (subscription required, $9.95/month, $99.95/year)

 

Huskers Complete Conference, Home Schedules This Weekend

The 21st-ranked Nebraska wrestling team completes the Big 12 portion of its schedule with a dual at No. 14 Oklahoma on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla., before returning home to take on top-ranked Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. at the NU Coliseum in the final home dual of the season for the Huskers.  Video of Sunday’s dual will be streamed live on HuskersNside.

 

The weekend continues a difficult stretch of duals for the Huskers.  Nebraska will wrestle its seventh and eighth straight ranked opponents, with a ninth, Lehigh, looming the following weekend.  The Huskers will have wrestled the top six teams in the nation after this weekend’s action.

 

Nebraska has defeated Oklahoma in two of the last three matchups, including the Huskers’ last visit to Norman, a narrow 16-15 win for NU on Feb. 12, 2005.  Earlier that season, Nebraska defeated Minnesota, 21-12, in the Gophers’ last visit to the NU Coliseum, breaking the Huskers’ nine-dual losing streak to Minnesota.  Both the Golden Gophers and the Sooners defeated Nebraska last year.

 

Last Time Out: No. 4 OklahomaState, 21, No. 20 Nebraska 13, Feb. 1, 2007

A comeback bid by the No. 20 Nebraska wrestling team fell just short as fourth-ranked OklahomaState defeated the Huskers, 21-13, in front of a season-high crowd of 1,384 fans at the NU Coliseum. 

 

After losing the first three matches in the dual, Nebraska won four out of six matches and had an opportunity to win the dual in the final match, but a 5-3 overtime win at 157 pounds by Newly McSpadden over Chris Oliver clinched the win for OSU.  It is the third time in the last four duals between the Huskers and the Cowboys that NU had an opportunity to win the dual heading into the final match.

 

Craig Brester got the Huskers on the board in the team race with an 18-6 major decision win over Jared Shelton at 197 pounds.  Brester took control of the match in the second period, when he scored four takedowns in the last 1:25 of the stanza.  A setback at heavyweight gave the Cowboys a 14-4 lead halfway through the dual.

 

Paul Donahoe got the Huskers back on the winning track at 125 pounds with an 8-5 win over Tyler Shinn.  Donahoe sprinted out to a 4-0 lead with a takedown and a nearfall midway through the first period, and held on for the victory. 

 

After a setback at 133 pounds, Dominick Moyer kept hopes alive for a Husker upset with a 5-3 overtime victory over Nathan Morgan at 141 pounds in a matchup of a pair of top-10 ranked wrestlers.  Moyer took down Morgan with five seconds remaining in the first sudden victory period to earn the win. 

 

At 149 pounds, Jordan Burroughs followed Moyer with a win of his own, a 10-5 decision over B.J. Jackson.  Burroughs took the lead for good in the match with a takedown with 1:13 remaining in the first period.  The win cut OklahomaState’s lead to 18-13 with one match remaining.

 

Scouting Oklahoma

No. 8 Oklahoma enters its dual with Nebraska seeking its first Big 12 dual win of the season after a 24-14 loss Sunday at home against No. 2 Missouri.  The Sooners have three top-six wrestlers in their starting lineup, including top-ranked Sam Hazewinkel at 125 pounds.  However, Hazewinkel’s status for the Nebraska dual is in question due to an injury.  Also in the top six are fellow returning All-Americans Matt Storniolo (149 pounds) and Joel Flaggert (197).  Oklahoma’s dual with Nebraska begins a busy eight-day stretch for the Sooners, which includes a Sunday dual at OklahomaState and a dual with eighth-ranked Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 17. 

 

Last Matchup: Oklahoma 19, Nebraska 16, Feb. 10, 2006, NU Coliseum, Lincoln, Neb.

The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team took a 13-9 lead through six matches but couldn’t hold on as 11th-ranked Oklahoma defeated the Huskers, 19-16, in front of 1,517 fans at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb. 

 

Nebraska won the first two matches in dominant fashion.  Wrestling in his final home match at the NU Coliseum, third-ranked 174-pound wrestler Jacob Klein pinned Oklahoma’s Shane Vernon 50 seconds into the second period.  Klein had a 6-2 lead through the first period and after starting the second period down, Klein reversed Vernon 15 seconds into the second frame, then earned the fall 35 seconds later.

 

Vince Jones followed with his own strong performance at 184 pounds.  The 11th-ranked 184-pound wrestler, Jones defeated 14th-ranked Justin Dyer by major decision, 14-5.  Jones raced out to an early 10-3 lead after the first period, then scored a pair of reversals while giving up only one reversal to earn the bonus point.

 

After three straight setbacks drew the Sooners to within one point of Nebraska, Patrick Aleksanyan defeated Trey Blakely, 6-3, to give the Huskers a 13-9 lead.  Aleksanyan also took control of the match early, jumping out to a 6-2 lead after the first three minutes.  Blakely would only earn an escape in the final four minutes of the match to draw within three of Aleksanyan.

 

Three straight Oklahoma wins would give the Sooners a 19-13 lead heading into the final match.  At 165 pounds, 15th-ranked Marc Harwood defeated 18th-ranked Jerrod King, 3-2, bringing Nebraska within three to close the dual.

 

Scouting Minnesota

No. 2 Minnesota is coming off a 28-12 win at No. 11 Illinois.  The Golden Gophers have won 16 straight after losing their season opening dual to Hofstra, 18-17, on Nov. 25.  Minnesota was 4-0 at the National Duals and placed second at Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., in December.  Six Gophers are ranked in the top 10, including top-ranked and defending national champion Cole Konrad at heavyweight and Dustin Schlatter at 149 pounds.  C.P. Schlatter and Roger Kish are ranked second at 157 and 184 pounds, respectively.  Minnesota returned nine starters, seven NCAA Championships qualifiers and four All-Americans from last year’s national runner-up squad.

 

Last Matchup: Minnesota 27, Nebraska 11, Dec. 11, 2005, Minneapolis, Minn.

Dominick Moyer and B.J. Padden picked up major decision victories for the 14th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskers were defeated by fifth-ranked Minnesota, 27-11, in Minneapolis, Minn.

 

After losses at 125 and 133 pounds, Moyer defeated Minnesota’s Charles Lloyd, 10-2, to cut Nebraska’s deficit to 10-4, but Minnesota would pick up wins at 149 and 157 pounds before Marc Harwood earned the second of three Nebraska victories with his 3-2 upset of fourth-ranked Matt Nagel at 165 pounds.

 

Minnesota won the next two matches to take a 23-8 lead with two matches remaining. Padden earned a major decision victory over the Gophers’ Justin Bronson, 16-6, to give the Huskers their third and final win of the day.

 

Final Home Dual for Moyer and Harwood

Seniors Dominick Moyer and Marc Harwood will be honored during Senior Day ceremonies before Sunday’s dual against top-ranked Minnesota, their final home dual as Huskers. 

 

Harwood and Moyer have been vital parts to Nebraska’s success over the last four years.  The Huskers are 58-17-1 in dual competition during their tenure.  Nebraska finished ranked among the top-five dual teams in the nation twice during that span, including third in 2004-05.

 

While Harwood and Moyer have contributed to the team’s success, they also have been individually successful.  Harwood, who has battled injuries throughout his Husker career, is 43-30 in his career, including a 25-20 dual mark. Harwood was awarded a wild-card bid to his first NCAA Championships last season.  Harwood is a three-year starter, starting at both 165 and 174 pounds during his career.

 

Moyer is currently second on the team in wins with a 23-5 record, including an 11-2 dual mark, which put him in a tie for the team lead in dual wins.  Moyer is 69-36 in his career, including a 33-18 mark in duals.  Moyer is a three-year starter for the Huskers, starting the last two years at 141 pounds. 

 

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 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. 

 

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.

 

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 Iowa and Hofstra at the National Duals, the Huskers’ schedule now includes six of the top 10 teams in the nation.  The Huskers, one of only three teams in the nation to see five of the preseason top six in the nation on their schedule, have wrestled eight of the top 10 teams in the nation after this month-long stretch.  Eleven of Nebraska’s last 12 dual opponents are ranked, including a stretch of 10 straight ranked dual opponents.

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: NU at Lehigh,  Friday, Feb. 16, Bethlehem, Pa., at Drexel and Penn, Saturday, Feb. 17     

Nebraska closes its regular season schedule with three duals in two days in Pennsylvania on Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17.  The roadtrip starts with a dual against 24th-ranked Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., on Friday at 7 p.m.  In their last matchup, the Huskers defeated the Mountain Hawks, 25-13, on Jan. 10, 2004, breaking a three-dual winning streak by Lehigh over Nebraska.  On Saturday, the Huskers take on Drexel at 11 a.m. at the DaskalakisAthleticCenter in Philadelphia before heading to the Palestra to take on 18th-ranked Penn at 1 p.m.  The Quakers are led by top-ranked Matt Valenti at 133 pounds.  This is the first ever meeting between Nebraska and Penn in wrestling and just the second all-time between the Huskers and the Dragons.