NU Looks to Continue Success in Vegas

Tournament Two: No. 6 Nebraska 
at Las Vegas Invitational
Date: Friday, Dec. 5-Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Location: Las Vegas Convention Center
Live Stats: Huskers.com or Thewrestlingmall.com

Lincoln-For the third consecutive year, the Nebraska wrestling team will travel to Las Vegas for the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invational on Dec. 5-6. Held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the one-of-a-kind tournament is a team event that allows only 10 eligible wrestlers to compete for each school. Unattached entries are not allowed, but the Huskers will still face some tough competition, including five teams that finished in the top 10 at last year’s NCAA Championships.

The Huskers are coming off two impressive dual wins last Friday. NU posted more than 50 points for just the third time in school history, with a 50-0 dismantling of Augustana before handing Oregon State a 34-8 loss in the second dual of the day. Nebraska had five wrestlers post a 2-0 mark on the day, as NU is averaging nearly 38 points in its three duals this season.

NU will look to continue its early-season success in the desert, a place that has always been kind to the Huskers. Nebraska has placed in the top three at the Las Vegas Invitational seven times, including winning the event in 2003. The Huskers have placed fourth the last two years, led by six placers and a title at last season’s event.

Live stats for select Nebraska wrestlers will be available on Huskers.com, while full results will be updated hourly at Thewrestlingmall.com.

Scouting the Las Vegas Invitational
The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is one of the nation’s most unique college tournaments. The invite is not an open tournament, and coaches are allowed to enter only wrestlers that are eligible to compete for their school. All schools are limited to one wrestler per weight class, and team scores are kept. This year marks the 27th year the event has taken place, and the invite has built quite a reputation for itself. Five of the top eight schools in the NWCA top 25 plan to be in attendance, including No. 3 Ohio State. Nebraska will be the only Big 12 team, but five squads that finished in the top 10 at last year’s NCAA Championships will make the trip. Matches begin at 11 a.m. CT each day. The championship finals are scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Husker History at the Las Vegas Invitational
Nebraska has trekked to Nevada for the Las Vegas Invitational off and on since the late 1980s and has always found great success in the desert. The Huskers have made 16 appearances at the tournament, finishing in the top nine every time. NU has posted a top-three finish seven times, including winning the event in 2003.

Last year a pair of Jordans led the Huskers to a fourth-place team finish. Six of the nine Nebraska wrestlers competing finished in the top six, but NU was led by Kenny Jordan and Jordan Burroughs. Competing at 133 pounds, Kenny Jordan went a perfect 6-0 in Vegas to take the title. He racked up three bonus-point victories to start the tournament and ended with three-straight decisions, including a 7-0 win over T.J. Dillashaw of Cal State-Fullerton in the finals. Burroughs went 6-1 to earn third place at 149 pounds. He lost a 6-5 decision to Lance Palmer of Ohio State in the quarterfinals on the first day, but rebounded in the consolation bracket to earn a rematch with Palmer. It was another tight match, but Burroughs prevailed 2-1 in double overtime to earn third.

Stephen Dwyer finished fifth with a 5-2 record. Dwyer finished the second day with a 3-1 decision over Jarrod King of Edinboro. Brandon Browne earned a third-place finish after notching a 7-1 record. Browne opened competition with three straight major decision wins, but lost 5-2 in the quarterfinals to John Dergo of Illinois. Browne wrestled his way through the consolation bracket and ended the second day with a 6-4 decision over Edinboro’s Phil Moricone to finish third. Vince Jones was impressive in his first action of the season. He opened the tournament with three straight pins, all in under a minute. Jones finished sixth with a 5-3 record, but two of those losses where to Louis Caputo of Harvard and all three were by two points.

Last Time Out: Huskers Blow Past Beavers and Vikings
The sixth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team racked up 13 bonus-point wins, including six pins, to easily handle Augustana and Oregon State by a combined score of 84-8 in two duals at the NU Coliseum on Nov. 29. Five Huskers went 2-0 on the day, and Nebraska went 18-2 as a team to move to 3-0 in dual competition this season.

Nebraska topped the 30-point mark against the Beavers for a second straight season, as the Huskers rolled to a 34-8 win in the final dual of the night. NU won eight of the 10 contest matches against OSU, after sweeping all 10 against the Vikings in the Huskers’ first dual. Nebraska’s 50-0 dismantling of the Vikings is NU’s largest win since posting a 55-0 drubbing of the Colorado School of Mines on Jan. 22, 1983.

Senior Vince Jones’ pin of Kyle Bressler highlighted the Oregon State dual for the Huskers. Jones, ranked No. 7 at 184 pounds, pinned No. 9 Bressler in 2:43, after notching the same result in 1:48 in last year’s dual between the two programs. Jones moved to a perfect 8-0 on the season, with six of his wins coming by fall.

Redshirt freshman Andy Pokorny also made a strong statement in his debut for the Huskers at 125 pounds. He opened the dual with a pin of Jake Gonzales in 2:28. Sophomore Curtis Salazar posted a 20-5 technical fall against Ryan Harold at 141 pounds, and third-ranked Jordan rounded out NU’s bonus-point victories with an 18-7 major decision over Jon Brascetta at 157. No. 5 Stephen Dwyer (165), No. 3 Brandon Browne (174), No. 4 Craig Brester (197) and Tucker Lane (Hwt.) all notched decisions, as the Huskers won the final six matches of the dual.

Nebraska jumped on Augustana early and never let up, racking up four pins, two technical falls and a major decision. The quickest fall of the dual went to Browne, who pinned Casey Mouw in 2:02 at 174 pounds. Matt Vacanti was close behind at 133 with a fall in 2:13 over Jason Jeremiason, while Brester and Salazar posted pins in 2:30 and 4:43, respectively.

Pokorny started the dual with a 17-0 technical fall at 125, while Lane posted a 15-0 technical fall at heavyweight. Senior Robert Sanders contributed a 15-5 major decision over Brandon Kruger at 157, and Alex Ward (165) and Levi Wofford (184) earned decisions

Burroughs Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Month
Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Month, the conference office announced Monday. The honor is the first of Burroughs’ career.

Burroughs, a junior from Sicklerville, N.J., is one of seven Huskers undefeated on the season after he claimed two dual wins and an open tournament championship. An All-American last year at 149 pounds, Burroughs has moved to 157 pounds with relative ease this season. He opened with a 17-7 major decision over No. 19 Joey Knox in NU’s dual win over Chattanooga on Nov. 20, and followed with an impressive performance at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22. Burroughs went 4-0 on the day and knocked off former NCAA champion and sixth-ranked Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota, 6-4, in the finals to take the title. Burroughs, previously 0-3 in his career against Schlatter, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

Burroughs most recently earned an 18-7 major decision versus Oregon State’s Jon Brascetta in NU’s 34-8 dual win over the Beavers on Nov. 29. Burroughs stands at 6-0 on the season, including 2-0 in duals, with three major decisions and one pin. He has racked up 15 takedowns in his two dual appearances.

Over the Half Century
The Huskers put a 50-0 defeat on the Augustana Vikings last Friday for Nebraska’s largest win in over 25 years. The Huskers have topped the 50-point mark just three times in their history. NU posted an all-time high 55 points in a shutout of the Colorado School of Mines on Jan. 22, 1983, after defeating Western New England College on Jan. 31, 1982, by a 50-0 margin. In their defense, Augustana and Colorado School of Mines are NCAA Division II teams, while Western New England is a member of Division III.

Starting Fast
Seven Husker wrestlers remain in the ranks of the undefeated. Of NU’s 27 wrestlers that have competed, Andy Pokorny (125), Jordan Burroughs (157), Stephen Dwyer (165), Brandon Browne (174), Vince Jones (184), Craig Brester (197) and Ridge Kiley (125) have unblemished records still. Nebraska has 21 wrestlers with winning records so far this season.

Brester and Browne are 7-0 after posting three dual wins and a title at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22. Likewise, Dwyer and Burroughs finished first in their weight class, but only have two dual victories for a 6-0 mark. Jones has also claimed two titles for himself in tournaments and earned his first dual win of the season last Friday for an 8-0 record. Kiley is 5-0 after finishing first in the amateur division at the Kaufman-Brand Open. Pokorny made his season debut last Friday and collected two dual victories.

All of NU’s undefeated wrestlers, except Kiley, are in Nebraska’s probable lineup for the Las Vegas Invitational this weekend.

Judging Jordan
Jordan Burroughs earned All-America honors with his third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships, but his proudest accomplishment may be setting Nebraska’s single-season dual takedown mark with 98 last season.

Judging by his performance in his first two duals this season, he may be well on his way to breaking the record again. He notched seven takedowns in a 17-7 major decision over Chattanooga’s Joey Knox on Nov. 20 and followed with eight more in an 18-7 major decision against Oregon State’s Jon Brascetta for 15 on the season. With at least 17 duals left, and maybe more because of National Duals, Burroughs would have to average 4.9 takedowns per match to break the record. He would also have to appear in all of NU’s duals, a feat he accomplish last season when he averaged 5.8 takedowns per dual.

The Pin King
Vince Jones, Nebraska’s resident pin king, is back at it again this season. He led the Huskers in falls with 12 in 2005-06 and accomplished the feat again in 2007-08 with 10. The senior is well on his way again this season with six pins already in eight matches, including three straight to start the year.

Jones has some competition this season from junior Craig Brester, the Huskers’ 197-pounder. Brester is 6-0 on the year with five pins and one major decision. All of Brester’s falls have come in the first period, including one against No. 14 Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22.

Both Jones and Brester are probable to wrestle at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Ranking the Returning
Nebraska welcomes back four All-Americans this season from the contingent of five Huskers that earned the honor last season. Jordan Burroughs, Craig Brester and Stephen Dwyer return for their junior seasons at 157, 197 and 165 pounds, respectively, while Brandon Browne wrestles his senior season at 174 pounds. NU’s four returning All-Americans are the most for Nebraska since 1995-96, when the Huskers welcomed back Brad Canoyer (118), Temoer Terry (150), Ryan Tobin (190) and Tolly Thompson (Hwt.).

Jordan’s Journeys
Jordan Burroughs had an extremely successful season last year, earning his first All-America honor with a third-place finish at 149 pounds at the NCAA Championships, but his achievements didn’t stop in March. Burroughs claimed 10th-place at the FILA World Championships in August, after winning the FILA Junior National Championships and World Team Trials.

Representing the U.S. for the first time in his career, Burroughs wrestled well at 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds) in the freestyle division, but ran into some hard luck at the FILA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Burroughs lost his first set 3-1 against Kazakhstan’s Olzhas Chingisbayev, but rebounded with two straight wins (2-0, 4-3) to earn the victory. Burroughs then defeated India’s Amit Kumar in two straight sets (2-1, 4-3) to advance and face Hungary’s Sandor Tozser. Burroughs lost the first set 1-0 to the Hungarian, but tied him 1-1 in the second. Tozser claimed the set by scoring the last technical points and defeated Burroughs.

Burroughs still had a chance to wrestle in the consolation bracket if Tozser made it to the finals, but eventual champion Magomedmurad Gadjieu of Russia defeated Tozser in the semifinals to end Burroughs’ tournament. Nebraska Head Coach Mark Manning also traveled with to Turkey as an assistant coach for the U.S.

Burroughs advanced to the world championships by winning the world team trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., in May. He defeated Michigan’s Kellen Russell in two consecutive sets in the finals to win the best-of-three series and claim a spot on the U.S. world team. Burroughs automatically qualified for the finals at the world team trials by winning the FILA Junior National Championships in April.

Livingston from Lincoln
The 2008-09 Nebraska wrestling roster features 31 student-athletes, but just 10 are natives of the Cornhusker state. Four Huskers hail from the Omaha area, as Brandon and Cameron Browne are from Plattsmouth, Andy Pokorny is from Bennington and Matt Vacanti grew up in Papillion. Craig Brester spent his childhood in wrestling-powerhouse Howells and fellow junior Levi Wofford is from Aurora. Hadley Cooksley and Riley Essay join the Huskers this season after wrapping up their high school careers in Alda and Alliance, respectively. Ethan Studebaker grew up just outside of Lincoln in Raymond, while Livingston Lukow is the only Husker on the roster from Lincoln. Lukow went to high school at Lincoln Christian.

From Teammates to Teammates
Nebraska has eight wrestlers on its 2008-09 roster that were also on the same high school squad at one point. Brothers Brandon and Cameron Browne wrestled together at Plattsmouth High School, as is the case with brothers Robert and Paul Sanders at Blanding (Utah) High School. Jordan Burroughs and Vince Jones both spent their prep career at Winslow Township (N.J.) High School, while Ross Grande joins the Huskers this season after wrestling with Peter Roto at Palatine High School.

Four-Time Huskers
Matt Vacanti and Romero Cotton are the only Huskers that finished their prep career as four-time state champions in wrestling. Wrestling for Papillion-LaVista, Vacanti was the 13th four-time state champion in the history of Nebraska. He wrestled to a 128-1 career record under Coach Jeff Kupfer and was ranked third among the nation’s 140-pounders by InterMat during his senior year. In his 35-0 junior season, Vacanti pinned all 35 opponents he faced, and was named the 2006 Dave Schultz Award winner for the state of Nebraska. Vacanti and Patrick Aleksanyan will see starting time for the Huskers at 133 pounds this season.

Cotton was just as impressive, winning four state championships in wrestling, adding another four in football and claiming two titles in power lifting. Wrestling for Coach Mike Garcia at Hutchinson High School in Hutchinson, Kan., Cotton finished with a 137-11 career record, rolling to a 72-0 mark over his final two seasons. Cotton was also the 2006 Cadet National champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman. He will likely redshirt his freshman year at 184 pounds, behind Vince Jones and Levi Wofford.

Cowboy Larry Lane’s Son
Redshirt freshman Tucker Lane is almost following in his father’s footsteps. Tucker, like his dad Larry, is wrestling collegiately. He enters his second season in the Nebraska program as the projected starter at heavyweight, after being named NU’s 2008 Redshirt of the Year. Larry spent his college years wrestling for the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., and was also on the All-Army wrestling team. Tucker has yet to follow in one footstep though. Larry went on to wrestle professionally from 1973 to 1983 as "Red Dog Lane" and "Cowboy Larry Lane".

Going Back to Texas
Freshman Austin Barnes, who joins the Huskers this season, is the first Husker to hail from Texas since Larry Thompson in 1984-85. Barnes attended Class 5A Rockwall High School where he helped Coach Brent Pohorsky to three top-10 team finishes at the state championships. Barnes was a three-time district champion and went on to win the region and finish third in the state his senior year. Wrestling at 135 pounds, Barnes scored 16 points to earn his first all-state honor and lead Rockwall to a ninth-place team finish. Barnes is expected to wrestle at 141 pounds for Nebraska and will likely redshirt his first year in the NU program.

Battling Brothers
Husker wrestling will once again be a family matter, as two sets of brothers are on the squad this season. For the third consecutive year, two members of the Sanders and Browne family will share time on the mat.

Senior Robert Sanders, an NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds in 2005-06, will be joined on the mat by his younger brother Paul. Wrestling under their father, Bob, at San Juan High School in Blanding, Utah, Robert was a two-time state champion, while Paul earned the honor three times. Robert steps up to 157 pounds after splitting starting time at 141 last season. Paul will wrestle 149 pounds this year and will provide valuable backup behind All-American Jordan Burroughs.

Senior Brandon Browne, a returning All-American at 174 pounds, is joined by his little brother, Cameron. Brandon was a two-time state champion while wrestling at Plattsmouth High School in Plattsmouth, Neb., while Cameron also claimed the title during his senior year. Brandon put together a 35-4 season last year, en route to a Big 12 Championship and fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Cameron returns to the mat this season, after redshirting last year.

Since 1990, six pairs of brothers have lettered for NU, including the Buxtons (Jason, 1991-92; John 1990-93), the Coltvets (Jeff, 1985-86, 1988-89; Rick, 1992-93), the DeAndas (Tony, 1995-96; Jose, 1996-99), the Hensons (Joe, 1999-2000; Josh, 1999-2000), the Malias (Joe, 2000-04; Ty, 2001) and the Verings (Brad, 1998-2001; Russ, 1994). Among those wrestlers are three that attained All-America status, including three-time All-American and 2000 national champion Brad Vering. Jose DeAnda and John Buxton also earned All-America honors during their Husker careers.

In NU wrestling history, the most decorated pair of brothers are the Scherrs. Bill and Jim Scherr each won a national championship in 1984, Jim at 177 pounds, and Bill at 190. Jim earned a pair of All-America honors during his career, while Bill was a three-time All-American. Both Bill and Jim are members of Nebraska’s 100-win club.

Non-Varsity Notes
Nebraska varsity wrestlers posted impressive performances at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha on Nov. 22, but the Huskers’ non-varsity competitors faired just as well. NU’s non-varsity squad placed seven wrestlers between the elite and amateur divisions, including two titles.

Ridge Kiley claimed an impressive 5-0 record, pinning Iowa Central’s Patrick Hunter in 2:21 in the finals, to finish first at 125 pounds in the amateur division. Kiley, a freshman from Eagle Grove, Iowa, opened with a 6-3 decision over Nebraska-Kearney’s Jordan White and notched a 10-2 major decision against Iowa State’s Treavor Dearden in the second round before rolling off two more decisions to advance to the finals. Kiley is a probable starter this Friday at 125 pounds in NU’s two duals.

Fellow freshman Tyler Koehn finished first at 174 pounds in the amateur division. Koehn sandwiched three straight decisions after opening and ending the day with major decisions. Jon Burns (141) and Josh Ihnen (184), also both freshmen, lost in their respective final to take second, while Matt Ashton (133) placed fourth, with each competing in the amateur division.

Wrestling in the elite division, freshman Romero Cotton finished second to fellow Husker Vince Jones. Cotton earned two major decisions, but lost an 8-2 decision to Jones in the final. Sophomore Andy Johnson finished sixth after a minor injury forced him to forfeit his final two matches.

NU’s non-varsity wrestlers next travel to the Fort Hays State Open on Saturday. Matches begin at 9 a.m. in Gross Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Fort Hays State.

Next up: Huskers Welcome Ranked Foes
Nebraska has two weeks after the Las Vegas Invitionational to prepare for two solid dual opponents. NU battles No. 25 Kent State at 2 p.m. on Dec. 20 and No. 8 and 2007 NCAA Champion Minnesota at 2 p.m. on Dec. 21, with both duals being contested in the NU Coliseum. Tickets can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (800) 8-BIG-RED or online at Huskers.com.