No. 3 NU Ends Regular Season Against No. 4 ISU

Dual 18: #3 Nebraska vs. #4 Iowa State
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: NU Coliseum, Lincoln, Neb.
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com

Lincoln - For the second season in a row, the Huskers end the regular season against Iowa State, as the fourth-ranked Cyclones (13-3, 2-1) visit Lincoln Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown with No. 3 Nebraska (17-2-1, 3-0) in the NU Colsieum. The Nebraska Athletic Department is encouraging fans to wear black to the contest, as the dual is an official Black-Out. The first 100 fans will receive a free Nebraska wrestling t-shirt. Howells native Craig Brester will be honored as a Hometown Husker, while NU will also recognize its four seniors on the team.

The Huskers picked up dual wins over UNC Greensboro and North Carolina last Saturday, as Jordan Burroughs shattered the Nebraska season dual takedown record with a pair of technical falls. Burroughs notched 21 takedowns over UNCG’s Andrew Saunders and No. 20 Thomas Scotton of North Carolina to lead the Huskers to 43 to -1 and 25-14 victories in Chapel Hill, N.C. With 114 takedowns in dual matches this year, Burroughs shattered his previous school record of 98 last season, and moved to 27-0 on the season. The Huskers won five of the 10 matches against UNCG by bonus points, with Matt Vacanti, Andy Johnson and Craig Brester earning pins and Curtis Salazar winning by forfeit. NU was tied at nine with the Tar Heels through four matches, before Burroughs’ technical fall and Stephen Dwyer’s major decision win over No. 17 Keegan Mueller at 165 gave Nebraska a 17-9 lead. A major decision by Vince Jones at 184 and a decision by Brester at 197 locked NU’s 23rd straight dual win over an ACC foe.

Nebraska will seek a measure of revenge on Sunday against the Cyclones. Last year, the Huskers had a chance to complete the conference season undefeated for the first time in program history, as NU has never swept its conference opponents in the 99-year history of the program. ISU squashed the Huskers’ pursuit of perfection with a 22-12 win in Ames in the final dual of the season. The Huskers have an opportunity to accomplish the feat this season, but face a difficult test against the Cyclones. Iowa State enters Sunday’s battle with all 10 wrestlers ranked, including two at No. 1. Bouts between ranked foes will occur at 157 to heavyweight, including top-10 matchups at 157 and 165. The 197-pound weight class will pit top-ranked Jake Varner against No. 2 Brester. All-Americans will square off at 157, 165 and 197.

Live stats and video will be available through Huskers.com. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or online at Huskers.com.

Last Time Out: Burroughs Blasts NU Through UNCG and UNC
Jordan Burroughs claimed two technical falls en route to shattering the Nebraska single-season dual takedown record and leading the fourth-ranked Huskers to notable dual wins over UNC Greensboro (43- -1) and North Carolina (24-15) at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Feb. 14. NU moved to 17-2-1 on the season.

The highlight of the night was provided by Burroughs, as he broke NU’s single-season dual takedown record in impressive fashion. The Sicklerville, N.J., native entered the night six short of the record he set last season with 98. Burroughs reached the mark and surpassed it with 21 takedowns in 25-9 and 24-9 technical falls over UNCG’s Andrew Saunders and No. 20 Thomas Scotton of UNC, respectively. Burroughs has 114 takedowns in 18 dual appearances to go with his 27-0 record this season at 157 pounds.

Two other Huskers posted bonus-point victories against the Tar Heels, as Nebraska picked up its 22nd consecutive dual win over an Atlantic Coast Conference school. Stephen Dwyer claimed a 12-2 major decision against No. 17 Keegan Mueller, while Vince Jones posted five takedowns against Daneil Llamas for a 13-5 major decision.

Andy Pokorny started the dual with a 5-3 decision against Nick Shields, as Pokorny went 2-0 on the day at 125 pounds, while Craig Brester topped No. 17 Dennis Drury, 9-3 at 197 pounds. Matt Vacanti won by forfeit at 133 to round out NU’s points.

In the first dual of the night, the Huskers easily handled UNC Greensboro, racking up three pins and a technical fall en route to a 43 to -1 victory. Vacanti, Brester and Andy Johnson recorded the falls, while Burroughs earned his first technical fall of the night.

Brester accomplished the task quickest, pinning Jeremy Cannon in 52 seconds. Vacanti pinned Casey Boyle in 1:18 and Johnson earned a 2:49 pin against Brett Miller in his first dual appearance of the season.

Five other Huskers posted decisions to help NU win all nine contested weight classes. Pokorny started the contest with his first dual victory since Jan. 18, posting a 4-2 decision over Mitchell Johnson at 125 pounds, while Robert Sanders returned from a minor shoulder injury with a 7-3 victory over Ben Wilmore at 149 pounds.

Alex Ward moved to 3-0 in duals this season with an 8-6 win over Victor Hojilla at 165 and heavyweight Tucker Lane notched a 9-4 decision over Joe Sheffield. Jones earned an unusual victory at 184, claiming three escapes and a stalling point to go with a riding-time advantage for a 5-4 win, despite giving up two takedowns. Curtis Salazar won by forfeit at 141.

Scouting Iowa State (13-3, 2-1 Big 12)
Arguably the most successful collegiate wrestler ever, Cael Sanderson has translated that winning attitude to his coaching career at his alma mater. Behind Sanderson, Iowa State has won back-to-back Big 12 titles and finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships twice, including claiming runner-up honors in 2007. The Cyclones earned seven All-America honors last season, six of which return this year, along with two other starters. ISU has been ranked in the top five the entire season, while wrestling to a 13-3 overall record and 2-1 in the Big 12.

Then-no. 2 Iowa State started 3-0 in duals with wins over Utah Valley (39-0), Wisconsin (27-7) and Arizona State (24-11) in November, before suffering their first loss of the season at No. 1 Iowa (20-15) in front of an NCAA dual record 15,955 fans on Dec. 6. ISU ended the year with road wins against Dickinson State (52-0) and North Dakota State (42-0) on Dec. 13 before placing second as a team at the Midlands Championships with five finalists. The Cyclones beat Indiana (35-0) and Boise State (19-15) at the National Duals, but No. 3 Cornell topped ISU (22-15) in the semifinals. Iowa State rebounded to claim a narrow win over Nebraska (20-19) in the consolation final.

Iowa State made a quick trip to Corvallis to beat Oregon State (29-6) on Jan. 18, before beginning Big 12 action with wins over Oklahoma (23-15) and Oklahoma State (24-12) in Ames on Jan. 23 and 25. ISU rounded out the homestand with dual wins over Northern Iowa (26-9) and Chattanooga (37-6). The Cyclones dropped their first conference dual at Missouri (18-15) on Feb. 15, which dropped them to fourth in the latest rankings. ISU faces No. 12 Minnesota in Ames Friday night.

Individually, the Cyclones enter Sunday’s contest with a wrestler ranked in all 10 weight classes, including six in the top 10. ISU is led by two-time NCAA finalist Jake Varner at 197 pounds. Varner claimed second the last two seasons at 184, before moving up a weight class and posting a 23-1 mark so far this season. His only loss has been to Wisconsin’s Dallas Herbst, as he owns a 23-1 record and No. 1 ranking in the latest NWCA poll. Fellow junior David Zabriskie is also ranked first after finishing sixth at last year’s NCAA Championships. Wrestling at heavyweight, Zabriskie is 26-2 this year, while fourth-ranked Nick Gallick is 25-4 this season at 141 pounds, after posting a fifth-place finish at last year’s national tournament.

Three other Cyclones earned All-America honors last season with seventh-place finishes in their respective weight class, including Nick Fanthorpe (133), Cyler Sanderson (157) and Jon Reader (165). Fanthorpe is ranked seventh with a 17-4 record, but has missed time recently with an injury, while Sanderson is eighth with a 16-4 mark. Reader has posted a 22-5 mark to earn the No. 7 spot. ISU also has Tyler Clark ranked No. 10 at 125 pounds, and three wrestlers ranked above 18 in their weight class with Mitch Mueller 19th at 149, Duke Burke 18th at 174 and Jerome Ward 18th at 184.

Husker History Versus Iowa State
The Cyclones and Huskers first met in 1916, but NU did not get a win until 1930 as ISU won the first eight meetings. Iowa State dominated Nebraska until the mid 1980s to amass a 75-13-2 lead in the series, but the last 10 years have seen both programs reach new levels. Sunday’s dual will be the eighth consecutive with both ranked in the top 20 in the nation. The series has tightened as Nebraska is 3-5 in its last eight matchups with Iowa State, including a 16-15 upset of second-ranked ISU in Lincoln in 2005 by a sixth-ranked Husker squad.

The two schools last faced each other on Jan. 11 in the consolation finals of the NWCA National Duals, as fourth-ranked Nebraska lost to No. 2 Iowa State, 20-19. The Huskers nearly completed a monumental comeback versus Iowa State, but the Cyclones used bonus-point victories and an upset at 197 pounds to take the close win. Heavyweight Tucker Lane stepped on the mat needing a major decision to tie the dual with NU down by four points. Lane scored an early takedown to take a lead and almost pinned third-ranked Dave Zabriskie in the second period. Lane came away with a 7-6 upset victory, but was unable to pull the Huskers into a tie.

Jordan Burroughs once again was the first Husker to score, as NU spotted the Cyclones a 17-point lead. The junior posted a 12-4 major decision over fifth-ranked Cyler Sanderson. He is the only remaining undefeated Nebraska wrestler after third-ranked Jake Varner defeated Brester at 197. The Huskers took five total matches from the Cyclones, as Vince Jones, Stephen Dwyer and Browne also notched victories. Jones pulled NU within one point after pinning No. 20 Jerome Ward in 5:10. Dwyer posted more than three minutes of riding time against fifth-ranked Jon Reader at 165 en route to a 4-0 upset, while Browne continued the Huskers’ momentum with a 7-4 decision over Andrew Sorenson at 174.

Taking Down Records
With his two technical falls in NU dual wins over UNC Greensboro and North Carolina last Saturday, Jordan Burroughs set Nebraska’s single-season dual takedown record. Burroughs set the record last season with 98, but after racking up 21 against the Spartans and Tar Heels, the native of Sicklerville, N.J., moved to 114 this season.

Burroughs could also approach the career dual takedown record before his time is up at NU. The current record holder is Travis Pascoe, who posted 328 from 2001 to 2005. Pascoe earned 65, 93, 81 and 89 dual takedowns in his career. Burroughs had nine as a freshman, 98 as a sophomore and currently has 114 this season for 221 career takedowns.

Undefeated Streak
Nebraska is 9-0-1 in the last 10 duals, its longest unbeaten streak since notching the same mark to start the 1995-96 season. The Huskers went on to finish second in the Big 12 and fifth at NCAAs that season, with four NU wrestlers earning All-America accolades and two Big 12 titles.

Manning at 149
Due to a statistical error, Nebraska’s 24-15 win over North Carolina was not Mark Manning’s 150th career win, as originally reported. Manning stands at 149 career victories in his 12 seasons as a head coach.

Points for Pokorny
A large part of the Huskers’ dominance against UNC Greensboro and North Carolina last Saturday was the performance of Andy Pokorny at 125 pounds. Pokorny went 2-0 on the day with two decisions, posting his first win since Jan. 18 and his first back-to-back victories since Dec. 13. Just a redshirt freshman, Pokorny has battled through some tough competition this season. Prior to last Saturday, Pokorny had faced 10 ranked foes in his last 14 matches, including five opponents in the top eight.

Minus One?
Nebraska posted a 43 to -1 victory over UNC Greensboro last Saturday, and while a negative team score is fairly odd, it wasn’t the first time an NU opponent has gone under zero. The Huskers also beat Arizona State 37 to -1 on Jan. 10, 2004 at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., a tournament NU went on to win. Teams can be deducted team points for unsportsmanlike conduct by the wrestlers or coaches.

Big 12 Perfection (Again)
For the second year in a row, the Huskers have started their Big 12 schedule 3-0, and have a chance to complete the conference season undefeated for the first time in program history. Iowa State ruined the Huskers’ attempt at perfection last season by topping NU in Ames, and the Cyclones have a chance to do it again this season. NU has never swept its conference opponents in the 99-year history of the program.

Heart Attack Huskers
Nebraska has wrestled in some high-pressure situations during duals this year, but has performed well under pressure. The Huskers are 7-1-1 in duals decided in the final match, with their only loss coming to second-ranked Iowa State at the National Duals. In fact, NU has won its last three duals by a combined five points.

Facing the Ranked
Above 157 pounds, the Huskers’ starters have found a fair amount of success against ranked foes. Nebraska is 37-17 in those six weight classes against ranked opponents, including an impressive 7-0 mark by Jordan Burroughs against the top 10. Below 157, NU is 0-33 against the top 20.

Measuring the Majors
Jordan Burroughs added to his long list of accolades on Jan. 25, as he notched his 10th major decision of the season and became the first known NU wrestler to post back-to-back seasons with at least 10 major decisions. Statistics are incomplete prior to the 1982 season. Burroughs notched 12 last season at 149 pounds and has earned 11 through 27 matches this year at 157.

Pinning Down Vince
Vince Jones collected his 10th pin of the season on Jan. 18 en route to helping the Huskers earn a 43-3 dual win over South Dakota State. The fall was also a bit of history, as Jones became the first Nebraska wrestler since Tolly Thompson to record at least 10 pins in each season he competed in. Jones posted 14 pins in 2005-06 as a true freshman, sat out his sophomore year and notched 10 last season. Thompson accomplished the same feat at heavyweight from 1993-97, racking up 53 total pins.

Fit to be Tied
NU’s 17-17 tie at Central Michigan on Jan. 25 was just the third tie in Head Coach Mark Manning’s 169 duals at Nebraska. Nebraska also knotted Penn at 17 on Feb. 17, 2007, in the final dual of the 2006-07 season and dualed Wisconsin to a 19-19 tie on Jan. 8, 2005, at the Lone Star Duals. All three of NU’s ties under Manning have come on the road.

Totaling 20
Seven varsity Nebraska wrestlers have moved above the 20-win mark this season, including Vince Jones (184) who leds the team with 28 victories. Jordan Burroughs (157) and Craig Brester (197) have earned 27 wins each, while Brandon Browne (174), Tucker Lane (Hwt), Robert Sanders (149) and Stephen Dwyer (165) have notched 24 victories.

Last season, eight Huskers eclipsed the 20-win mark, including three (Burroughs, Dwyer and Browne) that topped 30 wins on the season.

Big Time at the Big Weights
Nebraska has posted an impressive mark so far this season in the upper weights. In 20 duals, Nebraska has a 100-18 record from 157 pounds to heavyweight, including three wrestlers holding at least 16 dual wins in that weight range. Below 157, Nebraska is 32-48.

Perfect So Far
One Husker wrestler remains in the ranks of the undefeated. Of NU’s 30 wrestlers that have competed, Jordan Burroughs (157) still has an unblemished record at 27-0. Nebraska has 20 wrestlers with winning records in 2008-09.

Lane Garners Big 12 Honor
Nebraska heavyweight Tucker Lane was selected as the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, the conference announced on Jan. 13. Lane, a redshirt freshman from Redvale, Colo., shared the weekly honor with Iowa State’s Jake Varner.

Lane was a key component in the Huskers fourth-place finish at the NWCA National Duals, finishing with a 3-1 record at the tournament. He posted an 8-5 decision over Ben Kuhar to give the Huskers a 19-18 victory over No. 20 Northwestern in the opening round, and followed with a 4-2 decision over Cameron Wade to solidify a come-from-behind 20-16 win versus No. 14 Penn State. Against No. 2 Iowa State, Lane scored an early takedown over No. 3 Dave Zabriskie and added a three-point nearfall in the second period to take a 7-6 victory and nearly lead the Huskers to an upset of the Cyclones.

At the time, Lane was 19-5 on the season, including 8-2 in duals, with three pins. It was his first career honor, and he was the second Husker to earn recognition from the Big 12 this season.

Ruling the Rankings
The Huskers moved up to third in the latest NWCA dual rankings after defeating UNC Greensboro and North Carolina last Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. NU moved up to as high as third after winning the Las Vegas Inviational. Nebraska started the season ranked sixth in the nation and has been ranked in the top 25 ever since the NWCA and InterMat polls combined in 2004, including 22 straight polls in the top 10.

Bonus-Point Brester
Craig Brester has been a bonus-point machine for the Huskers this season. A junior from Howells, Neb., Brester has posted an 27-2 record, including a team-leading 18-2 in duals. Twenty of his 27 wins have come by bonus-points, including eight pins, three technical falls and nine major decisions. Brester notched five pins in his first six matches, and has rolled from there. In early December, he went 5-0 at the Las Vegas Invitational to claim the title at 197 pounds. He started the tournament with a fall, posted his first technicall fall of the season in the second round, and finished with three straight major decisions.

Quickest Pin
The award for quickest pin so far this season goes to freshman Josh Ihnen at 184 pounds. Ihnen notched a 28 second fall of Morningside’s Joe Lockett at the UNK Loper Open on Dec. 13 to earn the honor. Ihnen has four pins on the year, while the Huskers as a whole have notched 83 so far.

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 with 10 in 2007-08. The senior is well on his way again this season with 10 pins in 26 matches, including three straight to start the year.

Jones has some competition this season from junior Craig Brester, the Huskers’ 197-pounder. Brester is 23-1 on the year with seven pins and three technical falls and nine major decisions. 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.

Best Start Since
The Huskers rushed to an 8-0 start to this season, before falling to No. 1 Iowa at National Duals. The mark is NU’s best start since 2004-05, a season in which Nebraska finished third at the Big 12 Championships and 19th at the NCAA Championships.

The Wrestler Formerly Known as Jordan
Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs is quickly earning a new nickname - OW. The junior from Winslow Township, N.J. has claimed four Oustanding Wrestler honors at four tournaments. He started last season with an OW honor at the Cowboy Open. He posted a technical fall and major decision en route to being named the Outstanding Wrestler at last year’s Big 12 Championships, while also earning the title at the Kaufman-Brand Open with a 5-0 record on the day and a defeat of former NCAA champion Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. Burroughs picked up his third OW honor in early December at the Las Vegas Invitational when he posted another five wins, including two over All-Americans and another against a former NCAA champion in Cornell’s Jorden Leen.

Topping Off National Duals
NU’s fourth-place finish at National Duals this season was the 11th time the Huskers have finished in the top five since the inception of the event in 1989. The Huskers improved their all-time record to 48-29 in the 16 appearances at National Duals.

4-0 for National Duals
Two Huskers posted a perfect 4-0 record at National Duals, leading the Huskers to a fourth-place team finish. Jordan Burroughs was the most impressive, earning victories over three ranked foes and two All-Americans. The junior opened with a decision over No. 17 Jason Welch of Northwestern, before adding another decision against eighth-ranked Dan Vallimont of Penn State, an All-American last season. Burroughs added a 22-7 technical fall over Iowa’s Matt Ballweg and ended with a 12-4 major decision over No. 5 Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State, also an All-American last season.

Senior Brandon Browne also contributed four victories to the Huskers’ cause, winning all his matches by decision. He posted a 14-7 decision against Northwestern’s Robert Kellogg and defeated No. 14 Quentin Wright of Penn State, 3-1, on the first day. Browne got a measure of revenge with a 5-4 decison over No. 5 Jay Borschel of Iowa, who defeated him in the consolation finals of last year’s NCAA Championships, and capped the tournament with a 7-4 win over Iowa State’s Andrew Sorenson.

Non-Varsity Notes
The Huskers non-varsity wrestlers wrap up their season at the NWCA National Wrestling Open in Epworth, Iowa, on Feb. 28. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Next up: Huskers Host Big 12 Championships
The University of Nebraska has announced that tickets are now on sale for the general public for the 2009 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, which will be held at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb., on March 7. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or online at Huskers.com.

All-session tickets are $20 for reserved seating (north and south stands) and $15 for general admission (east and west balcony). Individual-session tickets will be available on March 7 for $8 reserved and $7 general admission. The first session begins at 11 a.m., while the second sessions commences at 4 p.m. Finals are contested at 7 p.m.

The Huskers host the conference tournament for the third time since the inception of the Big 12. Nebraska finished fourth when it hosted the event in 2000 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and third at the Qwest Center in Omaha in 2005. This year’s tournament will be contested at the NU Coliseum, which holds more than 4,030 fans. The Coliseum is located in the heart of NU’s campus next to Memorial Stadium and has provided a thrilling match-day environment for fans, including hosting the National Duals from 1993 to 1997.