Huskers Upend 14th-Ranked Cowboys

Lincoln, Neb.--- Behind a pair of upsets over nationally ranked opponents the No. 21 Nebraska wrestling team improved to 5-0 on Saturday after taking down the No. 14 Wyoming Cowboys, 19-15, at the NU Coliseum.

The win marks the first time the Huskers have started 5-0 in dual competition since 2008, and was the Huskers second victory over a nationally ranked opponent this season. Wyoming fell to 0-1 on the season.

With the Huskers leading by only four points over the Cowboys with three matches remaining, No. 10 Kokesh extended NU’s lead with a dominant 5-0 victory over No.3 Shane Onufer at 165 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Kokesh was able to ride Onufer for the entire second period to gain the riding time advantage. Kokesh added an escape, penalty point (fleeing the mat) and a takedown with five seconds remaining in the third period to put the match away. The Wagner, S.D., native avenged a 6-2 loss to Onufer on Nov. 19th at the Nebraska-Kearney Open.

The talented redshirt freshman now owns a 13-2 record this season and had defeated three ranked opponents.

Tucker Lane (Hwt) kicked off the dual with an 8-1 decision over LJ Helbig (WYO) to give NU a 3-0 advantage. Lane jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a takedown and 2-point nearfall in the first period. Lane has an 11-2 record after his win on Saturday night.

After two straight victories at 125 and 133 pounds for the Cowboys, the Huskers found themselves down by a score of 9-3. True freshman Jake Sueflohn (NU) won the first home match of his career to start the Husker comeback with an 11-2 major decision over McCade Ford (WYO), before redshirt freshman Brandon WIlbourn (149) defeated Brandon Richardson, 11-5, to give the Huskers the lead for good.

At 157 pounds, freshman  No. 16 James Green escaped from Dakota Friesth (WYO) with 1:25 remaining in the third period to win, 6-5. After Kokesh's win, Tyler Koehn (174) picked up the Huskers' second upset over a nationally ranked foe when he beat No. 18 Patrick Martinez (WYO), 6-3.

Wyoming was able to win the last two matches of the night, but couldn't overcome the 10-point lead NU had accumulated. No. 10 Josh Ihnen (NU) fell to No.3 Joe LeBlanc after giving up a takedown with under 30 seconds left in the dual. The loss drops Ihnen's season record to 9-2. The Cowboys' last win came at 197 pounds where No. 13 Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) took down James Nakashima, 4-2.

The Huskers return to action for a pair of road duals next weekend when they take on South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7p.m., and North Dakota State on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. Nebraska's next home dual will be against Ohio State in their Big  Ten opener on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. Check back to Huskers.com for more coverage of the Nebraska wrestling team.

NU 19, WYO 15
NU Coliseum, Lincoln, Neb.
Attendance: 836

Complete Results
Hwt- #10 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. over LJ Helbig (WYO), 8-1 (NU 3, WYO 0)
125- Kasey Garnhart (WYO) by fall over Shawn Nagel (NU), 6:37 (NU 3, WYO 6)
133- #16 Zach Zehner (WYO) by dec. over #18 Ridge Kiley (NU), 4-3 (NU 3, WYO 9)
141- #12 Jake Sueflohn (NU) by major dec. over McCade Ford (WYO), 11-2 (NU 7, WYO 9)
149- Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by dec. over Brandon Richardson (WYO) 11-5, (NU 10, WYO 9)
157- #16 James Green by dec. over Dakota Friesth (WYO), 6-5 (NU 13, WYO 9)
165- #10 Robert Kokesh (NU) by dec. over #3 Shane Onufer (WYO), 5-0 (NU 16, WYO 9)
174- Tyler Koehn (NU) by dec. over #18 Patrick Martinez (WYO), 6-3 (NU 19, WYO 9)
184- #3 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) by dec. over #10 Josh Ihnen (NU), 4-3 (NU 19, WYO 12)
197- #13 Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) by dec. over James Nakashima (NU), 4-2 (NU 19, WYO 15)