Two Huskers Advance to Semifinals in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. ---True freshman James Green and junior Josh Ihnen both advanced to the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday night, lifting the Huskers to seventh place as a team with 48.5 points. The Huskers have eight wrestlers still in action after advancing six to the quarterfinal round.

Ohio State is leading the team race with 69 points, while Michigan, Cornell, Wyoming and Oregon State round out the top five.

Green (157), a  Willingboro, N.J. native, kicked off his tournament with a pin over Kenneth Staub (Brown) in 5:25, before beating Tyler Banks (Hofstra) by decision, 6-4. Green picked up his 12th victory of the season and advanced to the semifinals by taking down Joshua Kreimier (Air Force) by decision, 8-5. Green will take on the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds in the Division II ranks T.J. Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney) in the semifinals.

Ihnen (184) was dominant in his opening three matches recording both a technical fall and major decision. The two-time NCAA qualifier defeated Caleb Kociemba (Nebraska-Kearney), 12-3, before defeating John Tuck (Oregon State), 17-0. In the quarterfinals, Ihnen defeated his second nationally ranked opponent of the year with a 4-0 victory over No. 16 Matt Ryan (West Virginia). Ihnen will face off against No. 4 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) in the semis.

True freshman Jake Sueflohn was one of four other Huskers to advance to the quarterfinals, but fell to No. 5 Michal Mangrum (Oregon State) to drop him to the consolation bracket. Sueflohn was most impressive in his technical fall victory over No. 12 Michael Nevinger (Cornell) in the second round to give him his first victory over a ranked opponent of his career.

No. 17 Ridge Kiley (133), No. 10 Robert Kokesh (165) and No. 11 Tucker Lane also advanced to the quarterfinals, but were unable to advance falling to the consolation brackets. Kiley upset No. 20 Shelton Mack (PITT) in the second round, but fell to Zach Zehner (Wyoming) in the quarterfinals.

Kokesh was pinned in the last five seconds of his quarterfinals match against No. 12 Stephen Burak (Northern Colorado) and will face off against Ethan Smith (Utah Valley) in the consolation round of eight. Lane will take on Brandon Williamson (West Virginia) in his consolation match after falling to Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) in the quarterfinals.

Brandon Wilbourn (149) and Tyler Koehn (174) will also continue their tournament tomorrow in the consolation round of eight.

Consolation matches will pick up tomorrow at 11 a.m., while the semifinals will start at Noon. Championship final matches will begin at 5 p.m. from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Check back to Huskers.com for more updates on the Huskers in Las Vegas. Complete results and next round matches are listed below.

125 pounds
First Round: Shawn Nagel (NU) by dec. over Patrick Prada (Navy), 4-0
Second Round: #6 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) by tech. fall over Shawn Nagel (NU), 17-2
Consolation: Billy Watterson (Brown) by dec. over Shawn Nagel (NU), 7-4

133 pounds
First Round: #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) by dec. over Christian Martino (Brown), 8-2
Second Round: #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) by dec. over #20 Shelton Mack (PITT), 5-3
Quarterfinals: Zach Zehner (Wyoming) by dec. over #17 Ridge Kiley (NU), 3-1
Consolation (R-8): #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) vs. Brandon Rocha (Cal Poly)

141 pounds
First Round: Jake Sueflohn (NU) by major dec. over Donovan Halpin (Stanford), 9-1
Second Round: Jake Sueflohn (NU) by tech. fall over #12 Michael Nevinger (Cornell), 18-3
Quarterfinals: #5 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) by major dec. over Jake Sueflohn (NU), 20-7
Consolation (R-8): Jake Sueflohn (NU) vs. Luke Vaith (Hofstra)

149 pounds
First Round: Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by pin over Adam Aslam (Cal Poly), 4:43
Second Round: #17 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) by pin over Brandon Wilbourn (NU), 1:35
Consolation (R-24): Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by major dec. over Calvin Miller (Cal State Bakersfield), 11-3
Consolation (R-16): Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by dec. over Paul Liguori (Harvard), 5-3
Consolation (R-8): Brandon Wilbourn (NU) vs. Cam Tessari (Ohio State)

157 pounds
First Round: James Green (NU) by pin over Kenneth Staub (Brown), 5:25
Second Round: James Green (NU) by dec. over Tyler Banks (Hofstra), 6-4
Quarterfinals: James Green (NU) by dec. over Joshua Kreimier (Air Force), 8-5
Semifinals: James Green (NU) vs. T.J. Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney)

165 pounds
First Round: #10 Robert Kokesh (NU) by pin over Ethan Saylor (Edinboro), 4:42
Second Round: #10 Robert Kokesh by pin  Wilhelm Viljoen Meyer (North Idaho College), 1:26
Quarterfinals: #12 Stephen Burak (Northern Colorado) by pin over #10 Robert Kokesh (NU), 6:55
Consolation (R-8): #10 Robert Kokesh (NU) vs. Ethan Smith (Utah Valley)

174 pounds
First Round: Tyler Koehn (NU) by major dec. over Brady Garner (Cal State Bakersfield), 15-5
Second Round: #7 Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly) by dec. over Tyler Koehn (NU), 6-1
Consolation (R-24): Tyler Koehn (NU) by dec. over Clayton Gable (Air Force), 5-3
Consolation (R-16): Tyler Koehn by sudden-victory dec. over Brandonn Johnson (Kent State), 6-4
Consolation (R-8): Tyler Koehn (NU) vs. Kurtis Julson (North Dakota State)

184 pounds
First Round: #10 Josh Ihnen (NU) by major dec. over Caleb Kociemba (Nebraska-Kearney), 12-3
Second Round: #10 Josh Ihnen (NU) by tech. fall over John Tuck (Oregon State), 17-0
Quarterfinals: #10 Josh Ihnen (NU) by dec. over #16 Matt Ryan (West Virginia), 4-0
Semifinals: #10 Josh Ihnen (NU0 vs. #4 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)

197 poundsFirst Round: #4 Christopher Honeycutt (Edinboro) by dec. over James Nakashima (NU), 11-4
Consolation: James Nakashima (NU) by dec. over Daniel Mills (Army), 9-4
Consolation(R-24): James Fox (Harvard) by dec. over James Nakashima (NU), 4-3

Hwt.
First Round: Bye
Second Round: #11 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. over Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley), 8-4
Quarterfinals: Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) by dec. over #11 Tucker Lane (NU), 5-4
Consolation (R-8): #11 Tucker Lane (NU) vs. Brandon Williamson (WVU)