No. 7 Huskers Take Down Spartans

East Lansing, Mich. --- The No. 7 Nebraska wrestling team kept its perfect road record intact on Friday night when they defeated the Michigan State Spartans, 27-8, in East Lansing, Mich. The Huskers improved to 13-1 on the year and 4-1 in Big Ten Conference duals, while the Spartans dropped to 3-7 and 1-5 in the conference.

After dropping two of the first four matches of the dual, the Huskers responded with six straight victories to pull away from the Spartans, including a pair of major decisions at 165 and 184 pounds.

No. 19 Ridge Kiley (133) won his second Big Ten dual match of the season, taking down Brandon Fifield (MSU) by decision, 7-3, to give NU its first points of the night. True freshman Jake Sueflohn (141) gave the Huskers their first lead of the dual with his sixth major decision victory of the season by beating Brian Gibbs (MSU), 13-3.

James Green won his 24th match of the season when he took down No. 12 Anthony Jones at 157 pounds. No. 8 Green recorded a takedown midway through the first period to take a 2-0 advantage. After a pair of escape points by Jones, Green earned his own escape point in the third and held Jones off to hang on for the 3-2 victory to give NU a 10-8 lead at intermission.

Robert Kokesh (165) won his 21st overall match and improved to 13-1 duals when he defeated David Cheza (MSU), 16-4, for his third major decision win in a row. Kokesh recorded a takedown and a 3-point nearfall in the first period, but surrendered a reversal in the closing seconds to take a 5-2 lead into the second. At the beginning of the second period, Kokesh scored an escape and a takedown to seize control of the match at 8-2 and cruised to the victory.

Junior Tyler Koehn (174) picked up his second victory over a ranked opponent this season when he upset No. 11 Curran Jacobs (MSU). Koehn upset Jacobs by decision, 5-2, for his 16th win of the season and 10th dual victory of the year.

Leading 8-2 in the third period, junior Josh Ihnen (184) nearly came up with a fall with under 10 seconds remaining in his dual against Ian Hinton at 184 pounds. Although Ihnen couldn't capture the pin, the two-time NCAA qualifier won by major decision, 11-2, to capture his 18th victory of the season. Ihnen now has six major decisions on the year.

James Nakashima (197) won his third straight Big Ten dual, defeating Nick McDiarmid (MSU) by decision, 3-2, to give the Huskers a 24-8 lead. No. 9 Tucker Lane (Hwt) closed the dual with another 3-2 decision over Steve Andrus (MSU). Lane now has a 19-3 overall record and a 12-2 record in dual matches.

The Huskers return to action on Sunday, Jan. 29, when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Action from Madison is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT and can be seen on BTN.com (subscription only). Check back to Huskers.com for more information on the Husker wrestling team.

NU 27, MSU 8
East Lansing, Mich., Jenison Field House
Jan. 27, 2012

Official Results
125- Eric Olanowski (MSU) by tech. fall over Shawn Nagel (NU), 15-0 (NU 0, MSU 5)
133- #19 Ridge Kiley (NU) by dec. over Brandon Fifield (MSU), 7-3 (NU 3, MSU 5)
141- #5 Jake Sueflohn (NU) by major dec. over Brian Gibbs (MSU), 13-3 (NU 7, MSU 5)
149- Dan Osterman (MSU) by dec. over Brandon Wilbourn (NU), 3-2 (NU 7, MSU 8)
157- #8 James Green (NU) by dec. over #12 Anthony Jones (MSU), 3-2 (NU 10, MSU 8)
165- #6 Robert Kokesh by major dec. over David Cheza (MSU) 16-4 (NU 14, MSU 8)
174- Tyler Koehn (NU) by dec. over #11 Curran Jacobs (MSU), 5-2 (NU 17, MSU 8)
184- #7 Josh Ihnen (NU) by major dec. over Ian Hinton (MSU), 11-2 (NU 21, MSU 8)
197- James Nakashima (NU) by dec. over Nick McDiarmid (MSU), 3-2 (NU 24, MSU 8)
Hwt- #9 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. over Steve Andrus (MSU), 3-2 (NU 27, MSU 8)