Lane Wins No. 100 as Huskers Cruise Past UNI

Lincoln, Neb.-Senior heavyweight Tucker Lane won his 100th career match as the No. 8 Nebraska wrestling team finished its regular-season dual schedule with a 26-16 victory over the Northern Iowa Panthers on Sunday at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers finished the season with a 15-4 overall record and a 5-4 mark in Big Ten Conference duals. UNI saw its record drop to 8-7.  

No. 9 Lane became only the 20th wrestler in school history to hit the century mark in wins after defeating Blayne Beale (UNI) by decision, 6-1. The Redvale, Colo., native jumped out to 4-0 lead with a takedown and a 2-point nearfall with just over one minute left in the first period, and tacked on an escape and the riding-time point to capture the victory. Lane now owns a 22-5 overall record and finishes the year with a 15-4 dual mark

Redshirt freshman Skylar Galloway (149) got the Huskers on the board in the first match by taking down Ryan Jauch (UNI), 6-3. After falling behind 1-0 and having the riding time advantage against him, Galloway erupted in the third period with three takedowns to pull away. The win was Galloway's first on the varsity level and 24th overall this season.

Nebraska blew the lead open with a pair of back-to-back bonus-point victories from No. 7 Robert Kokesh (165) and No. 17 Tyler Koehn (174). Kokesh won his second match of the season by technical fall, defeating Riley Banach (UNI), 20-3, while Koehn pinned Onni Prestidge (UNI) in 2:36 to give the Huskers a 14-3 advantage.

Junior Josh Ihnen notched a win over a top-10 opponent at 184 pounds to extend the Huskers lead. No. 8 Ihnen defeated No. 6 Ryan Loder (UNI), 4-2, for his 21st victory over the season. After a scoreless first period, Ihnen scored a reversal with 1:02 remaining in the second to pull ahead 2-0. In the third, Loder earned an escape to cut the lead in half, but Ihnen recorded a takedown with 34 seconds left to seal the victory.

No. 6 James Green (157) dropped only his fifth match of the season against the Panthers, falling to No. 20 David Bonin (UNI) by decision, 4-3, in the duals second match.

With a 26-11 lead and three bouts remaining, the Huskers couldn't pull out another victory to end the dual. Cruse Aarhus (UNI) defeated Shawn Nagel (125) by major decision, 15-4, while No. 5 Joe Colon (UNI) took down No. 19 Ridge Kiley (133) by major decision. In his first action as a varsity starter, Drew Etherton (141) was defeated by Levi Wolfensperger (UNI) by technical fall, 21-2. Senior James Nakashima won by forfeit at 197 pounds.

The Huskers will now have two weeks to prepare for the first run at the Big Ten Championships, which are set for March 3-4. This season's Big Ten Championships will take place in West Lafayette, Ind., on the campus of Purdue University. Check back to Huskers.com for more information on the Nebraska wrestling team.

NU 26, UNI 16
NU Coliseum, Lincoln, Neb.
Feb. 19, 2012
Attendance: 524

Official Results
149- Skylar Galloway (NU) by dec. over Ryan Jauch (UNI), 6-3 (NU 3, UNI 0)
157- #20 David Bonin (UNI) by dec. over #6 James Green (NU), 4-3 (NU 3, UNI 3)
165- #7 Robert Kokesh (NU) by tech. fall over Riley Banach (UNI), 20-3 (NU 8, UNI 3)
174- #17 Tyler Koehn (NU) by pin over Onni Prestidge (UNI), 2:36 (NU 14, UNI 3)
184- #8 Josh Ihnen (NU) by dec. over #6 Ryan Loder (UNI), 4-2 (NU 17, UNI 3)
197- James Nakashima (NU) wins by forfeit (NU 23, UNI 3)
Hwt- #9 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. over Blayne Beale (UNI), 6-1 (NU 26, UNI 3)
125- Cruse Aarhus (UNI) by major dec. over Shawn Nagel (NU), 15-4 (NU 26, UNI 7)
133- #5 Joe Colon (UNI) by major dec. over #19 Ridge Kiley (NU), 9-0 (NU 26, UNI 11)
141- Levi Wolfensperger (UNI) by tech. fall over Drew Etherton (NU), 21-2 (NU 26, UNI 16)