Three Huskers Advance to Semifinals in Las VegasThree Huskers Advance to Semifinals in Las Vegas
Wrestling

Three Huskers Advance to Semifinals in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. - Senior Josh Ihnen (184) as well as sophomores Jake Sueflohn (149) and Robert Kokesh (174) advanced to the semifinals at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday to lead the Nebraska wrestling team.

Following a first-round bye, Ihnen won a 13-0 major decision over West Virginia's Lance Bryson. Ihnen, who is the No. 1 seed at 184 pounds, added a 5-4 decision over No. 8 seed Kevin Radford of Arizona State. With the victories, Ihnen advances to Saturday's semifinals to face Boise State's Jacob Swartz.

Sueflohn, a No. 8 seed at 149 pounds, opened with a 9-2 decision over Coulhurst Schmitt of Wisconsin. He followed that with a 9-1 major decision over South Dakota State's Dustin Walraven before adding a 9-7 sudden victory over No. 1 seed Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State. Sueflohn will wrestle against Air Force's Cole VonOhlen in Saturday's semifinals.

No. 1 seed Kokesh, wrestling at 174, started his day with a pin in 1:27 over Nebraska-Kearney's Drew Comito. Kokesh used a pair of major decisions en route to a semifinal berth, defeating Harvard's Cameron Croy 17-2 before winning over Wisconsin's Scott Liegel, 17-6. Kokesh will face No. 4 seed Mathew Miller of Navy in Saturday's semifinals.

Three Huskers fell in the first rounds of the tournament, but are still alive in the wrestleback brackets. Ridge Kiley, wrestling at 141 pounds, advanced to the quarterfinals before dropping a 4-1 decision to Oregon State's Michael Mangrum. Kiley will face San Francisco State's Naveed Bagheri on Saturday.

James Green (157) and Caleb Kolb (197) are also still alive in the wrestleback brackets. Green lost a 7-6 decision to Virginia's Jedd Moore in the quarterfinals and will face Cal Poly's Kyle Chene on Saturday. Kolb won his opening match, but fell to Ohio State's Andrew Campolattano. He responded by winning two matches in the wrestlebacks and will face Arizona State's Jake Meredith on Saturday.

At 125 pounds, Skylar Wood won a 5-2 decision over Cal Poly's Evan McIrdy, but lost his next two matches. Shawn Nagel (133) and Austin Wilson (165) went 2-2 on Friday. Donny Longendyke (HWT) went 1-2.

Saturday's matches at the Cliff Keen Invitational start at 11 a.m. (CST).