Three Huskers Win in Session I

Des Moines, Iowa – Jake Sueflohn (149), Robert Kokesh (174) and Josh Ihnen (184) all won their first-round matches at the NCAA Championships to lead the Nebraska wrestling team in Thursday’s first session.

The Huskers are tied for 12th with six points after Session I. Penn State leads the team standings at 14.5 points.

The Huskers’ first win of the day came after Sueflohn’s 16-3 major decision over Pittsburgh’s Ronnie Garbinsky. Sueflohn, the No. 9 seed, will face No. 8 seed Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech in the second round on Thursday night. Brascetta is 29-4 on the season.

No. 4-seed Kokesh pinned Penn’s Ian Korb in 4:08 to pick up NU’s second victory of the day. The fall marked Kokesh’s ninth of the season as he improves to 34-3. He will face Ohio’s Cody Walters in Thursday night’s second round.

Eighth-seeded Ihnen moved one win closer to the 100th of his career with his 6-0 decision over North Dakota State’s MacKain Stoll. Ihnen, who sits at 98 wins, will wrestle Pittsburgh’s Max Thomusseit in Session II.

Four Huskers dropped their first-round matches and will grapple in the wrestlebacks on Thursday night. At 141 pounds, senior Ridge Kiley lost a 2-0 decision to No. 10-seed Charles Cobb of Penn. Nebraska’s fourth-seeded 157-pounder James Green battled to overtime against Missouri’s Kyle Bradley before falling. Green and Bradley wrestled through two sudden victories before Bradley held on for the 6-5 win.

Austin Wilson (165) fell by a 6-2 decision to Zach Toal in the first round. At 197 pounds, Caleb Kolb lost a 15-5 major decision to No. 4 seed Alfonso Hernandez of Wyoming. Wilson and Kolb are each making their first NCAA appearances and will look to bounce back in the consolation bracket on Thursday night.

Session II starts at 6:30 p.m., with the wrestleback first round and the championship bracket second round. Live streaming will be available through ESPN3 at http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/sport/wrestling.

Results
First Round
141: #10 Charles Cobb (PENN) by dec. over Ridge Kiley (NEB), 2-0
149: #9 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) by major dec. over Ronnie Garbinsky (PITT), 16-3
157: Kyle Bradley (MIZZ) by tiebreaker-2 over #4 James Green (NEB), 6-5
165: Zach Toal (MIZZ) by dec. over Austin Wilson (NEB), 6-2
174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by pin over Ian Korb (PENN), 4:08
184: #8 Josh Ihnen (NEB) by dec. over MacKain Stoll (NDSU), 6-0
197: #4 Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) by major dec. over Caleb Kolb (NEB), 15-5