Three Huskers Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

St. Louis, Mo. – Robert Kokesh (174), James Green (157) and Anthony Abidin (141) each advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships during Session II of the tournament on Thursday night.

Kokesh, the top seed at 174 pounds, picked up his second major decision of the day with his 11-0 triumph over Purdue’s Chad Welch. Kokesh outscored his two opponents 20-0 on Thursday and will face eighth-seeded Tyler Wilps of Pittsburgh in Friday morning’s quarterfinals.

Green, a three-time All-American, also notched a pair of bonus-point wins at 157 pounds on Thursday. He won a 20-5 technical fall over Drexel’s Noel Blanco after his major decision in the first session. Green will battle No. 12 seed Mitchell Minotti of Lehigh in Session III.

Abidin, the No. 9 seed at 141 pounds, topped eighth-seeded Geo Martinez of Boise State in the second round by a 6-4 decision. Abidin is set to grapple against top-seeded Logan Stieber of Ohio State on Friday morning.

Austin Wilson (165), TJ Dudley (184) and Aaron Studebaker (197) each won in Session I, but fell in the second round to seeded opponents. Dudley fell by a narrow decision to top-seeded Gabe Dean of Cornell, Studebaker lost to No. 2 seed Morgan McIntosh of Penn State, 14-5, and Wilson fell to 15th-seeded Ethan Ramos of North Carolina, 6-3. All three Huskers will wrestle in the consolation bracket in Session III on Friday.

Tim Lambert (125), Eric Montoya (133) and Collin Jensen (HWT) each rebounded from a first-round loss with a win in the consolation bracket.

Nebraska is tied for fifth as a team with 18 points. Ohio State leads the team race with 23 points, while Iowa (21) and Oklahoma State (19.5) round out the top three.

Friday’s action begins with Session III at 10 a.m. (CT) on ESPNU and ESPN3. Session IV, also set for Friday, starts at 7 p.m. The championship semifinals will be broadcasted on ESPN and all matches will be streamed on ESPN3.

NCAA Championships
March 19-21, 2015
Scottrade Center
St. Louis, Mo.

125 pounds
First Round: #2 Nahshon Garrett (CORN) by dec. over Tim Lambert (NEB), 10-6
Consolation First Round: Tim Lambert (NEB) by major dec. over #15 Chasen Tolbert (UV), 9-1

133 pounds
First Round: #6 Earl Hall (ISU) by dec. over Eric Montoya (NEB), 7-4
Consolation First Round: Eric Montoya (NEB) by dec. over Zach Synon (MIZZ), 4-0

141 pounds
First Round: #9 Anthony Abidin (NEB) by major dec. over Nick Lawrence (PUR), 8-0
Second Round: #9 Anthony Abidin (NEB) by dec. over #8 Geo Martinez (BSU), 6-4

157 pounds
First Round: #4 James Green (NEB) by major dec. over Markus Scheidel (COL), 13-4
Second Round: #4 James Green (NEB) by tech. fall over Noel Blanco (DREX), 20-5

165 pounds
First Round: Austin Wilson (NEB) by dec. over #2 Michael Moreno (ISU), 7-5
Second Round: #15 Ethan Ramos (UNC) by dec. over Austin Wilson (NEB), 6-3

174 pounds
First Round: #1 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by major dec. over Taylor Massa (MICH), 9-0
Second Round: #1 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by major dec. over Chad Welch (PUR), 11-0

184 pounds
First Round: #16 TJ Dudley (NEB) by major dec. over Ophir Bernstein (BRO), 9-0
Second Round: #1 Gabe Dean (CORN) by dec. over #16 TJ Dudley (NEB), 9-8

197 pounds
First Round: #15 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) by dec. over Jake Smith (WVU), 3-1
Second Round: #2 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) by major dec. over #15 Aaron Studebaker (NEB), 14-5

Heavyweight
First Round: #6 Adam Coon (MICH) by pin over Collin Jensen (NEB), 4:29
Consolation First Round: Collin Jensen (NEB) by dec. over Nathan Butler (STAN), 5-3