Berger Leads Three Placers at NCAA ChampionshipsBerger Leads Three Placers at NCAA Championships
Wrestling

Berger Leads Three Placers at NCAA Championships

Cleveland, Ohio - Tyler Berger (157) placed third, while Taylor Venz (184) took fourth and Chad Red Jr. (141) took seventh as Nebraska's three All-Americans wrapped up competition at the NCAA Championships on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Nebraska finished the 2018 NCAA Championships in ninth place with 48 team points. 2018 marks the fourth-consecutive season that the Huskers finished in the top-10 at the national meet. Penn State won the team title with 141.5 points, its third title in a row and seventh in eight seasons, while Ohio State finished second with 133.5 points.

Berger wrapped up his highest career finish, as he grabbed third place at 157 after Iowa's sixth-seeded Michael Kemerer took an injury default 1:36 into the match. Berger, a two-time All-American, wraps up his junior season with an overall record of 28-9. He is Nebraska's 29th multi-time All-American in program history.

In the consolation semifinal at 157 pounds, the eighth-seeded Berger avenged an earlier loss this season to Ohio State's seventh-seeded Micah Jordan, as Berger defeated Jordan by a score of 4-2 in the first sudden victory period. Jordan scored an early takedown, but Berger escaped and later gained another escape point to send the match to overtime tied at two. In the overtime period, Berger emerged from a scramble with control and a takedown for the win.

Redshirt freshman Taylor Venz, a recipient of All-America honors in his first NCAA Championships appearance, earned his second win over Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky this season, as Venz won a 7-3 decision over the sixth-seeded Hokie in the consolation semifinals. Venz also defeated Zavatsky at the Cliff Keen Invitational by decision in December.

In the third-place match, Venz dropped an 8-1 decision to Illinois' 10th-seeded Emery Parker to wrap up a fourth-place finish. He wraps up his first varsity season with a 29-9 record, and led the Huskers in wins (29) and bonus-point wins (19). He is Nebraska's highest freshman finisher at the NCAA Championships since current Nebraska Associate Head Coach Bryan Snyder finished fourth at 157 pounds as a redshirt freshman in 1999.

Redshirt freshman All-American Chad Red Jr. picked up critical bonus points for Nebraska, as he pinned Eastern Michigan's Sa'Derian Perry in 7:00 to clinch seventh place. Red was leading the match 7-2 prior to his final attack, but put Perry on his back and earned the pin just before the final whistle to help Nebraska jump two places in the team standings from 10th to eighth. Red, who is Nebraska's eighth unseeded All-American and first since 2004, wraps up his redshirt freshman season with a 26-11 record overall.

NCAA Championships
March 15-17, 2018
Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena - Attendance through Six Sessions: 113,743)

Match Results

133 pounds: Jason Renteria – Did not compete (weight)

141 pounds: Chad Red Jr. – 7th (5-2)
First Round: #7 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) dec. Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), 4-2
Consolation First Round: Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 8-3
Consolation Second Round: Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec. Ryan Diehl (Maryland), 8-3
Consolation Third Round: Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec. Vince Turk (Iowa), 3-2
Consolation Fourth Round: Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) pin #6 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 2:22
Consolation Quarterfinals: #5 Kevin Jack (NC State) tb-2 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), 2-1
Seventh-Place Match: Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) pin Sa'Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan), 7:00

149 pounds: #13 Colton McCrystal – DNP (2-1)
First Round: Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) dec. #13 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 9-5
Consolation First Round: #13 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) dec. Tyshawn Williams (SIU Edwardsville), 5-2
Consolation Second Round: #13 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) dec. #14 Beau Donahue (NC State), 10-4
Consolation Third Round: #6 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) dec. #13 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 5-2

157 pounds: #8 Tyler Berger –  3rd (6-1)
First Round: #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Joe Velliquette (Penn), 9-3
Second Round: #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) tb-1 #9 Archie Colgan (Wyoming), 2-1
Quarterfinals:  Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 3-2
Consolation Fourth Round: #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Paul Fox (Stanford), 6-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. #13 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State), 6-0
Consolation Semifinals: #8 Tyler Berger sv-1 #7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 4-2
Third-Place Match: #8 Tyler Berger inj. def. #6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 1:36

165 pounds: #11 Isaiah White – Round of 12 (2-2)
First Round: #11 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley), 9-4
Second Round: #11 Isaiah White (Nebraska) sv-1 #6 Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 3-1
Quarterfinals: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) sv-2 #11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), 4-2
Consolation Fourth Round: #16 Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell) tb-1 #11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), 2-1

184 pounds: #7 Taylor Venz – 4th (6-2)
First Round: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) tech. fall Chaz Polson (Wyoming), 17-1
Second Round: Chip Ness (North Carolina) dec. #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 11-6
Consolation Second Round: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) tech. fall Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado), 19-1
Consolation Third Round: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) major dec. Mitch Bowman (Iowa), 16-4
Consolation Fourth Round: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) major dec. #4 Pete Renda (NC State), 11-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. #9 Max Dean (Cornell), 11-6
Consolation Semifinals: #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. #6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 7-3
Third-Place Match:  #10 Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 8-1

197 pounds: Eric Schultz – DNP (2-1)
First Round: #14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 4-3
Consolation First Round: Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 3-2
Consolation Second Round: Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. #13 Jeric Kasunic (American), 3-2
Consolation Third Round:  Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 3-2

Team Standings

1. Penn State - 141.5
2. Ohio State - 133.5
3. Iowa - 97.0
4. Michigan - 80.0
5. NC State - 80.0
    Missouri - 61.5
7. Cornell – 48.0
8. Virginia Tech – 47.5
9. Nebraska – 47.0
10. Arizona State – 43.0