Three Huskers Claim All-America Status

Cleveland, Ohio - Tyler Berger (157) earned his second All-America honor, while redshirt freshmen Chad Red Jr. (141) and Taylor Venz (184) joined Nebraska's elite list of All-Americans on Friday night at Session IV of the NCAA Championships at Quicken Loans Arena.

The three will wrestle for placement in Saturday's Session V, which begins at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. Berger and Venz will wrestle in consolation semifinals and are guaranteed placement of no lower than sixth, while Red will wrestle in the seventh-place match.

As a team, Nebraska sits in 14th place overall with 34 team points. Penn State leads the field with 120.5 points, while Ohio State is second with 109.5.

Tyler Berger became the 29th multi-time All-American in program history with his 6-3 win over returning All-American Paul Fox of Stanford. The win was the eighth-ranked Berger's second of the year over Fox. Berger also achieved All-America status as a sophomore in 2017.

157 Cons. Fourth Round: The 29th multi-time All-American in program history: TYLER BERGER!!!@husker_157 attacks until the end and wins a 6-3 decision over Paul Fox of Stanford!!!#Huskers #ToughTogether #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/IFjO7m3MRK

— Husker Wrestling (@HuskerWrestling) March 17, 2018

The eighth-seeded Berger advanced in the wrestlebacks with his win over 13th-seeded Luke Zilverberg by a 6-0 decision. Berger will face seventh-seeded Micah Jordan in Saturday's consolation semifinal round, as Berger will be looking to avenge a loss to Jordan at the Big Ten Championships.

Venz became NU's third All-American of the night, as he won an 11-3 major decision over fourth-seeded Pete Renda to avenge a dual-meet loss earlier this season. Venz picked up a pair of takedowns and notched nearly three minutes of riding time in the first period, and cruised to victory and All-America status.

Bright future for this kid. He had a visit from some of his All-American friends, in his post-match interview. #Huskers #ToughTogether #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/QzNxDpjcTJ

— Husker Wrestling (@HuskerWrestling) March 17, 2018

Venz, seeded seventh at 184 pounds, won an 11-6 decison over ninth-seeded Max Dean of Cornell in the consolation quarterfinals to advance to Saturday's consolation semifinal round. He will face sixth-seeded Zack Zavatsky, who he defeated at the Cliff Keen Invitational in December, in Saturday's consolation semifinal.

Red, unseeded at 141 pounds, clinched All-America status with his pin in 2:22 over two-time defending NCAA champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, as he countered an attempt by Heil, and put him on his back for the pin and the win. With the win, Red becomes the 106th All-American in program history, and the first Nebraska freshman to win All-America honors since James Green in 2012, a feat Venz matched later in the evening.

Go Big RED! Chad Red of @HuskerWrestling is an All American after knocking out 2x NCAA champ Dean Heil! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/FWlZvXNZ2b

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 17, 2018

In the consolation quarterfinals, Red dropped a 2-1 decision to fifth-seeded Kevin Jack of NC State in the first tiebreaker session. Red was unable to escape in the first 30 seconds, while Jack escaped and Red was unable to score. Red will face unseeded Sa'Derian Perry of Eastern Michigan in the seventh-place match on Saturday.

Isaiah White's quest to achieve an All-America honor fell one win short, as he dropped a 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker period to 16th-seeded Jon Jay Chavez of Cornell. White ends the season with a 25-8 record.

Senior Colton McCrystal (149) and redshirt freshman Eric Schultz (197) also competed at the NCAA Championships, but were eliminated during Friday's Session III.

The NCAA Championships continue Saturday with Session V, set to begin at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. The consolation semifinals, as well as the third-, fifth-, and seventh-place matches will be contested in Session V, which will be televised on ESPNU. The championship finals are set for Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2. Every single match on every single mat will be available on Watch ESPN at WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

NCAA Championships
March 15-17, 2018
Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena - Session IV Attendance: 18,680)

Match Results

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

141 pounds: Chad Red Jr. – 4-2
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) vs. Sa'Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan)

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 –  4-1
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 vs. #7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)

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 – 5-1
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) vs. #6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)

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