Huskers Begin Conference Competition at Wisconsin

The No. 2 Nebraska wrestling team heads to Madison, Wis., on Sunday to take on No. 8 Wisconsin in a clash of Top 10-rated Big Ten foes. Nebraska (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) gets its first crack at a conference opponent while Wisconsin (7-1, 0-1 Big Ten) will face a quick turnaround after grappling at Minnesota on Friday night. Action is slated to begin at 2 p.m. and will be streamed online via BTN+ (subscription required). 

Competition will be fierce as six of ten bouts potentially feature matchups between ranked wrestlers. The Badgers boast top-rated Seth Gross at 133 pounds. Gross was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 3 after going 5-0 to claim the 133-pound individual title at the Midlands Championships. Gross defeated then-No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern (8-7) in the semifinals and then-No. 1 Austin DeSanto of Iowa (6-5) in the finals. Wisconsin also touts No. 5 Trent Hillger at heavyweight. The sophomore from Linden, Mich., earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors in November and has compiled a 14-2 mark on the season. 

The Huskers come into the contest having outscored their five dual meet opponents by a 167-31 margin. NU features nine ranked wrestlers in their lineup, including returning All-Americans No. 6 Chad Red Jr. (141), No. 3 Isaiah White (165), No. 6 Mikey Labriola (174) and No. 5 Taylor Venz (184). The All-American quartet boasts a collective 15-2 dual meet record and has scored 62 dual meet points for the Big Red this season. 

Last Time Out: No. 2 Nebraska won eight of nine bouts and topped Oregon State 32-3 at the Devaney Center on Dec. 20.   

Up Next: The Huskers travel to No. 1 Iowa (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) for an 8 p.m. dual on Jan. 18. The meet will be televised by BTN. 

Nebraska Projected Starters*
125: Alex Thomsen RFr. • Neola, Iowa (6-7)  
133: #13 Ridge Lovett Fr. • Post Falls, Idaho (8-3) 
141: #6 Chad Red Jr. Jr. • Indianapolis, Ind. (10-3) 
149: #12 Collin Purinton Sr. • Banks, Ore. (10-3) 
157: #11 Peyton Robb RFr. • Owatonna, Minn. (11-2)
165: #3 Isaiah White Sr. • Chicago, Ill. (12-0) 
174: #6 Mikey Labriola So. • Easton, Pa. (12-3) 
184: #5 Taylor Venz Jr. • Farmington, Minn. (10-4)  
197: #14 Eric Schultz Jr. • Tinley Park, Ill. (13-2) 
285: #16 Christian Lance Sr. • Nixa, Mo. (9-3)
*InterMat rankings used

BACK POINTS 
Quick Notes 
    • Head Coach Mark Manning owns a 10-9 record in conference-opening dual meets during his time at Nebraska, including a 4-4 mark since Nebraska joined the Big Ten ahead of the 2011-12 season. 
    • NU has won five of eight meetings with Wisconsin since becoming a member of the Big Ten Conference.    
    • With the win over Northern Iowa on Nov. 24, Coach Manning picked up his 250th victory at Nebraska.        
    • Nebraska won its third Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on Dec. 7     
    • Nebraska's No. 2 ranking is tied for the highest in program history. The Huskers were also ranked No. 2 in February of 2008.
 
Big Red Persevere against Panthers
Nebraska picked up bonus points in four of their five match victories to defeat then-No. 17 Northern Iowa 23-19 at the West Gym in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Nov. 24.

The Huskers' first road trip to Northern Iowa in nearly a decade started off unevenly. Alex Thomsen (125) scored three takedowns and led then-#9 Jay Schwarm 6-2 before the Panther grappler put Thomsen in a cradle and took the Husker redshirt freshman to his back. Schwarm's pin gave the home team a quick 6-0 advantage. 

Ridge Lovett (133) had his redshirt pulled and saw action in his first dual meet of the season. Lovett scored a takedown less than one minute into the first period, but yielded four near-fall points and a late takedown, ultimately falling 8-2 to Jack Skudlarczyk.

Chad Red Jr. (141) turned the tide with a dominant technical fall victory over UNI's Michael Blockhus. Red scored six near-fall points less than one minute into the match and secured an 18-0 victory in less than three minutes of action.  

With the team score 9-5 in favor of the Panthers, Collin Purinton (149) went toe-to-toe with then-#3 Max Thomsen in the first of three matchups between ranked wrestlers. Thomsen led Purinton 6-4 after two periods. Purinton then scored a third-period takedown to tie the score at six. Thomsen earned an escape but one point was rewarded to Purinton for stalling, evening the score at seven at the end of the third period. In the sudden victory period, Purinton scored a takedown to walk away with a 9-7 decision. 

Peyton Robb (157) and Isaiah White kept the positive momentum going for the Big Red. Robb took Keaton Geerts to his back and won by fall in the first period, giving NU a 14-9 lead at intermission. When action resumed, White tallied five takedowns and two near-fall points to earn a 13-5 major decision victory over Austin Yant. 

In a matchup of returning All-Americans, UNI's then-#7 Bryce Steiert defeated Mikey Labriola (174) 2-1. Neither grappler recorded a takedown, with Steiert's two points coming via an escape and a locked hands call. Then-#7 Taylor Lujan led Taylor Venz (184) 6-4 after Period 1 and did not allow Venz to record a takedown the rest of the match, instead tallying three takedowns of his own en route to a 15-6 major decision victory. 

With Nebraska clinging to an 18-16 lead, Eric Schultz (197) dominated Noah Glaser, piling up 11 takedowns in 24-9 techincal fall victory which gave the Huskers an insurmountable 23-16 advantage. 
In the final bout of the afternoon, Carter Isley defeated David Jensen (HWT) 6-2.

NU Claims Cliff Keen Team Title
Isaiah White (165) won his second consecutive individual title and the Nebraska wrestling team won their third Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on Dec. 7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. White was one of nine Huskers who placed as NU amassed 118 team points, the most among the 32 schools competing. The team title is Nebraska's first since 2008; the Huskers also took home the title in 2003. In both seasons, Nebraska went on to record Top-5 finishes at the NCAA Championships.

Ridge Lovett (133) went 5-1 over the course of the weekend, including a win against then-#9 Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley, to finish third. Mikey Labriola (174) also went 5-1 to finish third, picking up a win over then-#14 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) in the process. 

Returning All-American Chad Red. Jr (141) pinned then-#12 Tariq Wilson of NC State on his way to a fifth-place finish. Taylor Venz (184) recorded three pins and three wins over ranked foes en route to a fifth-place finish of his own. Eric Schultz (197) rounded out the trio of fifth-place finishers, as he went 5-2 over the course of the tournament.
    
125: Alex Thomsen    DNP (1-2)
133: Ridge Lovett    3rd (5-1)
141: #6 Chad Red Jr.     5th (4-2)
149: #13 Collin Purinton    8th (3-3)
157: Peyton Robb    7th (4-2)
165: #4 Isaiah White    1st (5-0)
174: #5 Mikey Labriola    3rd (5-1)
184: #6 Taylor Venz    5th (5-2)
197: #10 Eric Schultz    5th (5-2)
HWT: #13 Christian Lance    6th (3-3)

Huskers Top Beavers 32-3
Nebraska scored bonus points in five matches and won eight of nine bouts overall to defeat Oregon State (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) at the Devaney Center on Dec. 20.

#6 Mikey Labriola (174) started the night off in dominant fashion, racking up six takedowns and eight near-fall points to defeat Colton Beisley by technical fall, 20-5. #5 Taylor Venz (184) picked up right where Labriola left off, picking up a 9-0 major decision over Colt Doyle. #10 Eric Schultz (197) gave the Huskers three consecutive bonus-point victories to start the evening when he replicated Labriola's 20-5 technical fall victory against the Beavers' J.J. Dixon.

The night's most exciting match took place at heavyweight. #15 Christian Lance (HWT) led JaMarcus Grant 3-1 late in the third period when Grant earned a one-point escape and two-point takedown to seize a 4-3 lead. Lance responded with a takedown as time expired. An official's review confirmed the takedown, and Lance was victorious by decision, 5-4. 

Action then shifted to the lighter weights. A double forfeit was declared at 125 as NU's Alex Thomsen was too ill to wrestle and Oregon State's Brandon Kaylor suffered a concussion only days previously. Devan Turner used takedowns in the first and third periods to top #10 Ridge Lovett (133), 6-2. Returning All-American #6 Chad Red Jr. (141) earned a 6-2 decision of his own, topping Beaver grappler Grant Willits. #12 Collin Purinton (149) gave up a reversal after taking down Lane Stigall in the first period, but did not look back after that, earning an 8-4 decision.
 
The final two bouts of the night saw the Big Red rack up more bonus points. #14 Peyton Robb (157) scored 10 points in the first period on his way to a technical fall victory over Logan Meek before returning All-American #4 Isaiah White (165) used riding time and six third-period points to earn a major decision victory over Aaron Olmos.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION 
Scouting Wisconsin:
•   2019-20 Record: 7-1 
    Wins (7): Fresno State (31-8), Army 16-15), Navy (24-12), Buffalo (33-3), Edinboro (28-15), Utah Valley (31-13), Kent State (42-6)
    Losses (1): Iowa (3-32)      

• Wisconsin is in search of its first Big Ten victory this weekend. After falling to No. 1 Iowa on Dec. 1, the Badgers have two opportunities to notch their first conference win, first at Minnesota on Friday and again on Sunday when they host Nebraska. Wisconsin is currently 7-1 as a team and coming off of a fourth-place finish at Midlands, tied for the team's highest finish in tournament history.    
• The Badgers are still looking for their first dual win in the 197-pound weight class. Wisconsin has used the combination of Taylor Watkins, a senior transfer from Missouri, and true freshman Peter Christensen. The Badgers will face off against either Garrett Joles or former Badger Hunter Ritter in their dual against Minnesota, and No. 14 Eric Schultz from Nebraska.     
• 133-pounder Seth Gross competed in the 57 kg division at the Bill Farrell Memorial Open on Nov. 16. Gross competed against three former NCAA champions, defeating them all and qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in April in Pennsylvania.
• Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 22-21 via tiebreaker 21b (Wisconsin was awarded an extra point based on the number of pins, forfeits and injury defaults) in the last meeting between the schools on Nov. 16, 2018, in Lincoln, Neb. Current Badger grapplers Evan Wick (12-5 decision), Trent Hillger (11-2 major decision), and Tristan Moran (pinfall) scored victories for Wisconsin while Cole Martin suffered an 8-6 defeat at the hands of Collin Purinton.    

Wisconsin's Projected Starters*
125: Eric Barnett Fr. • Hortonville, Wis. (9-3)  
133: #1 Seth Gross RSr. • Apple Valley, Minn. (15-1) -OR- Kyle Burwick Fr. • Hettinger, N.D. (1-2)
141: #9 Tristan Morton RSr. • Phoenix, Ariz. (12-2)   
149: #12 Cole Martin RSr. • Lancaster, Wis. (9-4) 
157: Drew Scharenbrock RFr. • Sun Prairie, Wis. (11-4) -OR- Garrett Model RSo. • Stoughton, Wis. (7-9) 
165: #6 Evan Wick RJr. • Murrieta, Calif. (15-2) 
174: Jared Krattiger RFr. • Waterford, Wis. (6-8) -OR- Tyler Dow RFr. • Stoughton, Wis. (7-7)   
184: #13 Johnny Sebastian RSr. • Ramsey, N.J. (7-2)  
197: Peter Christensen Fr. • Norridge, Ill. (6-5) -OR- Taylor Watkins RSr. • Columbus, Kan. (4-10) 
285: #5 Trent Hillger RSo. • Linden, Mich. (14-2) 
*FloWrestling rankings used