Huskers Begin Postseason Push at Big Ten Championships

The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team is set to push into the postseason portion of its schedule this weekend at the Big Ten Championships. The two-day event will be held at the Rutgers Athletic Center on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.

Session I begins at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday. Session II will get underway later in the day, beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday evening. 

Session III is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday morning. The championship finals in Session IV commence at 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday afternoon. 

Sessions I, II and III can be streamed onlined via BTN+ (subscription required) while Session IV will air live on Big Ten Network.

The Huskers (11-3, 6-3 Big Ten) feature a lineup with six wrestlers seeded fifth or better, led by No. 2 seed Eric Schultz at 197 pounds. Previous All-Americans Chad Red Jr. (141), Isaiah White (165) and Taylor Venz (184) are all No. 4 seeds while 2019 All-American Mikey Labriola (174) and senior David Jensen (HWT) are No. 5 seeds. 

Alex Thomsen (125), Ridge Lovett (133) and Peyton Robb (157) will each make their first career appearance at the Big Ten Championships and are seeded No. 10, 6 and 7, respectively, in their weight classes. Collin Purinton (149), wrestling at the Big Ten Championships for the first time since his freshman campaign, is seeded No. 7. 

How to Follow: Live stats and brackets will be available on TrackWrestling.com and updates will be posted on both Twitter (@HuskerWrestling) and Facebook (@NebraskaWrestling) throughout the weekend.     

Last Time Out: NU took seven of 10 bouts from Minnesota, defeating the Golden Gophers 29-12 at the Maturi Pavilion on Feb. 21. 
 
Up Next: The Big Red have two weeks off from competition to prepare for the NCAA Championships, which will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., from March 19-21. 

Nebraska's Big Ten Championship Lineup*
125: #10 Alex Thomsen RFr. • Neola, Iowa (10-12)  
133: #6 Ridge Lovett Fr. • Post Falls, Idaho (14-6)   
141: #4 Chad Red Jr. Jr. • Indianapolis, Ind. (15-6) 
149: #7 Collin Purinton Sr. • Banks, Ore. (13-8) 
157: #7 Peyton Robb RFr. • Owatonna, Minn. (16-5)
165: #4 Isaiah White Sr. • Chicago, Ill. (16-3)  
174: #5 Mikey Labriola So. • Easton, Pa. (17-7) 
184: #4 Taylor Venz Jr. • Farmington, Minn. (16-7)  
197: #2 Eric Schultz Jr. • Tinley Park, Ill. (21-3) 
285: #5 David Jensen Sr. • Mobridge, S.D. (14-4)
*The number next to each wrestler's name indicates their seeding.  

QUICK NOTES 
• Nebraska outscored its 14 dual opponents by a combined score of 373-170.
• NU has won 92 of 140 (66%) individual dual meet matches this season.
• With the win over Northern Iowa on Nov. 24, Coach Manning picked up his 250th victory at Nebraska. 
• Team leaders by category among starters: 
Dual Record: Eric Schultz (13-1)
Dual Points: Eric Schultz (52 pts) 
Dual Takedowns: Eric Schultz (73) 
Pins: David Jensen (7) 
Technical Falls: Eric Schultz (5) 
Major Decisions: Mikey Labriola (5) 
Quickest Pin: Mikey Labriola (0:13)   
     
Six Seeded Fifth or Better Ahead of Big Ten Championships
The Huskers (11-3, 6-3 Big Ten) feature a lineup with six wrestlers seeded fifth or better, led by No. 2 seed Eric Schultz at 197 pounds. Previous All-Americans Chad Red Jr. (141), Isaiah White (165) and Taylor Venz (184) are all No. 4 seeds while 2019 All-American Mikey Labriola (174) and senior David Jensen (HWT) are No. 5 seeds. 
Alex Thomsen (125), Ridge Lovett (133) and Peyton Robb (157) will each make their first career appearance at the Big Ten Championships and are seeded No. 10, 6 and 7, respectively, in their weight classes. Collin Purinton (149), wrestling at the Big Ten Championships for the first time since his freshman campaign, is seeded No. 7. 

Nine Huskers Rated in Third NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings
The NCAA released the third of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2019-20 wrestling season on Feb. 27. The final rankings will be one of the criteria used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers and seeding for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, EIWA, MAC, Pac-12 and SoCon).

133: Ridge Lovett 12th
141: Chad Red Jr. 6th
149: Collin Purinton 16th
157: Peyton Robb 17th
165: Isaiah White 5th
174: Mikey Labriola 6th
184: Taylor Venz 9th
197: Eric Schultz 5th
HWT: David Jensen 22nd

Thomsen Aiming for Positive Finish to Up-and-Down Season
A four-time state champion in high school, Alex Thomsen lost only once during his prep years at Underwood High School in Neola, Iowa. Following a redshirt season in which he went 13-2 competing in open tournaments, the redshirt freshman has had to endure more adversity than what he's used to during the 2019-20 campaign. 
Thomsen started the season with two victories before dropping his next two bouts. A three-match winning streak was followed by a three-match losing streak in his next six bouts. Starting Dec. 6, Thomsen lost four straight, including three matches to ranked opponents, before reeling off three consecutive wins from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2. Thomsen closed out the season with a 9-1 major decision victory over Miinesota's Jake Gliva and will look to carry that momentum with him to the Big Ten Championships.

Lovett Sheds Redshirt, Enters Starting Lineup 
Freshman Ridge Lovett (133) had his redshirt pulled when he entered the starting lineup at Northern Iowa on Nov. 24, 2019. An undefeated four-time state champion at Post Falls High School in Post Falls, Idaho, Lovett came to Nebraska a highly-touted recruit but was expected to redshirt this season. An injury to Tucker Sjomeling altered those plans, however.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Lovett has defeated a top-ten rated opponent (Utah Valley's Taylor LaMont), placed third at the Cliff Keen Invitational and earned his first Big Ten match victory on Jan. 26 over Michigan State's Garrett Pepple. Lovett used a last-second reversal to defeat 19th-rated Jordan Decatur (Ohio State) 6-5 on Feb. 2, pinned Purdue's Travis Ford-Melton on Feb. 7 and defeated Austin Assad (Michigan) by major decision on Feb. 14. After dropping his first five dual meet bouts, Lovett ran off six victories in his final six matches.

Returning All-American Red Finishes Regular Season Strong  
After earning All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships, much was expected of Chad Red Jr. (141) in his junior season. Red has delivered with a 9-3 mark in duals and electrifying wins over then-No. 12 Tariq Wilson (by pinfall in 33 seconds), then-No. 5 Max Murin (a 6-2 decision) and then-No. 8 Mitch McKee (by pinfall). Red will look to build upon a second-place finish at the 2019 Big Ten Championships.    

Purinton Returns to Big Ten Championships, Pushes for Strong Finish to Senior Season
Collin Purinton (149) returns to the Big Ten Championships for the first time since competing at the the 2017 Big Ten Championships as a redshirt freshman. The Banks, Ore., native has enjoyed a solid senior campaign, highlighted by a sudden victory defeat of then-No. 3 Max Thomsen (UNI) on Nov. 24 and a pinfall victory against Penn State's Jared Verkleeren in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Devaney Center on Jan. 24. Purinton brings a 13-8 overall record, including a 7-5 mark in duals to the Big Tens. 

Robb Builds Off of Redshirt Season 
Peyton Robb (157) won 22 matches overall, including four open tournament titles, as a redshirt freshman on the 2018-19 Nebraska wrestling team. Since being inserted into the starting lineup at the beginning of the current season, Robb has only continued to rack up wins. He is 16-5 on the season, and his five losses have all come at the hands of ranked opponents by a combined seven points. This will mark the first time the Owatonna, Minn., native has competed at the Big Ten Championships.

White Looks to Make Another Postseason Run 
Isaiah White (165) is 16-3 overall (with four of those wins coming against ranked opponents) and added a second consecutive Cliff Keen Invitational individual title to his resume in December. The senior from Chicago, Ill., earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. White also placed fifth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Prior to enrolling at Nebraska, White was a Division II national champion at 165 pounds for Notre Dame College in 2017. 
 
Labriola Continues Strong Sophomore Season
Mikey Labriola (174) burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2018-19, finishing with a 30-9 overall record, a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Big Ten Championships and a sixth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. The Easton, Pa., native has continued to find success in his sophomore season, with a 17-7 mark. All of his losses have been to Top-10 rated opponents. He leads the team in major decision victories and has scored 42 dual points over the course of the season.

Venz Aims for Even Better Big Ten Finish 
Taylor Venz (184), a junior from Farmington, Minn., has two fourth-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships to his credit. In 2018, Venz made it to the quarterfinals before a 6-4 defeat at the hands of Michigan's Domenic Abounader. In 2019, Venz advanced to the semifinals, where Penn State's Shakur Rasheed escaped with a 6-5 decision. Venz will be looking to make it to the finals this time around, bringing with him a 16-7 mark on the season, including  a team-high six wins over ranked opponents.   

Schultz Shines for Huskers 
Eric Schultz (197) has arguably been Nebraska's most dominant wrestler this season. The junior from Tinley Park, Ill., leads the team in dual points scored (52), dual takedowns (73) and wins (21). He'll look to improve upon previous Big Ten Championships performances, which include a seventh-place finish in 2018 and a fourth-place finish in 2019. 

Jensen Jumps at Chance to Close Out Career on High Note 
David Jensen (HWT) split time with Christian Lance at the heavyweight spot in NU's lineup this season, but got the nod from the coaching staff to compete at the Big Ten Championships. This will be Jensen's third Big Ten Champinships, having gone 1-2 in 2018 (DNP) and 2-3 in 2019, placing sixth. The senior from Mobridge, S.D., is 13-4 on the season.  

Manning Secures 10th Consecutive 10-Win Season
The Big Red's 25-15 victory over then-No.22 Michigan on Feb. 14 gave Nebraska Head Coach Mark Manning his 10th consecutive 10-win season and 18th 10-win season in his 20 years in charge at Nebraska. Manning, who has racked up 257 victories at Nebraska, is the program's longest-tenured and all-time winningest coach.