Huskers Look to Bounce Back at No. 14 MinnesotaHuskers Look to Bounce Back at No. 14 Minnesota
Jordyn Senstock/Nebraska Communications
Wrestling

Huskers Look to Bounce Back at No. 14 Minnesota

No. 10 Nebraska (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) at No. 14 Minnesota (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten)
Friday, January 14 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
 
» TV: BTN
» Live Stats: gophersports.com
» Twitter Updates: @HuskerWrestling
 
The No. 10 Nebraska wrestling team will look to get back to its winning ways on Friday night when the Huskers square off against conference foe Minnesota. BTN will televise the meet from Maturi Pavilion beginning at 8 p.m., with Ray Flores handling play-by-play duties and Tim Johnson providing color commentary. 
 
The Gophers (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten) come into the weekend with a recent loss at top-ranked Iowa and a home win over No. 19 Northwestern. Minnesota features top-rated Gable Steveson (285) and six other grapplers ranked inside the top 25 of their respective weight classes.
 
Nebraska (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten), meanwhile, is coming off its first loss of the season, as Purdue defeated NU 18-15 on Jan. 7. Despite the loss, the Huskers recorded wins in five bouts, including Eric Schultz's (197) win over No. 15 Thomas Penola.
 
Saturday's dual promises to feature high-level wrestling, as 17 ranked wrestlers are slated to compete. If all projected starters wrestle, there will be seven top 25 matchups, including the matches of returning All-Americans: Chad Red Jr. (141), Ridge Lovett (149) and Peyton Robb (157). 

Nebraska and Minnesota meet for the 71st time in series history on Friday. The Gophers lead the all-time series 51-20, but the Huskers have won the last five matchups. In the last meeting between the two teams, Nebraska earned a 22-14 victory as NU won six of 10 bouts.

Last Time Out: No. 18 Purdue defeated No. 8 Nebraska 18-15 at the Devaney Center on Jan. 7.

Up Next: The Huskers stay on the road and travel to No. 9 Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) for a 7 p.m. dual on Jan. 21. The meet will be streamed on B1G+.

No. 10 Nebraska's Projected Lineup*: (dual/overall)
125: Jeremiah Reno Fr. • Kansas City, Mo. (1-2/3-6)
133: Alex Thomsen So. • Neola, Iowa (1-2/2-4) -OR- Dominick Serrano Fr. • Windsor, Colo. (0-0/11-5) 
141: #9 Chad Red Jr. Sr. • Indianapolis, Ind. (1-1/6-2) -OR- Tucker Sjomeling Jr. • Delano, Minn. (0-1/2-2)
149: #4 Ridge Lovett So. • Post Falls, Idaho. (2-0/11-3) -OR- Jevon Parrish So. • Olathe, Kan. (2-0/5-1)
157: #5 Peyton Robb So. • Owatonna, Minn. (2-0/7-3)
165: Bubba Wilson RFr. • Manhattan, Kan. (3-1/8-6) 
174: #5 Mikey Labriola So. • Easton, Pa. (1-1/10-1) 
184: #11 Taylor Venz Sr. • Farmington, Minn. (3-1/10-3) -OR- Brandyn Van Tassell Fr. • Mapleton, Utah (0-0/4-5) 
197: #4 Eric Schultz Sr. • Tinley Park, Ill. (3-0/7-1) 
HWT: #11 Christian Lance Sr. • Nixa, Mo. (3-0/11-1)
*InterMat rankings used 
 
No. 14 Minnesota's Projected Lineup*: (dual/overall)
125:  #8 Patrick McKee RJr. • St. Michael, Minn. (14-2/1-2)
133:  #24 Jake Gliva RJr. • Inner Grove Heights, Minn. (9-6/1-3) -OR- Aaron Nagao RFr. • Esperanza, Calif. (5-3/0-0)  
141:  #17 Jake Bergeland RSr. • Hugo, Minn. (13-5/2-2)
149:  #24 Michael Blockhus RJr. • Cresco, Iowa (11-7/1-3)
157:  #4 Brayton Lee RJr. • Brownsburg, Ind. (12-0/4-0)   
165:  #19 Andrew Sparks So. • Costa Mesa, Calif. (4-3/0-2) -OR- Cael Carlson RSo. • Willmar, Minn. (16-8/1-1)
174:  #23 Bailee O'Reilly RSr. • Goodhue, Minn. (7-2/1-1)
184:  #28 Isaiah Salazar So. • Greeley, Colo. (8-2/1-1) -OR- Sam Skillings RFr. • Menomonie, Wis. (4-3/1-1)
197:  #30 Michial Foy Gr. • Crete, Ill. (10-5/2-2)
HWT: #1 Gable Steveson Sr. • Apple Valley, Minn. (4-0/4-0)
*InterMat rankings used 

Potential Matchups

  • #11 Lance looks for his first career dual win against undefeated Olympic gold medalist #1 Steveson
  • #5 Robb faces a tough test against fellow All-American #4 Lee in a Top-5 battle
  • #4 Lovett set to battle a 2021 Big Ten tournament foe as he wrestles #24 Blockhus after Lovett's 2-1 victory last year  

Scouting the Golden Gophers:

  • Last season, Minnesota went 7-2, with losses against Nebraska and Iowa, and tied for a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Tournament.  
  • On Nov. 28, the Gophers became the fifth program in history to reach 1000 career wins.
  • Redshirt Junior Brayton Lee (157) leads Minnesota in ranked wins with a 5-0 ranked record and a 12-0 record overall. 
  • Coached by Brandon Eggum (Sixth season at Minnesota); Record at UM: 50-29

Back Points
Quick Notes

  • Nebraska won its fourth Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on Dec. 4.
  • Labriola was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 8 after winning his 14th-straight victory and claiming the Cliff Keen individual title. This was Labriola's second Big Ten weekly honor of his career and first for the Huskers since Venz garnered the award on Jan. 29, 2019.
  • Nebraska has outscored its dual opponents by a combined score of 118-39.
  • NU has won 29 of 40 (72.5%) individual dual meet matches this season.  
  • With this season's win over North Carolina on Nov. 17, Coach Manning picked up his 290th career victory.
  • Team leaders by category among starters:

Lovett, Schultz and Lance Shine for Huskers

  • Ridge Lovett (4-0), Eric Schultz (3-0) and Christian Lance (3-0) are undefeated against dual meet competition this season.
  • Lovett (149), a sophomore from Post Falls, Idaho, has scored 17 dual points for the Huskers and has recorded two pins and one technical fall victories.
  • Senior Schultz (197) is second on the team with 13 dual points and 10 dual takedowns. The Tinley Park, Ill., native has also recorded two pins.
  • Lance (285), a senior from Nixa, Mo., leads the team in dual takedowns (15) and major decision victories (5). Lance has also scored 11 dual points.

Manning Begins 22nd Season as Head Coach

  • The Huskers have a familiar face at the helm this season. The 2021-22 campaign is Coach Manning's 22nd season leading the NU wrestling program. Manning is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a mark of 267-98-3. During his decorated coaching career, Manning has coached 61 of Nebraska's 116 All-Americans and five of Nebraska's 11 national champions. The Huskers have nine top-10 NCAA finishes overall during his tenure. Manning has also been instrumental in helping former Huskers Jordan Burroughs and James Green enjoy international success, as Burroughs won the Olympic Gold in 2012 and World Championship Gold five times, while Green earned World Championship Silver in 2017.

Nebraska To Host Big Tens

  • The Big Ten Championships will take place at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., March 5-6. It will be the first time the Huskers host the Big Ten Championships since joining the conference in 2011-12. Seeding for the tournament is determined by pre-seeds and finalized at the coaches' meeting ahead of the tournament. A double-elimination tournament will be held at each weight, with the top team finisher being determined by tournament scoring. The first rounds, quarterfinals and consolation rounds will be held in Session I on March 5, while the quarterfinals, consolation second rounds and semifinals will be held in Session II on that same day. Session III will consist of the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches on March 6, with the finals, third-place and fifth-place matches being contested in Session IV. The 2022 NCAA Championships will be held in Detroit, Mich. on March 17-19.

NU Welcomes Highly Touted Newcomers

  • Eight wrestlers will don the Scarlet and Cream for the first time this season, including one transfer and seven freshmen.
  • Redshirt junior Boo Dryden competed at Minnesota before transferring to NU, compiling 13 career victories and placing eighth at the 2021 Big Ten Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
  • Nebraska natives Quinton Chavez, a two-time state champion, Blake Cushing, a state and district champion, and Joshua Licking, a state runner-up with a 31-1 record his senior year, look to make immediate impacts for the Huskers. After compiling a 141-26 high school record and capturing a Pennsylvania state title, Jagger Condomitti joins the Huskers for the 2021-22 campaign. Fellow Pennsylvania native Lenny Pinto also was a state champion and totaled a school record of 44 wins in the 2020 season. Jenkins-Harris and Adam Thebeau add to the impressive group of newcomers with Jenkins-Harris earning an undefeated season his senior year and Thebeau being named an all-state wrestler.