Athletics

A Day in the Life of Champions

N Our Voice by Ridge Lovett and Antrell Taylor

A Day in the Life of Champions

Nebraska had its best finish ever at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Huskers were led by Ridge Lovett and Antrell Taylor, who became Nebraska’s first individual champions since 2011.

Every wrestler dreams of winning a national title, but what does it look like when those dreams come true? Let’s run it back through a day in the life of when Lovett and Taylor became national champions.

Morning: Getting ready

Ridge Lovett: My championship morning started with a visit to the doctor. 

When I woke up on the day of the finals, my ear was super swollen. 

My cauliflower ear was getting worse, and it had a huge bubble on it, so I had to get that checked out.

After I visited with the team doctor, my teammates and I headed to the arena for weigh-ins. 

That was when we faced our first adventure of the day.

President Trump was coming to watch the finals, so there were Secret Service agents everywhere. They dug through everything and checked everyone’s cars and bags.

We had to turn our car off and pop the hood for them to search our stuff.

Antrell Taylor: Yeah, the security was definitely a little different on that last day. 

After we jumped through a few extra hoops at the arena, we went back to the hotel. 

For me, the entire day was a waiting game.

Ridge and I didn’t compete until later in the evening, so I just hung out and tried to stay off my feet.

I felt more nervous than I usually do before a match. 

Lovett: I also just tried to stay relaxed. 

My teammates and I played Xbox for a while and grabbed some sandwiches for lunch. 

We knew what we had to do that night.

The key was to stay in the right frame of mind.

Late afternoon: Warm-ups

Lovett: Coach Snyder picked us up from the hotel, and I remember he had the music blasting in the car to fire us up. 

Shoutout “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meek Mill - that was a good one. 

Fortunately, security was much smoother the second time around.

When we got inside we found one little strip of mat to warm up. We just figured we’d use it until someone kicked us off.

I guess they never did.

Taylor: After that, we went to the award ceremony where they recognized the All-American wrestlers. They parade everyone around, so that was pretty cool. 

Then, it was game-time.

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Evening: The Finals

Lovett: I wrestled before Antrell. 

I was moving my opponent around pretty good in the hand fight.

There was one moment where I snapped and shoved him, and he just fell off the mat and rolled onto the carpet.

I felt pretty good after that. 

They gave him the takedown at the end of the second period, but they wiped it off.

I knew he wasn’t going to take me down again.

He got on my legs late in the match, but I was comfortable in that position. I defended the shots.

I never panicked.

I heard Coach Snyder giving me the countdown.

20, 15, 10.

Then the final whistle blew.

I freaking did it.

Taylor: I got to watch Ridge’s match on the TV while I warmed up in the back.

Typically, I try not to watch because I get too into it and it drains me.

But this one was worth it. It was awesome to see him win.

I know how hard he works, and he made the finals a few years ago, so it was just awesome to see him come back and get that revenge.

Then, it was my turn.

Once the whistle blew, I just started to do my thing.

At the end of the first period, I was up 3-0.

In the second period, he got out, and I got dinged for a few stalling calls, so the score ended up being a lot closer than it should have been.

But I wrestled a pretty good match and got my takedown.

I was very familiar with my opponent, so I knew what it would take to win.

And when I did win, it  felt like a movie.

Everyone was standing up and clapping, and it was just crazy.

Later that night: Celebrations

Lovett: After my match, I had to do some interviews, so I didn’t get to watch Antrell wrestle in person.

I was peeking over at the TV to see what the score was, and I had someone in the room tell me when he won.

I was so proud of him.

We’ve both been at Nebraska a long time.

And just the amount of friends and people we’ve met — it’s amazing.

To finally get that done, and see how happy everyone was for us to accomplish that goal, it was just incredible.

Taylor: After my match, I went and celebrated with Ridge and the rest of my teammates.

Philly is awesome, so we had a good time exploring the city and celebrating our victories.

It was a night I’ll never forget.

As I reflect on that championship experience, I just can’t say enough about the coaching staff who helped me get to that podium.

They’ve been hands-on with me every single day, whether it’s breaking down my matches or working on specific techniques.

They’ve played a tremendous role in my success, and I’m so grateful for their support.

Lovett: Yeah, our coaching staff here is the best.

I’ve had a lot of people help me to get where I am today. 

Looking back - and I know this sounds cliché - but my biggest advice to younger wrestlers is to enjoy every minute of it. Nebraska has been an amazing family for me.

All those moments at practice are worth it when you win that title but, even if I hadn’t won, I would still be so grateful for all the memories I made here.