Tolly Thompson Season 1992-93

Honors and Awards
1997
All-American (3rd)
Manuel Gorrarian Award Winner
Big 12 Champion
NWCA All-Star Classic Participant
NU Most Valuable Wrestler

1996
All-American (3rd)
Big Eight Champion
NWCA All-Star Classic Participant
NU Most Valuable Wrestler

1995
NCAA Champion
Big Eight Champion
NWCA All-American
NWCA All-Star Classic Participant
NU Most Valuable Wrestler

1994
Amateur Wrestling News Freshman All-American Third Team
NU Freshman Wins Record

1993
NU Redshirt of the Year

NCAA Championships
1997-Thompson ended his career by capturing his third consecutive All-America honor with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Thompson, seeded third, rolled through his first three opponents, pinning all three. Thompson notched a fall of Oregon State's Matt Orndorff in 2:41, topped West Virgnia's Vince Pellis in 2:32 and finished off sixth-seeded Airron Richardson of Michigan in 4:45. Thompson's three pins earned him the Manuel Gorrarian Award, which is given to the wrestler who records the most pins in the least amount of time at the NCAA Championships.

Thompson lost a close 5-4 decision to second-seeded Stephen Neal of Cal-Bakersfield, but rebounded with two straight wins over North Carolina's Justin Harty and Clarion's Bryan Stout to claim his second consecutive third-place finish. Thompson finished with a 15-2 career record at the NCAA Championships after claiming two third-place finishes and a national championship.

1996-Thompson headed into the championships as the top seed. He began the tournament by pinning Kent's Stephen Terebieniec in 1:22 into the first period. Thompson advanced through the second round and into the quarterfinals with a 13-3 major decision over Iowa's John Degl. In the quarterfinals, Thompson threw Pittsburgh's Pat Wiltanger to the mat 11 seconds into the match. Wiltanger, the No. 9 seed, landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was unable to continue.

Thompson's win set up a rematch of his 1995 quarterfinal match with North Carolina junior All-American Justin Harty. Thompson defeated Harty 3-1 in 1995, en route to the national championship, but the Tar Heel avenged the loss and ended Thompson's chances of repeating as the NCAA heavyweight champion with a 6-5 decision in the 1996 semifinals. Harty was defeated 3-2 by Wisconsin's Jeff Walter in the finals.

Thompson dropped to the consolation bracket where he defeated Michigan's Airron Richardson, the No. 8 seed, 5-3, before defeating No. 10 Stephen Neal of Cal-Bakersfield 4-1 for third place.

1995-Thompson entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and lived up to his expectations, capturing the NCAA title. Thompson opened the meet with a 12-2 major decision over George Mason's David Helms. In the second round, Thompson upended Illinois' Seth Brady 16-11. In the quarterfinals, Thompson defeated No. 7 seed Justin Harty of North Carolina, 3-1, and followed with a 5-4 decision over Minnesota's sixth-seeded Billy Pierce to advance to the finals.

Thompson met fifth-seeded Justin Greenlee of Northern Iowa in the championship bout. Thompson left little doubt about the outcome, scoring a takedown just 16 seconds into the match. He dominated the entire match and scored an 8-0 major decision to capture the national crown.

1994-Thompson entered the meet as the No. 11 seed and received a bye in the first round. In the second round he dropped a 3-1, sudden-death overtime match to No. 6 seed Tony Vaughn of Purdue. In the first round of consolation action, Thompson pinned Duquense's Wally Wickline in 4:57. Thompson then upended third-seeded Billy Pierce of Minnesota by a 4-2 decision. Thompson fell one victory short of earning All-America status after losing a 6-3 decision to Virginia Tech's Josh Feldman.

Big 12/Big Eight Championships
1997-The name changed, but it was the same result in 1997. The Big Eight conference expanded to the Big 12, but it made no different to Thompson as he collected his third consecutive conference championship. Top-seeded Thompson put a 17-1 technical fall on Iowa State's Trent Hynek to start the tournament and followed with a 13-3 major decision over third-seeded Trey Swan of Oklahoma. Thompson put bonus-point victories on both his opponents in the tournament.

1996-Thompson stormed into the tournament as the top seed and defending conference champion. He flexed his muscles by pinning Iowa State's Trent Hynek 1:52 into the match. In the finals, Thompson controlled the match from start to finish to capture his second Big Eight title by defeating Oklahoma's Trey Swan 9-3. It was Thompson's 15th-straight win and moved him to 37-1 on the season. He headed into the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 seed.

1995-Thompson entered the meet as the top seed and a heavy favorite to win the conference crown. He opened the tournament with a 14-3 semifinal decision over Iowa State's Matt Carson and followed with a 17-6 victory over Oklahoma's Javier Posa in the finals.

1994-The No. 2 ssed, Thompson began the Big Eight tournament as a favorite to win the title. However, he was upset by Oklahoma's John Kading, 6-5, in the semifinals. Thompson rebounded to defeat Iowa State's Matt Carson 11-6 in the consolation semifinals. He then defeated Oklahoma State's George Parker 5-4 to capture third place and qualify for an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

Career Notes
1997-Thompson continued his torrid pace into his senior season, finishing with a 41-4 record, including 17-1 in duals, to end his career atop the Husker career victories list. Thompson's career mark of 157-21-0 topped Bill Scherr's 133-18-0 by a whopping 24 wins. Thompson added 14 pins in his senior season to also finish atop the Nebraska career falls list with 72 falls and technical falls. In a senior season that saw him claim his third consecutive conference championship and All-America honor, Thompson led the Huskers in wins (41), dual wins (17), dual points (84), pins (14) and technical falls (6).

1996-Thompson completed his season with a 42-2 record. His 42 wins ranked third on the Huskers' single-season victory list, behind Gary Albright's 43 wins in 1985-86 and Gil Sanchez's 46 wins in 1986-87. Thompson's only losses came at the hands of NCAA All-American's.

Minnesota's Billy Pierce defeated Thompson 4-1 on Jan. 9. Pierce entered the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed. Thompson's second loss came to North Carolina's Justin Harty in the NCAA semifinals. Harty walked away with a 6-5 decision over Thompson and a second-place finish after entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed. Thompson defeated eventual national champion Jeff Walter twice during the season. Thompson beat Walter 6-3 in the championship of the Las Vegas Invitational and 10-3 at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

Thompson won titles at the St. Louis Open, Northern Open, Las Vegas Invitational and Great Plains Open. He finished with 14 falls, five match terminations and seven major decisions.

1995-Thompson captured NCAA and Big Eight Championships in one of the finest seasons in Husker history. He finished the season with a 36-2 record, with both of his losses against Penn State's Kerry McCoy, who was ranked first the entire regular season. Thompson finished the season with 12 falls, 11 major decisions and two match terminations. He held a 60-2 edge in dual takedowns and a 78-6 edge in dual team points scored.

Thompson participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic, where he won a 9-2 decision over North Carolina's Justin Harty. Thompson finished the season with a 9-2 record against nationally ranked opponents. He won titles at the Nebraska-Omaha Open and Great Plains Open and finished second at the Mat Town Invitational. Thompson was named Oustanding Wrestler at the Great Plains Open, where he won a major decision over then-No. 6 Justin Greenlee of Northern Iowa, 17-3, in a preview of their national title matchup.

1994-Thompson had a 38-13 record on the year and set the NU record for victories by a freshman. The old record was held by three-time All-American Corey Olson, who had 35 victories in 1990. The 38 wins also tied Thompson for fourth place on the NU single-season victory chart for all wrestlers. Thompson earned third-team freshman All-America honors from Amateur Wrestling News. Thompson was ranked for most of the season, moving as high as No. 9 in the rankings at mid-season. Ten of his 13 losses came against ranked wrestlers. He finished first at the Wyoming and Nebraska-Kearney Opens.

1993-Thompson redshirted and had an 18-5 record in open competition.

Other-Thompson competed for the National Wrestling Coaches Association Underclass All-America team at the Trophee Molone Tournament in Rome during the summer of 1995. The team, coached by Nebraska coach Tim Neumann, placed second in an 18-team field, while Thompson placed second at 130 kilograms.

Thompson had a fantastic summer of 1993, gaining extensive national and international experience. He won titles at the Espoir (20 and under) Freestyle Nationals (Hwt.), Greco-Roman University Nationals (220) and U.S. Olympic Festival Freestyle (220). He also placed second at the Pan American Championships in Greco-Roman (220) and seventh at the World Freestyle Championships (Hwt.). He won the University level Championship Belt from USA Wrestling, given to the collegiate wrestler with the top accomplishments in the past year. The last Husker to win that award was 1984 national champion Bill Scherr.

High School-Thompson compiled a career mark of 118-16 at Janesville High School, including two runner-up finishes at the Iowa state meet. He twice finished second at the National Cadet Meet and was the USA Junior National runner-up in 1991 at 220 pounds and finished fourth in 1990. Thompson was a two-time all-conference selection in football at Janesville and earned honorable mention all-state honors.

Personal-The son of Vicki and Lenard Thompson, Tolly majored in consumer science and education at Nebraska.

Career Totals

Year Overall Dual Pins MT MD92-93* 18-5 0-0 12 0 093-94 38-13 12-6 13 6 594-95 36-2 17-1 12 2 1195-96 42-2 16-1 14 5 796-97 41-4 17-1 14 6 7Career 157-21-0 62-9 53 19 30

*-Redshirt seasons do not count in career totals.