Huskers Prepare for Weekend Double Duals
The 11th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team is set to face-off against a pair of Division II powers when Nebraska-Kearney and Findlay come to the Devaney Center on Saturday, Dec. 28.
The Huskers take on the Lopers at 4 p.m. and then face-off against Findlay at Noon
The match between Nebraska-Kearney can be seen live on HuskersNside.com.
Scouting Nebraska-Kearney Lopers and Findlay Oilers
Ranked fourth in Division II, the Lopers will be participating in their first dual of the season when they take on the Huskers this weekend.
UNK is led by a duo of third-ranked wrestlers in Bryce Abby (125) and Brandon Pfizenmaier (149). Abby enters the dual with an 11-1 mark while Pfizenmaier brings an impressive 17-2 record to the Devaney Center.
For the season, the Lopers have five wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes.
Nebraska owns a 2-0 mark against UNK with the last match coming in 1980-81 when the Huskers defeated UNK, 25-10.
Findlay enters the dual currently ranked ninth in the latest Division II wrestling poll. The Oilers are lead by their top-ranked 149 pounder Waylon Lowe. Lowe is the defending Division II National Champion at 149 pounds and Lowe enters the match with a 10-8 record.
Another standout for the Oilers is third-ranked Joey Simcoe at 133 pounds. Simcoe enters this weekend’s match with an 14-5 mark.
This is the first meeting between Nebraska and Findlay since 1995-96 when Nebraska won the only match between the two schools 44-0.
The Last Time Out (vs. Portland State, Oregon State, Oregon)
The University of Nebraska wrestling team had a dominating performance this weekend winning all three of its duals. Tith a 46-3 win at Portland State on Friday night, the Huskers scored the most points in a dual since defeating Bloomsburg, 46-3 on Jan. 20, 2001.
The Huskers won nine of the ten weight classes and scored bonus points seven of the nine wins. NU recorded wins three wins via pin, two wins by forfeit and one major decision.
"I thought we wrestled pretty inspired tonight," Manning said.
"It’s good to see us have a dominating performance."
On Saturday, December 14, Nebraska defeated both Oregon State and Oregon. The Huskers defeated Oregon State, 30-15 Saturday afternoon and Oregon, 30-3 Saturday night.
Against the Beavers, the Huskers jumped out to a commanding 30-0 lead before B.J. Padden was upset by Dan Pitsch.
Junior Jason Powell recorded his quickest fall of the season over OSU's Brett Phillips in 51 seconds. Sophomore Travis Pascoe recorded his first pin of the season pinning, OSU's Jake Huffman in 4:55.
After defeating the Beavers, the Huskers faced Oregon. Nebraska had another dominating performance winning nine of the ten matches. Pascoe defeated previously undefeated and seventh-ranked Shane Webster, 5-2. Webster defeated Pascoe earlier in the year, 12-8 at the Mat Town Invite on Nov. 30 Sixth-ranked B.J. Padden got back on the winning track defeating Elias Soto, 13-2.
For the weekend the Huskers only dropped three matches.
Manning leads Huskers to Quick Starts
Entering his third year, Head Coach Mark Manning has lead the Nebraska wrestling program to quick starts to begin the dual season.
This marks the third consecutive year that Manning, has begun the season with a least four straight wins. The 4-0 mark is the fifth best start in school history. NU's best start came in Manning's first year when the Huskers started out 9-0.
Five Huskers Place at UNK Open
The University of Nebraska wrestling team placed five wrestlers at the 2002 UNK Runza Open on December, 14, 2002.
Junior B.J. Wright and freshman Marc Harwood each took individual titles on the day for the Huskers. Wright won the 157-pound weight class pinning Aaron Dalton of UNK in a time of 5:17. Harwood won via injury default over Brandon Pfiznmaier of UNK.
Freshman Chad Sportelli finished second after being major decision by Bryce Abbey of UNK, 13-3. Matt Keller added another second place finish dropping his match at 133-pounds to Erkin Tadzhimetav of Colby Community College, 13-3.
Brent Pankoke won the consolation final to earn a third-place finish with his victory over Cameron Bretz of Western State College, 10-0
Padden Takes Title, Leads Huskers to Sixth Place Finish
The Nebraska wrestling team took sixth place with 89 team points at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6-7. Minnesota took the team title with 131 points.
Redshirt freshman B.J. Padden led the Huskers, taking first place at 184 pounds with a 9-7 win over seventh-ranked Ralph DeNisco of Wisconsin. Junior Jason Powell dropped a 5-1 decision to second-ranked Chris Fleeger of Purdue in the 125 pound finals.
Sophomore Travis Shufelt earned a fourth-place finish at 149 pounds dropping his third-place match to second-ranked Jesse Jantzen of Harvard. Nebraska’s other placewinner was sophomore Travis Pascoe who finished eighth at 174 pounds after dropping his seventh-place match to Purdue’s Ryan Lange, 15-4.
Huskers Take Second; Ruiz Secures Individual Title
Justin Ruiz led the Husker wrestling team to a second-place finish at the 2002 Mat Town Invite on Nov. 30. Nebraska finished with a team total of 156.5 points, 11 points behind Purdue. Penn State finished third, followed by Lock Haven, Pittsburgh, Buffalo with Ohio, Oregon, Slippery Rock and Franklin & Marshall.