Huskers Host 2004 Nebraska Duals

Dual #6

No. 3/5/4 Nebraska vs. Findlay

NU Coliseum?Lincoln, Neb.?Saturday, December 18?3 p.m.

Live Streaming Video: www.huskers.com

Series Record: Nebraska leads, 1-0

Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 35-14, on Dec. 28, 2002 in Lincoln, Neb.

Dual #7:

No. 3/5/4 Nebraska vs. Wyoming

NU Coliseum?Lincoln, Neb.?Saturday, December 18-5 p.m.

Live Streaming Video: www.huskers.com

Series Record: Nebraska leads, 25-14

Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 29-12, on Jan. 25, 2003 in Lincoln, Neb.

The No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team hosts the 2004 Nebraska Duals this Saturday at the Nebraska Coliseum. This year the event features top competition from three levels of collegiate wrestling, as four of the five teams involved finished in the top seven in their respective national championships last year. The Huskers finished fifth at last year’s NCAA Division I Championships, while Iowa State finished sixth. Findlay finished seventh in the Division II Championships, while Dana College finished sixth at the NAIA Division II Championships last year. The other team in the Nebraska Duals, Wyoming, finished 38th at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Nebraska’s matches against Findlay and Wyoming will be streamed on the internet by HuskersNside, the premium site for Nebraska athletics. Both mats will start at 11 a.m., with action running continously through the end of the day’s action. Nebraska’s dual with Findlay is expected to begin at about 3 p.m., with NU’s match with Wyoming to follow immediately. The gates will open at 10 a.m.

NU Wins Three Duals in the Northwest

With three bonus-point victories, 165-pound wrestler Jacob Klein led the Huskers to three dual wins last weekend. Klein, one of three NU wrestlers with a trio of wins over the weekend, helped Nebraska defeat Oregon State 36-3, Oregon, 39-10, and Boise State, 25-16. Matt Murray and Travis Pascoe also scored a trio of victories on the weekend.

Klein defeated Boise State’s Russell Brunson by fall 4:21 into their match Sunday, after he pinned Oregon’s Mark Allen 1:44 into their match and beat Anthony Weber of Oregon State by major decision, 13-5. Klein’s victories, all early in the duals, sparked Nebraska to hot starts against the Beavers, Ducks and Broncos. The Huskers won the first four matches against Boise State, the first five matches against Oregon and the first six against Oregon State.

Of those six wins against the Beavers, five earned the Huskers bonus points. David Ingalls started the dual with a 13-3 win over Orlando Perez. B.J. Wright beat Joel Gibson by technical fall, 20-5. Klein followed with his major decision over Weber, followed by Kyle Gubbels with a major decision over Steve Grayson, 10-2. At 197 pounds, B.J. Padden scored a 22-11 major decision victory over Travis Gardner. After Oregon State heavyweight Ty Watterson snapped NU’s win string with an 8-3 win over Jon May, Nebraska won the last three matches of the dual. Matt Keller pinned Eric Stevenson 4:37 into their match, while Dominick Moyer and Matt Murray wrapped up the win by decision victories.

Later that day against Oregon, Nebraska won the first five matches against the Ducks, all earning the Huskers bonus points. Klein and Marc Harwood both pinned their opponents, while Wright and Travis Pascoe earned wins by technical fall and Chris Nedens won by major decision. In all, Nebraska would get bonus points in seven matches. Derek Pirner recorded a pin in his first varsity match, while Murray won by major decision over Nate Gipson, 16-5.

Nebraska would cap the weekend with a win over Boise State. NU won the first four matches, including a pair that gave the Huskers bonus points. Klein started the dual with a pin of Russell Brunson 4:21 into their match. Harwood followed with a 5-0 win over Ben Gilliand, while Pascoe took his third win of the weekend with a 4-2 win over Casey Phelps. Padden won by injury default of K.C. Walsh. The Broncos strung together a pair of victories at heavyweight and 125 pounds, but Nebraska responded with victories from Moyer and Murray.

Nation’s Best on Display at the Nebraska Duals

Four of the five teams at the Nebraska Duals are ranked among the top 12 in their respective classification. Along with No. 3 Nebraska, Iowa State is No. 5 in the Amateur Wrestling News but is ranked No. 2 in the other two polls. Findlay is 12th in NCAA Division II, while Dana College is No. 3 in NAIA wrestling. While Findlay has three wrestlers ranked, Nebraska, Iowa State and Dana sport ranked wrestlers in eight weight classes. Dana actually has a pair of wrestlers ranked at 125 pounds. Five Cyclones are ranked among the top 10 in their respective weight classes, led by consensus No. 1 Nate Gallick at 141 pounds. Matt Murray, the man who held that title coming into the season, leads four Huskers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes.

Scouting Findlay

The Findlay Oilers enter the 2004 Nebraska Duals with an 0-5 dual record against mainly Division I competition. Findlay saw three wrestlers place at the Michigan State Open, including a pair of fifth-place finishers and a sixth-place finish. The Oilers return seven starters and five NCAA qualifiers from last year’s team, which finished seventh in NCAA Division II.

Scouting Dana College

Dana College, which finished sixth in last year’s NAIA Championships, returns nine starters and five All-Americans from last year’s squad. Dana competed last weekend in the UNK Duals. No team scores were kept, but the Vikings had three finalists in their respective weight classes. Scott Taylor won the championship at 157 pounds, while Leister Bowling and Marshall Marquardt finished second at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively.

Scouting Iowa State

Iowa State is coming off a 19-16 victory over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 5, marking the Cyclones’ first win in Iowa City since 1977. ISU, now 7-0 on the year, returns nine starters from last year’s team, including seven NCAA qualifiers and four All-Americans. The Cyclones finished sixth at last year’s NCAA Championships, and are led by 141-pounder Nate Gallick, who won last year’s Big 12 Championship and earned All-American honors last year. After the Nebraska Duals, Iowa State is off until the Midlands Invitational Dec. 29 in Evanston, Ill. Nebraska and Iowa State will meet on Feb. 19 in Lincoln.

The Last Time We Met: Dec. 28, 2002: Nebraska 35, Findlay 14

Nebraska won the first three and five of the first six matches in the dual to jump out to an 18-3 lead and all but clinch the dual. Travis Shufelt scored a win over Division II’s top-ranked 149-pounder, Waylon Lowe. Findlay bounced back with a pair of forfeits at 184 and 197 pounds before Mitch Manstedt and Jason Powell ended the dual with back-to-back pins. The dual started with Joey Malia defeating Joey Simcoe, 5-4, at 133 pounds. Matt Murray pinned Von Graham 2:31 into their match before Shufelt won by forfeit over Lowe.

The Last Time We Met: Jan. 25, 2003: Nebraska 29, Wyoming 12

After dropping the first match of the dual, Nebraska won the next six matches headlined by back-to-back last-second victories from then-redshirt-freshmen Nate McMillin and Jacob Klein. McMillin scored a takedown in the final seconds to defeat Andrew Shuler, 7-6, while Klein upset 11th-ranked Levi Prevest, 7-6, with another last second takedown. No. 8 Travis Pascoe won by major decision over Justin Salas, 14-5, at 174 pounds.

Time Changed for Minnesota Dual

Due to a scheduling conflict, the dual between Nebraska and Minnesota will now start at 1 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2005, instead of the previously scheduled time of 7 p.m. The match will shown via streaming video on HuskersNside.

Non-Varsity Notes

Matt Farrell led five Husker placewinners at the UNK Open last weekend in Kearney, Neb. Farrel won the 174-pound weight class. Joe Morrison finished second at 133 pounds, while Brandon Brown took third at 165. Robert Sanders finished fifth at 149, while Ben Johnson was sixth at 184. Nebraska’s non-varsity will resume action after Christmas break, as they go to Blair, Neb., for the Dana College Open on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005. The following Saturday, the non-varsity will compete in the Glen Brand Open at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Nebraska’s non-varsity schedule will conclude with the Great Plains Open in Lincoln on Saturday, Jan. 29.

At the Harold Nichols Open at Fort Dodge, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 13, Paul Donahoe and Chad Sportelli shared the championship at 125 pounds. David Ingalls was defeated in the finals at 157 pounds by Iowa State’s Trent Paulson, 3-1 in overtime, to earn second. At heavyweight, Jon May finished fourth after losing the third-place match to Blake Gillis of Wartburg, 7-1.

The non-varsity competed along with the varsity at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb. on Nov. 20. In the open division, Jon May took fourth at heavyweight. Chad Sportelli finished sixth at 125 after losing 5-0 to Derrick Fleenor of Oklahoma State. In the 20-and-under division, Paul Donahoe took the 125-pound championship, defeating Hofstra’s Dave Tomasette 4-3 in the final. Joe Morrison earned runner-up at 133 pounds, while Chris Oliver took third at 157 pounds with a 13-2 major decision over Ben Henderson of Dana College. A pair of Huskers placed at 174 pounds, with Matt Farrell earning third and Cody Foust taking sixth. At the UNI Open in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 4, 2004, Jon May finished 2nd in the heavyweight division to lead the Huskers. He was NU’s only placewinner.

Nebraska Signs Five in Class of 2005

Nebraska recently signed five wrestlers during the fall signing period, all of whom are expected to make an impact.

In the first day of signing, the Husker coaching staff inked three.

The in-state member of that trio is Aurora native Levi Wofford. Projected to wrestle either in the 184-pound or 197-pound weight class, Wofford has won two class B state championships under his father, Bill, who is Aurora’s head coach.

Also signing in the first day was Vince Jones, the fifth-ranked high school wrestler in the nation at 189 pounds according to Wrestling International Newsmagazine. A native of Sickerville, N.J., Jones has won two state championships for Winslow Township High School. At the 2004 Junior National Tournament, Jones finished fourth. He is projected to wrestle at 184 pounds in college.

The third high school wrestler to sign with NU is Mike Rowe from DeMatha, Md. Wrestling at the alma mater of former Husker and All-American Todd Beckerman, Rowe has won three state championships for DeMatha High School. Rowe, the second-best high school wrestler in the nation in his weight class according to WIN, won the Cadet National Championship and is a two-time placewinner at Junior Nationals. He is likely to wrestle at either 133 or 141 pounds.

The Huskers went to Chicago for their fourth signing--Kenny Jordan from Mount Carmel High School. Jordan, the seventh-ranked prospect in his weight class, will wrestle at 141 pounds for Nebraska.Rounding out the recruiting class was Brady LaMar from Silver Lake, Kan. A three-time state placewinner, LaMar will wrestle at 149 pounds at NU.

Huskers, Cowboys Set for National Television Appearance

College Sports Television announced that it will broadcast Nebraska’s Feb. 10 home dual against defending national champion Oklahoma State on CSTV live starting at 7 p.m. from the NU Coliseum. It will be simulcast locally on NETV. One of 12 national wrestling broadcasts by CSTV, the Feb. 10 broadcast will be the only one that features a pair of Big 12 Conference teams. Missouri’s away dual against Lehigh on Jan. 11 is the only other national broadcast featuring a Big 12 team.

Up Next

Nebraska will be off through the holidays, with their next dual slated for Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. at NU Coliseum against Big Ten power Minnesota. The match will be streamed on HuskersNside.