Nebraska Hosts 2005 Big 12 Wrestling Championships

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No.  6/4 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (19-2-1) at 2005 Big 12 Championships

Qwest Center?Omaha, Neb.?Saturday, March 5?11 a.m.

Last Meeting: Nebraska finished 2nd in 2004 in Ames, Iowa

Ticket Information: Call TicketMaster of Omaha at (402) 997-9378

 

Nebraska Hosts 2005 Big 12 Wrestling Championships

The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team hosts the 2005 Big 12 Championships at the QwestCenter in Omaha, Neb.  Looking for their first conference championship since 1995, the Huskers take on a talented field in which all five teams are ranked.  Of those, four are in the top 10 and three, including top-ranked OklahomaState and third-ranked IowaState along with Nebraska, are in the top five of the national rankings. 

 

Big 12 Championships Feature Best in the Nation

The Big 12 Championships have been a proving ground for the best in collegiate wrestling.  That was never more true than last year at the 2004 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.  Not only did Big 12 Champion Oklahoma State bring home the national championship, but three of the top six and four of the nine schools were Big 12 Conference members.  Nebraska was the second-highest finishing Big 12 team, finishing fifth, while IowaState finished sixth.  Oklahoma finished ninth, while Missouri finished 13th.

 

On an individual level, 25 of the 36 wrestlers from the Big 12 earned All-America status.  Of those, three were individual national champions, including Nebraska’s Jason Powell at 125 pounds, Zach Roberson of IowaState at 133 pounds, and OklahomaState’s Chris Pendleton at 174 pounds.  Pendelton earned his title with an 11-4 victory over Missouri’s Ben Askren, one of four Big 12 wrestlers to finish as runner-up in their respective weight class.

 

Last Times Out: #6 NU 31, Air Force 15/#6 NU 16, #2 Iowa State 15

The sixth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team picked up wins in seven of 10 weight classes en route to a 31-15 victory over Air Force Feb. 18 at the Devaney Center Track in front of 890 fans.

 

NU started with a 6-0 lead, as Kyle Gubbels’ opponent at 174 pounds was unable to make the weight requirement.  Second-ranked Travis Pascoe rebounded from his first loss of the season last Saturday to post a 17-7 major decision victory over Luke Lefever.  Air Force would win its first match of the night at 197 pounds, as Brenden McLean upset 16th-ranked B.J. Padden, 6-4.  After that, the Huskers won four of the next five matches, earning bonus points in three of the four triumphs to put the dual away.

 

Nebraska capped its regular season on a high note on Feb. 19, posting a 16-15 victory over No. 2 Iowa State, before a crowd of 1,708 at the NU Coliseum. The victory allowed the Huskers to complete their dual season with a 19-2-1 record, tying the 2004 team for the second-most dual victories in school history.

 

The teams split the 10 matches in the dual, but the Huskers scored the night’s only bonus-point win in the form of a 19-6 major decision by Jacob Klein at 165 pounds.

 

Scouting IowaState

Iowa State enters the 2005 Big 12 Championships ranked third in the nation with a record of 16-2, 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference.  The Cyclones last action came on Saturday, Feb. 18, when ISU was narrowly defeated by Nebraska, 16-15, at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb.  IowaState is led by Nate Gallick, the defending Big 12 champion at 141 pounds.  Gallick is 23-0 in the year, and is one of three Cyclone starters with 20 wins on the season.  The other two wrestlers, 157-pound wrestler Trent Paulson and 184-pound wrestler Kurt Backes, are the other two Cyclones ranked in top five.  ISU’s only other dual defeat came on Jan. 27, when the Cyclones fell to OklahomaState, 21-14. 

 

Scouting Missouri

Led by second-ranked 174-pound wrestler Ben Asken, Missouri enters the 2005 Big 12 Championships with a record of 15-6 on the year.  The Tigers were 0-4 in Big 12 duals this season, but in their final two Big 12 duals, MU narrowly lost 18-14 at Oklahoma on Feb. 5, and 18-15 to IowaState on Feb. 13.  Askren, one of two top-five ranked Missouri wrestlers, has a record of 29-1 on the season.  The other Tiger wrestler in the top five, Tyron Woodley, is ranked fifth at 165 pounds with a 32-3 record. 

 

Scouting Oklahoma

Ninth-ranked Oklahoma comes to Omaha with a record of 15-6 after a 31-10 win over Michigan State on Feb. 25 in East Lansing, Mich.   The Sooners are led by defending Big 12 champion Sam Hazewinkel, who is 33-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 in the nation.  Also in the top five for OU is second-ranked 141-pound wrestler Teyon Ware, who is 29-2 on the season and 149-pound wrestler Matt Stornilo, who is 29-3 this year.  Oklahoma is 1-4 on the year, with its lone Big 12 dual win coming Feb. 5 against Missouri, 18-14. 

 

Scouting Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State, the defending Big 12 Conference champions, have continued their excellence from last season with a 21-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking.  Three Cowboys are No. 1 at their respective weight classes, including 149-pound wrestler Zack Esposito, who is 29-1 on the year, 29-1 174-pound wrestler Chris Pendleton, and 30-0 heavyweight Steve Mocco.  Two other OSU wrestlers, Jake Rosholt and Johny Hendricks, are ranked in the top three in their weight classes.  Second-ranked 197-pound wrestler Rosholt is 27-2 on the year, while third-ranked 165-pound wrestler Hendricks is 20-4 on the year.

 

Last Year at Big 12’s: March 6, 2004: Nebraska-2nd

Despite not having an individual champion for the second straight year, the Nebraska wrestling team finished second at the 2004 Big 12 Championships with four Husker wrestlers finishing as runners-up.  125-pound wrestler and eventual national champion Jason Powell and eventual All-Americans Matt Murray (141), Travis Shufelt (149) and Jacob Klein (165) all finished second in their respective weight classes.  In addition, three Huskers, Matt Keller at 133 pounds, 157-pound wrestler B.J. Wright and 197-pound wrestler B.J. Padden, all finished third.

 

Pascoe Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week After 2-0 Weekend

Senior Travis Pascoe became the second Husker to be named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 22 after a 2-0 weekend.  The senior from Rathdrum, Idaho defeated Air Force’s Luke Lefever by major decision, 17-7, on Feb. 18 at the Devaney Center Track and third ranked Kurt Backes of Iowa State, 9-6, at the NU Coliseum on Feb. 19.  That continues a run of success for Pascoe that stretches back to Dec.  Pascoe built a 21-match winning streak that spanned from Dec. 3 to Feb. 12.

 

Pascoe earned his 21st straight win with his 11-4 win over Clay Kehrer of Oklahoma State Feb. 10 at the NU Coliseum.  This marks the second year in a row Pascoe has had a win string of 20 or more.  He started the 2003-04 season on a 23-match winning streak.  Pascoe enters this week’s competition with a 22-2 record on the season.  Pascoe earned a 7-4 victory over Matt Pell to start Nebraska’s dual against Missouri on Jan. 29,  stretching his winning streak to 20 matches.  Pascoe’s winning streak ended with a 13-11 overtime loss to Oklahoma’s Justin Dyer on Feb. 12. 

 

Pascoe’s win over Pell comes after a pair of wins on Jan. 22 in the state of North Carolina.  Pascoe was the first of three straight Huskers to win by fall to close NU’s 35-12 win over North Carolina State.  The senior from Rathdrum, Idaho pinned Jeremy Colbert with 11 seconds to go in the first period.  Earlier in the day, he defeated Justin Dobies of North Carolina, 14-7.

In North Carolina, Pascoe built on the dominance he showed at the Virginia Duals,where he earned three major decision victories and one win by technical fall. He capped his trip to Hampton, Va., with a 19-9 major decision win over 17th-ranked Andy Rios of Indiana.

 

Murray First Husker to be Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week This Season

Senior 141-pound wrestler Matt Murray was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 15 for his two wins over ranked opposition in the previous week.  Murray defeated 18th-ranked Daniel Frishkorn of Oklahoma State, 9-4, on Feb. 10 against Oklahoma State.  He followed that with an upset of second-ranked Teyon Ware of Oklahoma in overtime, 3-1.  Murray, who began the season considering a redshirt year, has a 22-2 record on the year. 

 

Wright Has Right Stuff for NU This Season

With his 11-5 win over Kody Hamrah of North Carolina State Jan. 22, B.J. Wright gave the Huskers a lead in the dual that they would not give up for the fourth time this season.  Wright’s win gave the Huskers an 11-9 lead. 

 

Wright gave Husker fans a glimpse into his future heroics in the first dual of the season Nov. 19 against Hofstra. After Travis Shufelt defeated nationally-ranked Jon Masa at 149 pounds, the Huskers were still down to Hofstra, 17-15, with two matches left in the dual. Wright gave Nebraska the lead for good in a spectacular third period which earned Wright an 8-2 win over Hofstra’s James Strouse.Strouse and Wright were tied at 2-2 entering the third period. Wright chose down, then scored an escape 19 seconds into the period to take a 3-2 lead. Then, in the match’s last 10 seconds, Wright scored a takedown and a two-point near fall. With the riding time bonus point, Wright won 8-2.

 

In NU’s second dual, a 20-15 win over then-No. 10 West Virginia, Wright, then the ninth-ranked 157-pound wrestler, knocked off No. 6 Matt Lebe. An escape 16 seconds into the second period gave Wright the lead, and he rode Lebe for the duation of the third period.

 

On Jan. 4 against Minnesota, after Nebraska and the Gophers split the first two matches of the dual, Wright pinned Minnesota’s Nik Lentz with 59 seconds left in the first period. NU would win four of the next seven matches to defeat the Gophers for the first time since Jan. 9, 1996.

 

Wright also nearly sparked the Huskers to an upset of No. 1 Oklahoma State with his pin of Kevin Ward, which gave a NU a 12-8 lead in the dual.  That lead held until the final match, when Oklahoma State took a 19-18 lead after Steve Mocco’s major decision win at heavyweight.

 

Huskers Tough to Beat in State of Nebraska

Nebraska enjoys a home-mat advantage in its home state that they look to capitalize on at the 2005 Big 12 Wrestling Championships.  Nebraska has won 21 of last 22 matches in Lincoln, dating back to Jan. 7, 2003.  The only home defeat during that time was a 19-18 defeat against Oklahoma State on Feb. 10 at the  NU Coliseum.  Hosting the conference championship has also been advantage for the Huskers.  Though they finished 4th the last time they hosted the conference championships in 2000, the time previous to that, the 1995 Big Eight Conference Championships, saw the Huskers earn the Big Eight title at the NU Coliseum on March 8, 1995. 

 

Nebraska Fans Fill the Coliseum and Devaney Track for NU Wrestling

For the second straight year, the attendance for Nebraska wrestling has gone up.  For the first time in three years, the Huskers drew over 1,000 fans per dual.  NU averaged 1,209 fans per home wrestling dual, highlighted by the 3,442 fans that attended the Huskers’ dual against Oklahoma State.  Last season, Nebraska fell just shy of 1,000 fans per dual, averaging 927 fans per night.  That number was up from Nebraska’s average attendance of 2002-03 of 561.

 

Huskers Reach Heights in Last Three Years

Over the last three years, Nebraska has an overall dual record of 54-12-1, which is the best three-year run of wrestling at NU in school history.  Never before in Nebraska wrestling history has the program amassed 50 dual wins in three consecutive years.  The closest the program came was from 1994-97, when the Huskers earned a 47-18-1 mark.  If the Huskers finish in the top two this weekend, it will be only the second time in school history that Nebraska has finished in the top two in the conference consecutive years.  The only time that it has happen are the 1995 and ?96 season, when the Huskers followed a 1995 Big Eight Championship with a runner-up finish in the final Big Eight Wrestling Championships in 1996.

 

Ruiz, Vering Shine at 2005 Gramma Cup in Cuba

Former NU wrestlers Justin Ruiz and Brad Vering were among the four U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers to earn medals at the 2005 Gramma Cup in Cuba.  Wrestling at the 96 kg weight class, Ruiz won the gold, while Vering earned the silver at the 84 kg weight class.

 

Up Next

The Nebraska wrestling team will take the next week off from competition as those who qualify (top three in each weight class plus six wild cards) prepare for the 2005 NCAA Championships, to be held on March 17-19 at the Saavis Center in St. Louis, Mo.