Padden, Klein Advance to Big 12 Finals

The fifth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team sent two wrestlers to the championship finals of the 2006 Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa on Saturday.  In the team race, the Huskers currently sit in fifth with 17 team points.  Oklahoma State leads the way with 59 team points heading into the second session.

B.J. Padden advanced to his second straight 197-pound Big 12 championship match with his 10-2 major decision triumph over Missouri's Jeff Foust.  Padden took the lead with a takedown with 57 seconds left in the first period and never trailed in the match.  Padden will face Oklahoma State's Jake Rosholt, in a rematch of last year's 197-pound conference final.  Padden has beaten Rosholt in three of their last four matchups, including both matches this year.

Jacob Klein is just one win away from his career Big 12 championship after his 3-0 win over Oklahoma State's Brandon Mason.  Klein rode Mason for the duration of the second period, then, after starting the third period down, scored a reversal 28 seconds into the final frame and rode Mason for the rest of the match to earn the shutout.  Klein will face top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri in the finals, who will enter the final with a record of 38-0 on the year. 

125-pound wrestler Paul Donahoe will need a pair of wins to qualify for his first trip to the NCAA Championships after a 4-1 loss to Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott in the semifinals.  Donahoe will face fifth-seeded Ben Hanisch of Iowa State in the consolation bracket.

At 133 pounds, Patrick Aleksanyan went 1-1 in the first session of the conference tournament.  Aleksanyan, the No. 4 seed in his weight class, defeated Oklahoma's Joe Comparin, 3-1.  Aleksanyan scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the match to earn the victory.  In the semifinals, Aleksanyan lost to Oklahoma State's Nathan Morgan, 7-3.  Aleksanyan will face the winner of Iowa State's Jesse Sundell and Oklahoma's Joe Comparin in the third-place match. 

Dominick Moyer will have to rise from the consolation bracket to qualify for nationals at 141 pounds after his loss by fall to Oklahoma's Teyon Ware with 15 seconds to go in the second period in their match.  Moyer will face Tyler McCormick with the winner taking on Oklahoma State's Ethan Kyle.

Robert Sanders split his first two career matches in the Big 12 Tournament at 149 pounds.  Sanders, the No. 5 seed, dominated Josh Wagner of Missouri in a 13-4 major decision win.  In the semifinals, top-seeded Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State defeated Sanders by major decision, 12-3.  Sanders will face the winner of Wagner and Iowa State's Jason Knipp in the third-place match at 149 pounds.

In his first career Big 12 Championship match, Chris Oliver fell to Oklahoma State's Kevin Ward, 3-1, in a hard-fought match that was tied at one until Ward scored a takedown with 33 seconds to go in the match.  Oliver will face Will Rowe of Oklahoma for the right to advance to third-place match.

Marc Harwood will wrestle for third after his 11-4 loss to Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State.  Harwood will take on the winner of Jarrod King of Oklahoma, who Harwood defeated 11-4 earlier in the day, and Travis Paulson of Iowa State.

Vince Jones fell just short of qualifying for the finals at 184 pounds after an 11-10 loss to Missouri's Raymond Jordan in one of the wildest matches of the day.  Jones took a 6-3 lead with a reversal 18 seconds into the second period, but after a reversal 12 seconds later and a two-point near fall, Jordan took a 7-6 lead before Jones evened the match with an escape with 26 seconds to go in the second period. 

Jones allowed Jordan to escape on the optional start early in the third period before Jones took a 9-8 lead with a takedown with 1:50 to go in the match, but Jordan earned a reversal 19 seconds later.  Jones would escape with 37 seconds to go in the match to tie the match, but the point awarded to Jordan for his 1:27 advantage riding time gave Jordan the bid to finals.  Jones will take on Oklahoma's Justin Dyer with the winner advancing to the third-place match. 

At heavyweight, Jon May was defeated by Oklahoma's Jake Hager, 3-2, in the second tiebreaker period.  Both wrestlers scored a point in regulation and were silent in the tiebreaker period before both Hager and May escaped in the first tiebreaker period.  Both wrestlers were silent in the second sudden victory period.  In the second tiebreaker period, Hager rode May for 30 seconds, while Hager escaped with 16 seconds to go to earn the victory.  May will face Missouri's Sean Connole for the right to advance to the third-place heavyweight match. 

Wrestling resumes at 4 p.m. with the consolation matches at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. 

Big 12 Championship
125-Coleman Scott (OSU) by dec. over Paul Donahoe (NU), 4-1
133-Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) by dec. over Joe Comparin (OU), 3-1
133-Nathan Morgan (OSU) by dec. over Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 8-3
141-Teyon Ware (OU) by fall over Dominick Moyer (NU), 4:45
149-Robert Sanders (NU) by major dec. over Josh Wagner (MU), 12-3
149 -Zack Esposito (OSU) by major dec. over Robert Sanders (NU), 12-3
157-Kevin Ward (OSU) by dec. over Chris Oliver (NU), 3-1
165-Marc Harwood (NU) by dec. over Jarrod King (OU), 11-4
165-Johny Hendricks (OSU) by dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 11-4
174-Jacob Klein (NU) by dec. over Brandon Mason (OSU), 3-0
184-Raymond Jordan (MU) by dec. over Vince Jones (NU), 11-10
197-B.J. Padden (NU) by major dec. over Jeff Foust (MU), 10-2
HWT-Jake Hager (OU) by dec. over Jon May (NU), 3-2; TB2