Huskers Send Six to Nationals

Columbia, Mo.- The Nebraska wrestling team had six wrestlers qualify for the 2007 NCAA Championships and finished fourth with 46 team points at the 2007 Big 12 Championships at the Hearnes Center on Saturday.

Iowa State won the team championship with 66.5 team points, topping Oklahoma State with 61.5 points and Missouri with 61 points in a hotly contested three -team battle for the Big 12 crown.

Six Huskers punched their ticket to nationals with a top-three finish. Four Huskers were finalists, including Paul Donahoe (125), Dominick Moyer (141), Chris Oliver (157) and Craig Brester (197), while true freshmen Stephen Dwyer (165) and Jordan Burroughs (149) finished third. Meanwhile, senior 174-pound wrestler Marc Harwood was selected as the first alternate to the wild card spot.

In the 125-pound final, Oklahoma’s Sam Hazewinkel defeated Donahoe by major decision, 12-3. Hazewinkel led 5-0 after the first period and 8-0 after the second. Still, Donahoe earns his second career trip to the NCAA Championships and will head to his home state of Michigan with a 30-5 record. His 30 wins this season tie Mike Eierman for ninth in NU history for wins by a sophomore and marks the first 30-win season by a Husker since Jason Powell went 35-6 in 2002-03.

At 141 pounds, Moyer’s comeback bid fell just short as he lost in the finals at 141 pounds to Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State, 6-3. Morgan built a 4-1 lead through two periods, but an escape and a penalty point awarded to Moyer after Morgan was called for a second time for stalling cut Morgan’s lead to 4-3 with 10 seconds remaining in the match. Morgan scored a late takedown to win, 6-3. Moyer will make his third career trip to the NCAA Championships with a 26-6 record.

Oliver fell at 157 pounds by major decision to Trent Paulson of Iowa State, 11-1. Paulson built a 5-1 lead through the first period and a 10-1 lead through the second period. Oliver’s second-place finish clinches for him his first career trip to the NCAA Championships. Oliver is 19-6 on the year and has won six of his last seven matches.

At 197 pounds, Max Askren of Missouri defeated Brester, 3-2. Askren took a 2-1 lead with a reversal with 1:31 remaining in the match, then added a point for his riding time advantage. Brester heads to nationals for the first time in his career with a record of 17-5 on the season.

Burroughs captured third place at 149 pounds with a 16-6 major decision win over Josh Wagner of Missouri. Burroughs scored two takedowns in each of the first two periods and three more in the third period while giving up no takedowns to build his lead. Burroughs qualifies for the NCAA Championships as a true freshman with a 15-11 record.

Dwyer also punched his ticket to nationals as a true freshman with a 10-8 overtime win over Matt Pell of Missouri in the third-place match at 165 pounds. Dwyer came back from an 8-2 deficit to tie Pell, 8-8, with a takedown with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. In the sudden victory period, Dwyer scored a takedown with 28 seconds to go to earn the victory. Dwyer heads to the NCAA Championships with an 18-11 record.

Marc Harwood finished fourth at 174 pounds after losing to Iowa State’s Grant Turner, 5-3. Turner broke a 3-3 tie with a takedown of Harwood with 18 seconds remaining in the match. Earlier in the evening, Harwood defeated Oklahoma’s Josh Weitzel, 4-0. After a scoreless first period, Harwood took a 3-0 lead with a three-point near fall late in the second period and added a point for his 1:59 riding time advantage. Harwood was selected as the first alternate for a wild-card bid to nationals.

Levi Wofford saw his season end after a 9-4 loss at 184 pounds to Jake Jensen of Oklahoma State. Jensen scored four takedowns to secure the win over Wofford, who ends his redshirt freshman season with a record of 13-17.

Cameron Browne also saw his season end after a 12-3 major decision loss to Mark Ellis of Missouri in a consolation match at heavyweight. Browne, who came into the year wrestling at 197 pounds, saw his first season at NU end with a 12-11 record.

2007 Big 12 Championships Results
Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
Session II Attendance-3,165
Outstanding Wrestler-Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma
Team Standings-
1-Iowa State-66.5
2-Missouri-61.5
3-Oklahoma State-61
4-Nebraska-46
5-Oklahoma-44

125 Pounds
Paul Donahoe (NU) by dec. over Nick Fanthorpe (ISU), 5-3
Sam Hazewinkel (OU) by major dec. over Paul Donahoe (NU), 12-3

141 Pounds
Dominick Moyer (NU) by dec. over Kyle Terry (OU), 3-1
Nathan Morgan (OSU) by dec. over Dominick Moyer (NU), 6-3

149 Pounds
Jordan Burroughs (NU) by dec. over B.J. Jackson (OSU), 3-1
Matt Storniolo (OU) by dec. over Jordan Burroughs (NU), 7-3
Jordan Burroughs (NU) by major dec. over Josh Wagner (MU), 16-6

157 Pounds
Chris Oliver (NU) by dec. over Michael Chandler (MU), 3-2
Trent Paulson (ISU) by major dec. over Chris Oliver (NU), 11-1

165 Pounds
Stephen Dwyer (NU) by major dec. over Shane Siebert (OU), 11-2
Johny Hendricks (OSU) by dec. over Stephen Dwyer (NU), 8-5
Stephen Dwyer (NU) by dec. over Matt Pell (MU), 10-8 (SV1)

174 Pounds
Grant Turner (ISU) by dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 3-2
Marc Harwood (NU) by dec. over Josh Weitzel (OU), 4-0
Grant Turner (ISU) by dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 5-3

184 Pounds
Josh Hinton (OU) by dec. over Levi Wofford (NU), 4-3
Jack Jensen (OSU) by dec. over Levi Wofford (NU), 9-4

197 Pounds
Craig Brester (NU) by tech. fall over Joel Flaggert (OU), 17-2; 6:27
Max Askren (MU) by dec. over Craig Brester (NU), 3-2

Heavyweight
Brad Farmer (OU) by dec. over Cameron Browne (NU), 9-5
Mark Ellis (MU) by major dec. over Cameron Browne (NU), 12-3