Dwyer, Brester Advance to Big 12 Finals

Norman, Okla. -  The Nebraska wrestling team qualified a pair of finalists to compete for  conference titles, as Stephen Dwyer (174) and Craig Brester (197) each won their semifinals matches during the first session of the 2010 Big 12 Championship on Saturday afternoon in Norman, Okla.

Dwyer, the No. 1 seed at 174 pounds, won a defensive 2-1 battle over Iowa State's Duke Burk to reach the finals for the third straight year. Dwyer is in pursuit of his first Big 12 title and will face Oklahoma's Mike Benefiel in the championship round, a quick rematch of the Feb. 12 meeting that Dwyer won, 4-0.

Brester is looking to defend his 197-pound title after a 6-1 semifinal win over Oklahoma's Eric Lapotsky. With the victory, Brester will wrestle Iowa State's top-ranked Jake Varner in the finals. Brester defeated Varner in last year's Big 12 title match, but has dropped the last two meetings.

Nebraska won 4-of-8 first round matches to qualify six wrestlers for semifinals, as Brester and Dwyer earned first round byes.

David Klingsheim (125), Tyler Koehn (157), Josh Ihnen (184) and Tucker Lane (Hwt) will compete for third place in the consolation finals, while C.J. Napier (133), Mike Koehnlein (141), Dustin Payne (149) and James Nakashima (165) are still alive in the double-elimination tournament.

The second session begins with consolation matches at 4 p.m., followed by finals at 4 p.m.

Team Standings (through first session)
1. Iowa State-51
2. Oklahoma State-49
3. Oklahoma-33
4. Nebraska-16
4. Missouri-16

Nebraska Results
First Session
125 Pounds
First Round: #4 David Klingsheim (NU) wins by decision vs. #5 Eric Wilson (MU), 4-2
Semifinals: #1 Andrew Long (ISU) wins by fall over #4 David Klingsheim (NU), 4:36

133 Pounds
First Round: #5 Nathan McCormick (MU) wins by decision over #4 C.J. Napier (NU), 3-1 (OT)

141 Pounds
First Round: #5 Dalton Jensen (ISU) wins by major decision over #4 Mike Koehnlein (NU), 11-2

149 Pounds
First Round: #4 Nicholas Hucke (MU) wins by fall over #5 Dustin Payne (NU), 4:27

157 Pounds
First Round: #5 Tyler Koehn (NU) wins by major decision over #4 Patrick Wright (MU), 11-2
Semifinals: #1 Shane Vernon (OU) wins by decision over #5 Tyler Koehn (NU), 4-1

165 Pounds
First Round: #4 Tyler Caldwell (OU) wins by decision over #5 James Nakashima (NU), 5-0

174 Pounds
Semifinals: #1 Stephen Dwyer (NU) wins by decision over #4 Duke Burk (ISU), 2-1

184 Pounds
First Round: #4 Josh Ihnen (NU) wins by decision over #5 Erich Schmidtke (OU), 8-3
Semifinals: #1 Max Askren (MU) wins by decision over #4 Josh Ihnen (NU), 2-1

197 Pounds
Semifinals: #2 Craig Brester (NU) wins by decision over #3 Eric Lapotsky (OU), 6-1

Heavyweight
First Round: #4 Tucker Lane (NU) wins by decision over #5 Nathan Fernandez (OU), 3-1 (OT)
Semifinals: #1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) wins by decision over #4 Tucker Lane (NU), 5-3