Huskers Take Down Bison to Complete Weekend Sweep

Fargo, N.D.-- The No. 16 Nebraska wrestling team completed a weekend sweep of two duals on Sunday when it took down the North Dakota State Bison, 31-6, at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo, N.D.

The Huskers, who defeated South Dakota State on Saturday, remained perfect in dual competition this season improving to 7-0, with six of those wins coming on the road. The loss dropped North Dakota State's record to 1-2. In their two duals this weekend, the Huskers recorded eight major decisions and one technical fall, while outscoring their two opponents by a combined score of 68-9.

Following a loss by Shawn Nagel (NU) at 125 pounds, Nebraska won the last nine matches to put away the Bison. No. 17 Ridge Kiley (133) got the streak started with his second major decision victory of the season after he beat Justin Solberg (NDSU), 10-2.

True freshman Jake Sueflohn (141) gave the Huskers a 7-6 lead with his 4-0 decision over Tyler Diamond (NDSU). No. 11 Sueflohn improved his record to 13-3 on the season and joined eight other Husker wrestlers to win both of their matches over the weekend.

Nebraska received two more decision victories after Sueflohn when Brandon Wilbourn (149) was victorious against Mark Erickson (NDSU), 12-6, and No. 14 James Green (157) defeated No. 15 Steven Monk (NDSU), 9-3. The victory was Green's second over Monk this season after defeating him 7-6 in the consolation finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Redshirt freshman Robert Kokesh (165) won his 11th match this season in bonus-point fashion with his major decision win over Tyler Johnson (NDSU). The Wagner, S.D. native fell behind 2-0 after an early Johnson takedown, but Kokesh responded with an escape, a takedown and a 2-point nearfall to gain control of the match in the first period. Kokesh owns a 14-2 record so far this year and has won all seven dual matches.

Junior Tyler Koehn (174) used a second period surge to defeat Kurtis Julson (NDSU) and extended the Huskers' lead to 20-6. Koehn held a one-point advantage after the first period, but recorded an escape and a takedown in the second period to extend his lead to 5-1. Fellow junior Josh Ihnen (184) used four first-period takedowns to defeat Mac Stoll (NDSU), 11-4.

Seniors James Nakashima (197) and Tucker Lane (Hwt) finished off the dual by each recording a major decision. Nakashima defeated John Gusewelle (NDSU), 10-2, for his ninth win of the year, while Lane dominated Evan Knutson (NSDU), 10-1. With the victory, Lane has now won 13 matches this season and is now nine victories away from becoming the 20th member of the 100-win club in Nebraska history.

The Huskers return to action on Thursday, Dec. 29, when they travel to Tempe, Ariz., for a pair of matches against Boise State and Arizona State. Check back to Huskers.com for more coverage of the Nebraska wrestling team.

Complete Results
Bison Sports Arena, Fargo, N.D.
Attendance: 649

#16 Nebraska 31, North Dakota State 6
125- #16 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) by fall over Shawn Nagel (NU), 1:57 (NU 0, NDSU 6)
133- #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) by major dec. over Justin Solberg (NDSU), 10-2 (NU 4, NDSU 6)
141- #11 Jake Sueflohn (NU) by dec. over Tyler Diamond (NDSU), 4-0 (NU 7, NDSU 6)
149- Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by dec. over Mark Erickson (NDSU), 12-6 (NU 10, NDSU 6)
157- #14 James Green (NU) by dec. over #15 Steven Monk (NDSU), 9-3 (NU 13, NDSU 6)
165- #5 Robert Kokesh (NU) by major dec. over Tyler Johnson (NDSU), 11-3 (NU 17, NDSU 6)
174- Tyler Koehn (NU) by dec. over Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 7-3 (NU 20, NDSU 6)
184- #10 Josh Ihnen (NU) by dec. over Mac Stoll (NDSU), 11-6 (NU 23, NDSU 6)
197- James Nakashima (NU) major dec. over John Gusewelle (NDSU), 10-2 (NU 27, NDSU 6)
Hwt - #10 Tucker Lane (NU) by major dec. over Evan Knutson (NDSU), 10-1 (NU 31, NDSU 6)