Huskers Head West for Stanford Duals

No. 10 Nebraska (2-0, 1-0) vs. Utah Valley (1-3)
Burnham Pavilion (1,400) • Stanford, Calif. • Saturday, Nov. 30 • 1 p.m. CT
Series History: Nebraska leads, 1-0-0
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 22-12, on Jan. 15, 2011, in Grand Prairie, Texas

No. 10 Nebraska (2-0, 1-0) vs. No. 18 Stanford (6-1)
Burnham Pavilion (1,400) • Stanford, Calif. • Saturday, Nov. 30 • 2:45 p.m. CT
Series History: Nebraska leads, 2-0-0
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 19-17, on Jan. 15, 2011, in Grand Prairie, Texas

No. 10 Nebraska (2-0, 1-0) vs. CSU-Bakersfield (2-1)
Burnham Pavilion (1,400) • Stanford, Calif. • Saturday, Nov. 30 • 4:30 p.m. CT
Series History: Nebraska leads, 4-1-0
Last Meeting: Nebraska lost, 14-27, on Feb. 12, 2000, in Bakersfield, Calif.

The No. 10 Nebraska wrestling team (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) travels to Stanford, Calif. to face Utah Valley, No. 18 Stanford and CSU-Bakersfield on Saturday at Burnham Pavilion.

The three matchups are part of the Stanford Duals, which start at 1 p.m. CT. The Huskers open with Utah Valley in the second all-time meeting between the schools. NU looks to ride momentum from a near-perfect weekend where the Huskers won nine matches against South Dakota State en route to a 36-6 win on the road.

The Huskers grapple with No. 18 Stanford at 2:45 p.m. and will wrestle CSU-Bakersfield at 4:30 p.m. 

Nebraska’s 2013 All-Americans Robert Kokesh (174) and James Green (157) are expected to start at the Stanford Duals. Green did not compete in South Dakota last weekend, but Kokesh earned his third pin of the season against the Jackrabbits.

No. 5 Jake Sueflohn is projected to start at 149 pounds for the Huskers in addition to Tim Lambert (No. 15 at 125), Colton McCrystal (133), Anthony Abidin (141) and Collin Jensen (HWT).

Nebraska could start multiple wrestlers at 165, 184 and 197 pounds this weekend. At 165 pounds, No. 20 Austin Wilson or Micah Barnes will get the nod. Either TJ Dudley or Aaron Studebaker could see time at 184 pounds, while 197 is between Spencer Johnson and Caleb Kolb.

Check Huskers.com after the Stanford Duals for a recap with results of each matchup.

Last Time Out: Huskers Cruise to 36-6 Win Over Jackrabbits
No. 11 Nebraska won nine weight classes en route to a 36-6 victory over South Dakota State at Frost Arena on Sunday, Nov. 24. With the win, Head Coach Mark Manning picked up his 200th career victory.

No. 15 Tim Lambert opened the dual with a 9-1 major decision over the Jackrabbits’ Isaac Andrade. After a first-period takedown for Nebraska’s 125-pounder, Lambert added a reversal in the second period and two takedowns in the third period.

Newcomers Colton McCrystal (133) and Anthony Abidin (141) continued Nebraska’s momentum by each notching decisions. McCrystal, a true freshman, defeated Brance Simms of South Dakota State, 8-3, before Abidin took down Eric Orozco, 9-3.

No. 6 Jake Sueflohn (149) extended the lead to 14-0 with his 13-0 major decision over Alex Kocer before Nebraska suffered its first loss of the dual. At 157 pounds, John Svoboda was pinned by the Jackrabbits’ Cody Pack in 4:47, but the Huskers took a 14-6 lead into the halfway break.

Nebraska responded at 165 pounds as Austin Wilson grinded out a 6-2 decision over Joe Brewster. Wilson took a 2-1 lead after a first-period takedown and held the same advantage after the second period. Wilson added an additional takedown in the third period and earned a riding time point for the final score.

Junior Robert Kokesh, a Wagner, S.D. native, led from start to finish before pinning John Nething II in 6:53. Kokesh, the No. 4 wrestler in the country at 174 pounds, improves to 7-0 on the season.

At 184 pounds, TJ Dudley earned a 9-1 major decision over Ben Schwery. Dudley improved to 8-1 with the win and earned his third major decision of the season.

Spencer Johnson won at 197 pounds before Collin Jensen earned a pin at heavyweight to close out the dual. Johnson posted a 6-2 decision over Trey Hable, while Jensen, a Mobridge, S.D. native, earned his pin in 1:43.

Scouting the Utah Valley Wolverines
Utah Valley is 1-3 on the season with tournament appearances at the Cowboy Open (Nov. 2) and Colorado Mesa Open (Nov. 9), which were both non-team scored events. The Wolverines lost their season-opening dual to then-No. 24 Central Michigan, 27-9, on Nov. 15. Utah Valley dropped duals against Michigan State, 21-18, and Ohio, 26-13, before winning its most recent outing against Gardner-Webb, 29-12. All three matchups were part of the Eastern Michigan Duals on Nov. 16.

Jade Rauser is Utah Valley’s highest ranked wrestler, earning the No. 13 position at 125 pounds. The Wolverines could see multiple lineup possibilities at 125, 141, 157, 184 pounds and heavyweight. Chasen Tolbert (133), Trevor Willson (149), Curtis Abner Cook (165), Monte Schmalhaus (174) and Derek Thomas (197) are all expected to start.

The Wolverines are coached by Greg Williams, who is in his eighth season as head coach at Utah Valley. He holds a 54-50 record at the school. Utah Valley Assistant Coach Justin Ruiz is a former Husker wrestler who earned All-America honors twice. Ruiz, who is in his second season coaching the Wolverines, garnered a pair of fifth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003.

Scouting the Stanford Cardinal
No. 18 Stanford is 6-1 following an 18-13 win over then-No. 25 Central Michigan on Monday. The Cardinal opened the season with three dominating victories over California Baptist, Menlo and Air Force. On Nov. 16, Stanford took down then-No. 15 Maryland at home, 17-16, before defeating then-No. 17 Michigan, 21-13, on Nov. 24. That same day, the Cardinal suffered their first loss of the season in a 18-16 setback to Eastern Michigan.

No. 3 Ryan Mango (133) headlines Stanford’s list of ranked wrestlers this season. Evan Silver is No. 11 at 125 pounds and Jim Wilson is 15th at 165 pounds. Silver or Tommy Pawelski will get the start at 125 pounds as one of six weight classes where one of two wrestlers could start. At 141 pounds, Peter Russo or Matt Garelli is projected to start. Either Maxwell Hvolbek or Donovan Halpin is expected to represent Stanford at 149 pounds, while Bret Baumbach or Peter Galli will see time at 157 pounds. The starting spot at 174 pounds is between Kyle Meyer or Zach Nevills, and 197 could be either Dan Scherer or Michael Sojka. Thomas Kimbrell is projected to start at 184 pounds and Josh Marchok is expected to start at heavyweight.

Stanford is coached by Jason Borrelli, who is in his sixth season as head coach of the Cardinal. Borrelli holds a 48-54-3 record at the school.

Scouting the CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners
CSU-Bakersfield is 2-1 and will be making its first competitive appearance in two weeks. The Roadrunners fell to Cal Poly in their season-opening dual, 25-6, on Nov. 7. On Nov. 15, CSU-Bakersfield notched victories over Grand Canyon, 32-4, and Appalachian State, 21-18. CSU-Bakersfield has also competed in three tournaments this season. On Nov. 17, they finished fourth at the Roadrunner Open after taking eighth at the Fresno City College Bill Musick Open on Nov. 9. In addition, the SFSU 21 & Under Tournament took place Nov. 3 as a non-team scored event.

The Roadrunners’ lone ranked wrestler is No. 15 Bryce Hammond at 174 pounds. CSU-Bakersfield could start one of three wrestlers at 125 pounds, Zach Zimmer, Sergio Mendez or Matt Correa. At 133 pounds, either Ian Nickell or Jose Mendoza will see time. The rest of the starters are Timmy Box (141), Dalton Kelley (149), Spencer Hill (157), David Meza (165), Sean Pollock (184), Reuben Franklin (197) and Sammy Cervantes (HWT).

CSU-Bakersfield is coached by Mike Mendoza, who is in his fourth season as head coach. Mendoza holds a 15-21 record.

Newcomers Look to Continue Momentum
Newcomers Anthony Abidin (141) and Colton McCrystal (133) both earned victories in each of their first two dual matches for Nebraska and are each projected to start this weekend at the Stanford Duals.

McCrystal, a true freshman, posted a 7-6 overtime win over Northwestern’s Dominick Malone two weeks ago before defeating South Dakota State’s Brance Simms by an 8-3 decision last weekend. Abidin, a sophomore, took down Pat Greco by a 7-2 decision against the Wildcats and notched a 9-3 decision over the Jackrabbits’ Eric Orozco on Sunday. In addition, Abidin finished second at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 3.

In all, the Huskers added 11 newcomers in the offseason and have 13 returning letterwinners from last year.

Huskers in the Rankings
Nebraska has five wrestlers ranked in InterMat’s latest poll, released on Nov. 26. Juniors James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each garnered the No. 4 ranking in their respective weight classes. Fellow junior Jake Sueflohn is fifth at 149 pounds, while redshirt freshman Tim Lambert is 15th at 125 pounds and Austin Wilson is No. 20 at 165 pounds.

The WIN Magazine rankings were released on Nov. 25 and feature five Huskers in its poll as well. Kokesh and Green are each fourth, while Sueflohn rounds out the top five at 149 pounds. Wilson is No. 15 and Caleb Kolb garnered the No. 16 spot at 197 pounds.

In the Amateur Wrestling News poll, released on Nov. 26, six Huskers achieved top-20 rankings. Green leads the way with a No. 3 ranking as Kokesh is fourth and Sueflohn is No. 6. Lambert is ranked 15th at 125 pounds, Colton McCrystal is No. 15 at 133 pounds and Collin Jensen is 18th at heavyweight.

As a team, Nebraska is ranked in the top 10 of the InterMat, WIN Magazine and USA Today/NWCA/Amateur Wrestling News Coaches rankings. The Huskers are eighth in the InterMat poll, seventh in WIN Magazine and 10th in the Coaches poll.

Huskers Sign Six Wrestlers for 2014-15
The Nebraska wrestling team announced the addition of six wrestlers on Wednesday, Nov. 20, who signed national letters of intent for the 2014-15 season.

“We are extremely excited to add these six young men,” Head Coach Mark Manning said. “They all possess a tremendous passion for our sport, and are focused to be champions on and off the mat. Our staff really put a lot of time and effort into recruiting these young men and we feel so positive about each one, and the success they will have through the culture of our program. They will represent Nebraska and our program in a first-class manner, and compete at high standards.”

Nick Bennett - Novi, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) – 149/157
Bennett is ranked 97th on InterMat’s Top-100 Recruits list and No. 15 in the country at 152 pounds. He placed third at the 2013 Super 32 Challenge and won the 145-pound title at the 2013 Grappler Fall Classic in Michigan. Before moving to Michigan, Bennett won two state titles at St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. After his final year at Detroit Catholic Central in Novi, Mich., Bennett is projected to wrestle at 149 or 157 pounds for Nebraska.

Derek White - Edmond, Okla. (Edmond North) – 197
White signs with the Huskers while finishing his career at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Okla. White has a career mark of 91-33 and holds the Edmond North school record for takedowns with 212 over the span of his career. A 2013 state champion and 2011 state runner-up, White is ranked fourth in the country at 195 pounds by InterMat and No. 77 overall. He finished third at the 2013 Junior National Freestyle Championships in Fargo, N.D., and earned runner-up honors at the 2013 Super 32 Challenge.

Colton Adams - Scottsbluff, Neb. (Scottsbluff) – 141
Adams enters his senior year at Scottsbluff High School in Nebraska having captured three consecutive Class B state titles. Last season, Adams capped a 53-1 season with the 132-pound crown after winning at 126 pounds as a sophomore with a 37-3 mark. He won the 112-pound title as a freshman at Scottsbluff. Adams is ranked 12th at 132 pounds by InterMat and 64th in the country. He finished third at the 2012 Walsh Ironman and took fourth at the 2013 Super 32 Challenge.

Dustin Williams - Gardner, Kan. (Gardner Edgerton) – 157/165
Williams is a three-time state placer with a 119-11 career record at Gardner Edgerton in Kansas. Last season Williams capped a perfect 43-0 season with his second state title. He won the Rocky Mountain Nationals and finished fifth at the 2013 USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals at 160 pounds. Williams is projected to wrestle at 157 or 165 pounds at Nebraska.

Hayden Tuma - Boise, Idaho (Centennial) - 141
A senior at Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho, Tuma is ranked 11th in the country by InterMat and No. 3 at 138 pounds. Tuma has won three state titles and holds a career high school record of 125-4. He has won two Reno Tournament of Champions titles and is one of two current high school wrestlers in the nation to make the Greco-Roman World Team three years in a row.

Tyler Berger - Prineville, Ore. (Crook County) – 149/157
Berger is a three-time state champion at Crook County High School in Oregon and holds a career record of 150-3. Berger is ranked 44th by InterMat across all weight classes and 10th in the country at 152 pounds. He won the 148-pound title of the High School Elite Division at the 2013 Freak Show Tournament. Berger is projected to wrestle at either 149 or 157 pounds for the Huskers.

Huskers Show Depth at Wrestle-Offs
Nebraska held its annual Wrestle-Offs in conjunction with the Fall Coaches Clinic at the Devaney Center on Friday, Nov. 8.

Returning All-American Robert Kokesh (174) made one appearance, winning a 17-2 technical fall over McCoy Newberg. 2013 NCAA qualifiers Jake Sueflohn (149) and Caleb Kolb (197) also competed during Wrestle-Offs and each won both of their matches.

Sueflohn opened with a pin over Luis DeAnda in 2:47 before winning by injury default over newcomer Destin McCauley. Kolb battled Spencer Johnson to extra time twice on the night, winning by a 3-2 margin on both occasions.

At 184 pounds, Aaron Studebaker and TJ Dudley split their matches against each other. Studebaker won the first battle by a 4-2 decision, while Dudley won the second showdown, 6-5.

At 125 pounds, redshirt freshman Tim Lambert defeated Shawn Nagel twice, winning the first by pin in 4:52 and the second by technical fall, 18-0. At 133 pounds, Colton McCrystal put together a pair of victories. McCrystal took down Ben Morgan, 6-1, before defeating Eric Montoya, 7-4.

Micah Barnes (165) won both of his matches, defeating Brandon Wilbourn by injury default and outlasting Ian Ousley, 12-3. At 157 pounds, John Svoboda picked up a pair of wins. Svoboda opened with a 5-2 triumph over Ousley and added a 5-2 decision over Metzler.

The heavyweights battled once on Friday night, with Nyle Bartling notching an injury default victory over Collin Jensen.

At 141 pounds, Anthony Abidin pinned Adam Joseph in 1:27 following Joseph’s 5-3 decision over Tyrell Galloway.

Huskers Face Challenging Schedule
Nebraska will make three of its 14 dual appearances on Saturday, leading up to the NCAA Championships, March 20-22, in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Huskers will also compete in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7), Reno Tournament of Champions (Dec. 22) and Big Ten Championships (March 8-9) during the season.

After taking down No. 17 Northwestern in the opening dual of the season, the Huskers will face seven additional teams that are currently ranked in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Poll, released on Nov. 26.

This weekend, the Huskers will wrestle at the Stanford Duals against Utah Valley, No. 18 Stanford and CSU-Bakersfield, starting at 1 p.m.

NU returns to Lincoln for a four-match home stand at the newly renovated Devaney Center starting on Jan. 3 against Wyoming at 7 p.m. The Huskers host Indiana (Jan. 10), Penn (Jan. 11) and No. 4 Iowa (Jan. 18) during that stretch.

The Huskers conclude the dual season with five consecutive matches against top-25 opponents. NU hits the road on Jan. 24 to face No. 8 Ohio State before traveling to No. 20 Purdue (Jan. 26) and No. 7 Illinois (Feb. 1). Nebraska’s final home dual of the season is Feb. 7 against No. 22 Michigan. The regular season finale is Feb. 21 at No. 24 Wisconsin.

BTN, BTDN to Feature Huskers Nine Times
Nebraska will appear on the Big Ten Network twice during the 2013-14 season, while making seven appearances on the Big Ten Digital Network.

The Huskers’ first BTN coverage will occur on Saturday, Jan. 18 against Iowa at the Devaney Center at 4:30 p.m. CT. Nebraska will also be on BTN for its road dual in Champaign, Ill., against Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 1. The matchup starts at 4 p.m.

The first of Nebraska’s BTDN appearances is Friday, Jan. 3 against Wyoming. The dual starts at 7 p.m., at the Devaney Center. The Huskers’ other nonconference dual on BTDN is the Jan. 11 home matchup against Penn. The start time will be announced at a later date.

NU’s first of five inner-conference BTDN appearances is Friday, Jan. 10 as the Huskers host Indiana at 7 p.m. The Huskers’ home dual against Michigan on Friday, Feb. 7 will also be on BTDN, starting at 7 p.m.

Road appearances on BTDN include matchups with Ohio State (Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.), Purdue (Jan. 26 at noon) and Wisconsin (Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.).

The Big Ten has also announced times and coverage for the Big Ten Championships, March 8-9, in Madison, Wis. Session I on March 8 starts at 10 a.m., with a stream on BTDN. Session II on the same day begins at 5 p.m., on BTDN. Sunday’s Session III commences at 11 a.m., with the third-place matches slated for 1 p.m., on BTDN. BTN will broadcast the first-place matches at 1 p.m., on Sunday.

BTDN is available at http://video.btn.com/allaccess/ and requires a subscription. All dates and times of scheduled events are subject to change and can be found on www.BTN.com.

Any changes to Nebraska’s schedule during the season can be found on Huskers.com.

Burroughs Wins Second FILA World Title
Former Husker Jordan Burroughs added to his international wrestling legacy this fall by winning the 74-kg freestyle gold medal at the 2013 FILA World Championships on Sept. 18.

Burroughs captured his third consecutive world title with the win, which includes the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal in London, England, and the 2011 FILA World Championship. His crown marks the third FILA freestyle title won by a former Husker as Bill Scherr won at 90 kg in 1985.

In the gold medal match, Burroughs defeated Iran’s Essadollah Akbari by a 4-0 decision. Burroughs took a 1-0 lead late in the first period following a push out and extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period with an additional push out. With time winding down in the match, the Sicklerville, N.J. native took down Akbari to close out the match.

Burroughs opened the tournament with a 9-2 technical fall over Gamid Dzhalilov of Tajikistan before winning 7-0 over India’s Narsingh Yadav in the second round.

After the first round of the quarterfinals, Burroughs managed a 1-0 lead over Jabrayil Hassanov of Azerbaijan. The American struck quickly in the second period, however, and extended his lead to 7-0, which stood as the final score.

Burroughs faced Ali Shabanau of Belarus in the semifinals and trailed 0-1 before a double at the end of the first period gave him the lead. Burroughs expanded his lead as Shabanau received penalties for hitting Burroughs in the face. Burroughs held on to a 6-1 lead at the five-minute mark but Shabanau received his third caution and was ultimately disqualified.

Burroughs extended his international winning streak to 65 consecutive matches with his performance in Hungary. He was a two-time NCAA champion at Nebraska and won the Hodge Trophy in 2011.

Green Competes at World University Games
Nebraska All-American James Green went 1-1 representing the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 2013 World University Games at Ak Bars Wrestling Palace on July 11.

Green, a junior from Willingboro, N.J., defeated Finland’s Petteri Martikainen, 4-0, in his opening match in the 66 kg class. Martikainen finished fifth at the 2012 World University Championships.
Nebraska’s two-time All-American was then eliminated from medal contention in the round of eight with a loss to Kyrgyzstan’s Ulukman Mamatov.

Russia’s Magomed Kubanaliev defeated Armenia’s Devid Safaryan 3-1 to capture the gold medal at 66 kg.

Green was one of seven wrestlers from Big Ten schools competing on the 14-member USA Wrestling Team at the World University Games.

Green earned his place on the USA Wrestling World University Games Team by capturing the 66 kg/145.5-pound championship at 2013 ASICS University Freestyle Nationals in Akron, Ohio in late May.

Green was one of four U.S. wrestlers competing in freestyle at the World University Games, along with Ed Ruth (Penn State, 84kg), Nico Megaludis (Penn State, 55 kg) and Tyrell Fortune (Grand Canyon, 120 kg), who earned a bronze medal for the United States.