Six Huskers Advance to Big Ten Semifinals

Iowa City, Iowa – Nebraska advanced six wrestlers to the Big Ten semifinals after Session I at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday. The Huskers are in third place as a team with 63 points behind Penn State (74 points) and Iowa (68).

The Huskers unleased a dominant first round, winning all eight of their matches with two byes. NU recorded two pins and three technical falls during the opening round to jump out to an early lead in the team standings.

Junior Collin Jensen (HWT) opened with a pin against Purdue’s Tyler Kral in 3:12 before knocking off No. 3 seed Sam Stoll of Iowa by major decision, 14-5. Jensen, the No. 6 seed, raced out to a 10-0 lead after the first period and never looked back against the pesky Hawkeye.

Tim Lambert (125) and Jake Sueflohn (149) also notched a pair of bonus-point wins. Lambert defeated Maryland’s Michael Beck by technical fall before dismantling fifth-seeded Elijah Oliver of Indiana in the quarterfinals, 14-1. Sueflohn earned a technical fall over Michigan State’s Kaelan Richards before downing Indiana’s Luke Blanton in the quarterfinals by major decision.

All-American TJ Dudley (184) pinned Michigan State’s Shwan Shadaia in 2:07 in the first round. Dudley, the No. 4 seed, took down fifth-seeded Nick Gravina of Rutgers by an 8-2 decision in the quarterfinals.

No. 5 seed Aaron Studebaker (197) opened with a 6-2 decision over Maryland’s Garrett Wesneski before winning by technical fall over No. 4 seed Max Huntley of Michigan, 17-2.

No. 5 seed Eric Montoya (133) opened with a technical fall against Michigan State’s Garth Yenter and followed it up with a 6-3 decision over No. 4 seed Geoff Alexander of Maryland to advance to the semifinals.

Austin Wilson (165) and Micah Barnes (174) each won first-round matches, but lost by decision in the quarterfinals. Anthony Abidin (141) and Tyler Berger (157) each received first-round byes, but fell in the quarterfinals by decision. All four remain alive in the consolation brackets.

Session II of the Big Ten Championships starts tonight at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Big Ten Championships
March 5-6, 2016
Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Iowa City, Iowa

125 pounds
First Round: #4 Tim Lambert (NEB) tech. fall Michael Beck (MD), 15-0
Quarterfinals: #4 Tim Lambert (NEB) major dec. #5 Elijah Oliver (IND), 14-1

133 pounds
First Round: #5 Eric Montoya (NEB) tech. fall #12 Garth Yenter (MSU), 15-0
Quarterfinals: #5 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. #4 Geoff Alexander (MD), 6-3

141 pounds
First Round: #6 Anthony Abidin (NEB) Bye
Quarterfinals: #3 Anthony Ashnault (RUT) dec. #6 Anthony Abidin (NEB), 5-2

149 pounds
First Round: #3 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) tech. fall Kaelan Richards (MSU), 21-6
Quarterfinals: #3 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) major dec. Luke Blanton (IND), 11-2

157 pounds
First Round: #7 Tyler Berger (NEB) Bye
Quarterfinals: #2 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) dec. #7 Tyler Berger (NEB), 14-11

165 pounds
First Round: #6 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. Dean Vettese (MSU), 4-1
Quarterfinals: #3 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) dec. #6 Austin Wilson (NEB), 3-1

174 pounds
First Round: #6 Micah Barnes (NEB) dec. #11 Aaron Calderon (MICH), 10-3
Quarterfinals: #3 Zac Brunson (ILL) dec. #6 Micah Barnes (NEB), 6-2

184 pounds
First Round: #4 TJ Dudley (NEB) pin Shwan Shadaia (MSU), 2:07
Quarterfinals: #4 TJ Dudley (NEB) dec. #5 Nick Gravina (RUT), 8-2

197 pounds
First Round: #5 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) dec. Garrett Wesneski (MD), 6-2
Quarterfinals: #5 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) tech. fall #4 Max Huntley (MICH), 17-2

Heavyweight
First Round: #6 Collin Jensen (NEB) pin Tyler Kral (PUR), 3:12
Quarterfinals: #6 Collin Jensen (NEB) major dec. #3 Sam Stoll (IOWA), 14-5