Five Huskers Place Third at U23 Trials

Akron, Ohio - Five members of the 2017-18 Nebraska wrestling team placed third at their respective weight classes at the 2018 USA Wrestling U23 Freestyle World Team Trials in Akron, Ohio.

Colton McCrystal (65 kg/143 pounds), a senior on last year's team, as well as rising senior Tyler Berger (70 kg/154 pounds), sophomore Taylor Venz (86 kg/190 pounds), sophomore Eric Schultz (92 kg/202 pounds) and junior David Jensen (125 kg/276 pounds) each took home third-place honors at the tournament after emerging victorious in third-place matches.

McCrystal earned third place with a pin over Brock Zacherl of Clarion RTC in 5:29. He reached the quarterfinal round before dropping his only match of the tournament, but responded with four-consecutive wins in the consolation bracket.

Berger, a two-time All-American, defeated Paul Fox of Stanford by an 8-4 decision to win third place. Berger also defeated Fox in a dual meet this season, and defeated him in the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships to claim All-America status. Berger reached the semifinal round before falling, but responded with back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket.

Venz defeated Max Dean of Cornell by a score of 15-12 in the third-place match. The All-American also defeated Dean at this season's NCAA Championships. Venz made it to the semifinal round in the tournament and found a pair of wins in the consolation rounds.

Schultz won a 9-0 decision over Christian Brunner of Boilermaker RTC to take third place. He reached the semifinals before dropping a 3-2 decision to eventual champion Michael Macchiavello of Wolfpack Wrestling Club.

At the heavyweight division, Jensen fell in the quarterfinal round, but earned four victories in the consolation bracket, including a 10-9 win over David Orndoff of Utah Valley RTC in the third-place match.

Zemua Baptista, Collin Purinton, Kyle Ruettiger, Luke Weber and Dalton Peters also competed at the U23 Trials, but did not place.