Minneapolis, Minn. – For the first time since 2013-14, the Nebraska wrestling team will send multiple wrestlers to Big Ten Championship matches. Both Chad Red Jr. (141) and Tyler Berger (157) earned semifinal victories in Saturday night’s Session II in front of a sold-out crowd at Williams Arena.
NU Ranks Third in Team Standings
As a team, the Huskers are alone in third place in the team standings after two sessions with 84 points. NU moved up from being tied for fourth after Session I, when they had 45 points. Only Penn State (131 points) and Ohio State (111.5 points) are ahead of NU.
Six Huskers Clinch Automatic Bids to NCAA Championships
Chad Red Jr. (141), Tyler Berger (157), Isaiah White (165), Mikey Labriola (174), Taylor Venz (184) and David Jensen (285) all clinched automatic bids to the NCAA Championships with their performances in the first two sessions today.
Berger and Red Advance to Big Ten Title Bouts
#8 seed Chad Red Jr. (141) continued his red-hot day in Session II by defeating Michigan’s #5 Kanan Storr in the semifinals in a 4-1 decision. Red Jr. will take on #3 Joey McKenna of Ohio State in tomorrow’s 141-pound championship.
Senior 157-pounder Tyler Berger won his eighth straight match since losing to Penn State’s #1 Jason Nolf on Jan. 20. His 6-3 win over #6 Steve Bleise (Minnesota) put him into tomorrow’s championship bout and a chance for revenge against Nolf.
Berger and Red Jr. will attempt to become the first Husker teammates to win Big Ten Championships in the same season since James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) did so in 2014.
Venz and Schultz Fall in Semifinals
After pinning his first opponent and earning a 14-0 major decision in the quarterfinals, third-seeded Taylor Venz (184) fell just short of defeating Penn State’s #2 Shakur Rasheed. A late takedown tied up the match at five, but Shakur took the 6-5 decision because of a 1:26 advantage in riding time. Venz will attempt to get revenge from a Feb. 3 defeat against Iowa’s #5 Cash Wilcke tomorrow in the consolation round of four.
Eric Schultz (197) dropped a 10-2 major decision to #1 Bo Nickal of Penn State in his semifinal. Schultz will get to face Wisconsin’s Beau Breske in tomorrow’s consolation round of four. He needs one more win to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
White, Labriola and Jensen Respond to Adversity
Isaiah White, Mikey Labriola and David Jensen all dropped tough quarterfinal matches to fall to the consolation bracket during today’s first session. They bounced back from these losses in the best way they could, however, as they combined to go 6-0 in Saturday night’s Session II.
White took two decisions while Labriola and Jensen each pinned one of their opponents. Jensen ended his night by pinning #3 Mason Parris of Michigan. Parris is the No. 6 ranked 285-pounder in the country by InterMat. Jensen now has two top 10 victories on the season.
All three will compete in the consolation round of four during Session III tomorrow and can finish as high as third place.
Consolation Battles
#7 seed Zeke Moisey’s night ended with a 6-4 loss in the second round of consolations to #9 Devin Schroder (Purdue). The 125-pound class in the Big Ten has nine automatic bids, so Moisey will still have a chance to qualify for a bid to the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh.
#13 seeded Jevon Parrish (133) lost in an 8-3 decision to #12 Paul Konrath (Indiana) in the second round of consolations, but came back to beat him 3-2 to stay alive in the ninth-place quarterfinals. Parrish will need two wins tomorrow to qualify for an automatic NCAA Championships bid.
Jordan Shearer’s (149) bid for one of the five automatic NCAA Championships bids in his weight class came up just short as he fell in a 6-4 decision to #5 Cole Martin of Wisconsin. Shearer will have an opportunity to be selected for an at-large bid during next week’s selection show.
Session III Begins at Noon
Session III will be shown on BTN Plus and FloWrestling while fans can track live stats and see up to the minute bracket updates for all weight classes. Session III will begin at noon CT tomorrow right back at Williams Arena. Session IV begins at 3 p.m. CT and the Big Ten Network will have television coverage.
Big Ten Championships
Session II
March 9, 2019
Minneapolis, Minn. (Williams Arena)
125 Pounds: Zeke Moisey – 0-2
First Round: #10 Elijah Oliver (Indiana) pinned #7 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) (0:18)
Cons. First Round: Bye
Cons. Second Round: #9 Devin Schroder (Purdue) dec. #7 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska), 6-4
9th Place Round of 4: #7 Zeke Moisey vs. TBD
133 Pounds: #13 Jevon Parrish – 1-2
First Round: #4 Roman Bravo-Young major dec. #13 Jevon Parrish (Nebraska), 18-5
Cons. First Round: #12 Paul Konrath (Indiana) dec. #13 Jevon Parrish (Nebraska), 8-3
9th Place Quarterfinals: #13 Jevon Parrish (Nebraska) dec. #12 Paul Konrath (Indiana), 3-2
141 Pounds: #8 Chad Red Jr. – 3-0
First Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) pinned #9 Peter Lipari (Rutgers) (0:50)
Quarterfinals: #8 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec. #1 Michael Carr (Illinois), 8-4
Semifinals: #8 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec. #5 Kanen Storr (Michigan), 4-1
Championship: #8 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) vs. #3 Joey McKenna (Ohio State)
149 Pounds: Unseeded Jordan Shearer – 1-2 (DNP)
First Round: #3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. U. Jordan Shearer (Nebraska), 8-5
Cons. First Round: U. Jordan Shearer (Nebraska) pinned U. Parker Filius (Purdue) (2:42)
Cons. Second Round: #5 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) SV-1 U. Jordan Shearer (Nebraska), 6-4
157 Pounds: #2 Tyler Berger – 2-0
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: #2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. #10 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 11-5
Semifinals: #2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. #6 Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 6-3
Championship: #2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) vs. #1 Jason Nolf (PSU)
165 Pounds: #4 Isaiah White – 3-1
First Round: #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. #13 Austin Hiles (Michigan State), 8-4
Quarterfinals: #5 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska), 8-6
Cons. Second Round: #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. #14 Cole Wysocki (Purdue), 9-3
Cons. Round of 8: #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. #10 Tyler Morland (Northwestern), 8-1
Cons. Round of 4: #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska) vs. #2 Evan Wick (Wisconsin)
174 Pounds: #4 Mikey Labriola – 3-1
First Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) pinned #13 Josh Ugalde (Maryland) (0:49)
Quarterfinals: Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) pinned #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) (7:22)
Cons. Second Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) pinned #11 Carver James (Illinois) (2:22)
Cons. Round of 8: #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) major dec. #8 Drew Hughes (Michigan State), 8-0
Cons. Round of 4: #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. #3 Dylan Lydy (Purdue)
184 Pounds: #3 Taylor Venz – 2-1
First Round: #3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) pinned #14 Brendan Devine (NW) (1:52)
Quarterfinals: #3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) major dec. #6 Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 14-0
Semifinals: #2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) dec. #3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 6-5
Cons. Round of 4: #3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) vs. #5 Cash Wilcke (Iowa)
197 Pounds: #5 Eric Schultz – 2-1
First Round: #5 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) tech. fall U. Niko Capello (Maryland), 27-11 (4:57)
Quarterfinals: #5 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. #4 Christian Brunner (Purdue), 3-2
Semifinals: #1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) major dec. #5 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 10-2
Cons. Round of 4: #5 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. U. Beau Breske (Wisconsin)
Heavyweight: #7 David Jensen – 2-1
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: #2 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. #7 David Jensen (Nebraska), 8-4
Cons. Second Round: #7 David Jensen (Nebraska) dec. U. Christian Colucci (Rutgers), 4-0
Cons. Round of 8: #7 David Jensen (Nebraska) pinned #3 Mason Parris (Michigan) (3:22)
Cons. Round of 4: #7 David Jensen (Nebraska) vs. #4 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin)
Team Scores (Points):
1. Penn State (131)
2. Ohio State (111.5)
3. Nebraska (84)
4. Iowa (83.5)
5. Minnesota (76.5)
6. Wisconsin (63.5)
7. Michigan (62.5)
8. Rutgers (45.5)
9. Northwestern (43.5)
10. Purdue (38)
11. Illinois (30)
12. Michigan State (25.5)
13. Indiana (24.5)
14. Maryland (7.5)