Huskers in Second Place After First Two Sessions of Big Ten Championships

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team racked up 102.5 points and sits in second place after the first two sessions of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday. The Huskers' entire lineup advanced to quarterfinal matches and Eric Schultz (197) will compete for an individual title on Sunday afternoon. 

Session I  

Alex Thomsen, seeded No. 10 at 125 pounds, was the first NU wrestler to compete on Saturday morning. Thomsen defeated Liam Cronin (Indiana) 17-12, avenging a 4-1 loss in their Feb. 9 matchup in Bloomington, Ind. Thomsen advanced to the quarterfinals, where he met Purdue's Devin Schroder. Schroder, seeded No. 2 and ranked No. 6 nationally, defeated Thomsen by technical fall, 15-0. 

Ridge Lovett (133), making his first career Big Ten Championships appearance, pinned Minnesota's Boo Dryden in his first match of the day. Lovett, seeded No. 6, then squared off with Iowa's Austin DeSanto. The two met on the mat in Iowa City, Iowa, on Jan. 18, with DeSanto walking away a 7-4 winner. The rematch was even closer, but DeSanto once again earned the victory, this time by a score of 1-0. 

Chad Red Jr. (141) ran his winning streak to five consecutive matches with two wins in Session I. Red, seeded No. 4 at 141 pounds, earned a major decision (12-2) victory over Indiana's Eddie Bolivar before topping Tristan Moran (Wisconsin) 10-4, advancing to the semifinals and avenging a Jan. 12 loss to Moran. 

No. 7 seed Collin Purinton (149) pinned Griffin Parriott (Purdue) in the second tiebreaker period in his first match of the day. He then met No. 2 seed Pat Lugo of Iowa in the quarterfinals, who defeated Purinton by major decision, 11-3. 

Peyton Robb (157), also seeded No. 7, scored a 14-3 major decision victory against Maryland's Jahi Jones to advance to the quarterfinals, where he met No. 2 seed Kaleb Young (Iowa). Young topped Robb 6-4 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena back on Jan. 18, but it was Robb who emerged victorious this time around, scoring a 3-2 upset victory to advance to the semifinals in his first career Big Ten Championships appearance. 

Isaiah White (165) pinned Purdue's Nate Limmex before squaring off against Ethan Smith (Ohio State) for a third time this season. White won the first two matchups and was victorious once again on Saturday, using a 5-2 decision to advance to the semifinals as the No. 4 seed. 

Mikey Labriola (174) needed only 33 seconds to record a pin against Max Maylor (Michigan) in his first match of the day. A quarterfinal matchup with Minnesota's Devin Skatzka followed. The two met on the mat in the regular season finale on Feb. 21, a 7-2 decision for Skatzka. A similar result occurred on Saturday afternoon, with Skatzka scoring a 6-2 victory over the fifth-seeded Labriola.

No. 4 seed Taylor Venz (184) was solid in Session I, scoring 18 points in a technical fall victory over Indiana's Jake Hinz before defeating No. 5 seed Billy Janzer 9-3 in the quarterfinals. 

Eric Schultz (197), the highest-seeded (No. 2) Husker, had a first-round bye before taking on Hunter Ritter (Minnesota). Schultz recorded a fall in the closing seconds of the first period to advance to Saturday night's semifinals. 

Rounding out the Husker lineup was David Jensen (HWT). Jensen, the No. 5 seed, defeated Jake Kleimola (Indiana) 7-3 before falling to Trent Hillger 7-2 in the quarterfinals. 

Session II - Consolation Matches 

Alex Thomsen (125) started Session II with a solid 11-3 major decision victory over Wisconsin's Eric Barnett, who pinned Thomsen back on Jan. 12. Thomsen advanced to the third round of consolation matches, where he defeated Logan Griffin (Michigan State) by a 5-2 decision. He'll wrestle in the consolation semifinals on Sunday. 

Ridge Lovett (133) kept the positive momentum going for NU, pinning Purdue's Travis Ford-Melton for the second time this season to join Thomsen in the third round of consolation matches, where he fell to Rutgers' Sammy Alvarez, 9-3. 

Collin Purinton (149) was the third Husker to advance to the third round of consolation matches when he defeated Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) 5-2. A 6-3 victory over Alex Hrisopoulos (Michigan State) meant Purinton will wrestle in the consolation semifinals on Sunday  

Mikey Labriola (174) also advanced, putting forth a dominant performance to defeat Willie Scott (Rutgers) by technical fall, 18-3. He then scored a 17-7 major decision victory over Layne Malczewski (Michigan State), meaning he will join Thomsen and Purinton in Sunday's consolation semifinals. 

David Jensen (HWT) scored a 5-0 decision over Christian Rebottaro (Michigan State) and advanced to face Luke Luffman (Illinois). Jensen punched his ticket to the consolation semifinals by defeating Luffman, 6-1. 

Session II - Semifinal Matches

Chad Red Jr. (141) faced No. 1 seed Nick Lee (Penn State) in a rematch of their Jan. 24 meeting, a 9-1 major decision victory by Lee. The match was much closer this time around, but Lee prevailed again, winning 7-5. 

Peyton Robb (157) narrowly lost (3-2) to Kendall Coleman of Purdue and Isaiah White (165) also came up short against Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), dropping a 6-3 decision. 

Aaron Brooks (Penn State) avenged a 9-5 loss to Taylor Venz (184) on Jan. 24 by pinning Venz in their semifinal bout on Saturday night. 

Eric Schultz (197) was able to muscle past Penn State's Shakur Rasheed 4-3 and will wrestle in Sunday afternoon's finals. Schultz will look to become NU's first Big Ten champion since former Husker and current assistant coach Robert Kokesh won the Big Ten crown at 174 pounds back in 2015. 

Session III, which will include the consolation semfinals as well as the seventh, ninth and 11th place matches, begins at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday and can be streamed online via BTN+ and FloWrestling (subscriptions required). Session IV, which includes the championship finals, will start at 2:30 p.m., with television coverage provided by BTN. 

Big Ten Championships 
Sessions I & II 
March 7, 2020
Piscataway, N.J. (Rutgers Athletic Center) 

125 Pounds: No. 10 Alex Thomsen 
First Round: Alex Thomsen (NEB) dec. Liam Cronin (Indiana), 17-12 
Quarterfinals: Devin Schroder (PUR) tech. fall Alex Thomsen (NEB), 15-0  
Second Cons. Round: Alex Thomsen (NEB) major dec. Eric Barnett (WIS), 11-3  
Third Cons. Round: Alex Thomsen (NEB) dec. Logan Griffin (MSU), 5-2
Cons. Semifinals: Alex Thomsen (NEB) v. Jack Medley (MICH)

133 Pounds: No. 6 Ridge Lovett 
First Round: Ridge Lovett (NEB) pinned Boo Dryden (MINN) (0:33)
Quarterfinals: Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Ridge Lovett (NEB), 1-0
Second Cons. Round: Ridge Lovett (NEB) pinned Travis Ford-Melton (PUR) (4:29)
Third Cons. Round: Sammy Alvarez (RU) dec. Ridge Lovett (NEB), 9-3 
7th-Place Match: Ridge Lovett (NEB) v. Joey Silva (MICH)

141 Pounds: No. 4 Chad Red Jr. 
First Round: Chad Red Jr. (NEB) major dec. Eddie Bolivar (IND), 12-2  
Quarterfinals: Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. Tristan Moran (WIS), 10-4
Semifinals: Nick Lee (PSU) dec. Chad Red Jr., 7-5 
Cons. Semifinals: Chad Red Jr. (NEB) v. Max Murin (IOWA)

149 Pounds: No. 7 Collin Purinton 
First Round: Collin Purinton (NEB) pinned Griffin Parriott (PUR) (8:59) 
Quarterfinals: Pat Lugo (IOWA) major dec. Collin Purinton (NEB), 12-2 
Second Cons. Round: Collin Purinton (NEB) dec. Jarod Verkleeren (PSU), 5-2
Third Cons. Round: Collin Purinton (NEB) dec. Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU), 6-3
Cons. Semifinals: Collin Purinton (NEB) v. Kanen Storr (MICH)

157 Pounds: No. 7 Peyton Robb 
First Round: Peyton Robb (NEB) major dec. Jahi Jones (MD), 14-3
Quarterfinals: Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. Kaleb Young (IOWA), 3-2
Semifinals: Kendall Coleman (PUR) dec. Peyton Robb (NEB), 3-2
Cons. Semifinals: Peyton Robb (NEB) v. Jake Tucker (MSU)

165 Pounds: No. 4 Isaiah White 
First Round: Isaiah White (NEB) pinned Nate Limmex (PUR) (6:02) 
Quarterfinals: Isaiah White (NEB) dec. Ethan Smith (OSU), 5-2
Semifinals: Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) dec. Isaiah White (NEB), 6-3 
Cons. Semifinals: Isaiah White (NEB) v. Danny Braunagel (ILL)

174 Pounds: No. 5 Mikey Labriola
First Round: Mikey Labriola (NEB) pinned Max Maylor (MICH) (0:33) 
Quarterfinals: Devin Skatzka (MINN) dec. Mikey Labriola (NEB), 6-2
Second Cons. Round: Mikey Labriola (NEB) tech. fall Willie Scott (RU), 18-3
Third Cons. Round: Mikey Labriola (NEB) major dec. Layne Malczewski (MSU), 17-7 
Cons. Semifinals: Mikey Labriola (NEB) v. Dylan Lydy (PUR) 

184 Pounds: No. 4 Taylor Venz 
First Round: Taylor Venz (NEB) tech. fall Jake Hinz (IND), 18-0  
Quarterfinals: Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. Billy Janzer (RU), 9-3 
Semifinals: Aaron Brooks (PSU) pinned Taylor Venz (NEB) (4:00)
Cons. Semifinals: Taylor Venz (NEB) v. Rocky Jordan (OSU)

197 Pounds: No. 2 Eric Schultz 
First Round: BYE
Quarterfinals: Eric Schultz (NEB) pinned Hunter Ritter (MINN) (2:52) 
Semifinals: Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. Shakur Rasheed (PSU), 4-3
Championship: Eric Schultz (NEB) v. Kollin Moore (OSU)

285 Pounds: No. 5 David Jensen   
First Round: David Jensen (NEB) dec. Jake Kleimola (IND), 7-3
Quarterfinals: Trent Hillger (WIS) dec. David Jensen (NEB), 7-2
Second Cons. Round: David Jensen (NEB) dec. Christian Rebottaro (MSU), 5-0
Third Cons. Round: David Jensen (NEB) dec. Luke Luffman (ILL), 6-1 
Cons. Semifinals: David Jensen (NEB) v. Tony Cassioppi (IOWA)      

Team Scores (Points): 

1. Iowa (121.5) 
2. Nebraska (102.5)
3. Ohio State (94)
4. Penn State (93.5)
5. Purdue (77.5)
6. Michigan (64.5)
7. Northwestern (63)
8. Minnesota (56)
9. Michigan State (52)
10. Wisconsin (48)
11. Illinois (45.5)
12. Rutgers (24.5)
13. Indiana (11.5)
14. Maryland (0)