Labriola Leads Nebraska With Third Place Finish at NCAA Championships

On the final day of the 2021 NCAA Championships, Mikey Labriola led the Huskers with a third-place finish in the 174-pound bracket. Chad Red Jr. (141) followed with a sixth-place finish as they both earned All-American honors and career-high results at the national championship tournament. 
 
Labriola met Cal Poly's #12 Bernie Truax in the third-place match to avenge his quarterfinal loss earlier in the tournament. Tied up at two headed into the third period, Labriola landed a takedown and four nearfall points to put the match out of reach for Truax. He finished with the 8-3 decision for the third-place trophy and his highest finish at the tournament after finishing sixth in 2019. 
 
In his consolation semifinal match earlier in the session, the Easton, Pa. native took a 5-4 decision over Utah Valley's two-seed Demetrius Romero to secure his spot in the battle for bronze. Down 1-3 at the start of the third period, Labriola scored two takedowns and rode out Romero to secure the win. He finished 6-1 on the week for his second NCAA tournament outing of his career. 
 
For the fifth-place match, Red Jr. met a familiar conference foe in Illinois' #14 Dylan Duncan. In the third matchup between the two this season and second in the postseason, Red Jr. fell by 3-0 decision to finish sixth. The senior met NC State's #4 Tariq Wilson in the consolation semifinals, dropping the match by major decision. He went 5-3 in the tournament, finished above his seed, improved on his 2018 seventh-place finish and is now a four-time All-American for Nebraska. 

The Huskers finished 12th overall with 38.0 points. 
  
2021 NCAA Championships 
St. Louis, Mo. | Enterprise Center 
Individual Results
 
125 pounds: #13 Liam Cronin (1-2)
First Round: #13 Liam Cronin (NEB) pinned Jake Ferri (KENT), 6:29
Second Round: #4 Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) dec. #13 Liam Cronin (NEB), 2-1
Cons. Second Round: #14 Jaret Lane (LEH) dec. #13 Liam Cronin (NEB), 13-12
 
141 pounds: #8 Chad Red Jr. (5-3)
First Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #25 Drew Mattin (MICH), 8-6
Second Round: #9 Dresden Simon (CMU) dec. #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 6-3
Cons. Second Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #7 Ian Parker (ISU), 12-8
Cons. Third Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) major dec. #18 Parker Filius (PUR), 11-3
Round of 12: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #6 Allan Hart (MIZZ), 8-7
Cons. Quarterfinals: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #10 Zachary Sherman (UNC), 5-4 TB1
Cons. Semifinals: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCST) major dec. #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 12-1
Fifth-Place Match: #14 Dylan Duncan (ILL) dec. #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 3-0
 
149 pounds: #5 Ridge Lovett (1-2) 
First Round: #5 Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. #28 Peyton Omania (MSU), 6-4 SV
Second Round: #12 Max Murin (IOWA) dec. #5 Ridge Lovett (NEB), 5-3
Cons. Second Round: #27 Josh Finesilver (DUKE) pinned #5 Ridge Lovett (NEB), 2:50

157 pounds: #28 Caleb Licking (0-2)
First Round: #5 Kaleb Young (IOWA) major dec. #28 Caleb Licking (NEB), 10-2
Cons. First Round: #21 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec. #28 Caleb Licking (NEB), 5-3
 
165 pounds: #14 Peyton Robb (2-2)
First Round: #14 Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR), 4-1
Second Round: #3 Jake Wentzel (PITT) dec. #14 Peyton Robb (NEB), 8-1
Cons. Second Round: #14 Peyton Robb (NEB) major dec. #20 Cole Moody (WYO), 15-7
Cons. Third Round: #11 Cameron Amine (MICH) dec. #14 Peyton Robb (NEB), 6-4
 
174 pounds: #4 Mikey Labriola (6-1)
First Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) def. #29 Lance Runyon (UNI), Medical Forfeit
Second Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #20 Trenton Munoz (ASU), 5-3
Quarterfinals: #12 Bernie Truax (CP) dec. #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB), 4-2
Round of 12: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #16 Clay Lautt (UNC), 8-4
Cons. Quarterfinals: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #8 Daniel Bullard (NCST), 7-4
Cons. Semifinals: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #2 Demetrius Romero (UVU), 5-4
Third-Place Match: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #12 Bernie Truax (CP), 8-3
 
184 pounds: #8 Taylor Venz (2-2)
First Round: #8 Taylor Venz (NEB) tech. fall #25 Matthew Waddell (CHAT), 19-0 (5:15)
Second Round: #8 Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. #9 Jeremiah Kent (MIZZ), 10-4
Quarterfinals: #1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) dec. #8 Taylor Venz (NEB), 9-4
Round of 12: #11 Dakota Geer (OKST) dec. #8 Taylor Venz (NEB), 8-2
 
197 pounds: #2 Eric Schultz (2-2)
First Round: #31 Owen Pentz (NDSU) pinned #2 Eric Schultz (NEB), 4:51
Cons. First Round: #2 Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. #18 Jacob Koser (NAVY), 4-2
Cons. Second Round: #2 Eric Schultz (NEB) major dec. #16 Jake Jakobsen (LEH), 10-2
Cons. Third Round: #7 Rocky Elam (MIZZ) major dec. #2 Eric Schultz (NEB), 12-3
 
285 pounds: #12 Christian Lance (1-2)
First Round: #21 Tate Orndorff (OHST) dec. #12 Christian Lance (NEB), 2-1
Cons. First Round: #12 Christian Lance dec. #28 Jon Spaulding (EDIN), 3-2
Cons. Second Round: #11 Zach Elam (MIZZ) dec. #12 Christian Lance, 3-1 SV