Huskers take Penguin Classic Title in First Tournament Win of the Season

Struthers, Ohio - The No. 2 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers claimed the championship in its first tournament of the 2025-26 season at the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic, going 12-1 with a total pinfall of 14,152 and a 211.2 average.

Match one of bracket play had the Huskers as the two seed, taking on the one seed and No. 1 team in the land, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Starting for the Big Red were Brenna Hartzler, Abigail Starkey - making her freshman debut, Desiree Buchert, Haley Swindle, and Jillian Martin. In game one of the match, Nebraska got off to a slow start with three open frames, falling in 206-163 as the Gamecocks took game one and a 1-0 match lead. Game two saw Kayla Starr check in for Buchert at the beginning of the contest. In the beginning, it looked as though game two would share a similar story as the first, but sound adjustments led to a strong rebound as the Huskers struck six straight to take game two 221-201, evening the match 1-1. In game three, NU returned to form, leaving no open frames and striking five straight to end the game with a score of 224-195 and taking the match lead 2-1. Game four saw some more struggles with the Huskers leaving four open frames on their way to finishing behind the Gamecocks in a 233-148 trouncing, and evening the match to two games apiece. Lani Breedlove checked in for Martin for the third ball thrown in the 10th of that game, notching a strike in her first appearance of the weekend. In game five, Martin checked back in for Breedlove, throwing a strike in her first frame back, while Breedlove would slot in for Hartzler. Playing with the lineup yielded a 213-172 victory for the Big Red as they took a 3-2 match lead into the decisive game six. In that game, NU was able to gain the edge as Jacksonville State would start off with three straight open frames, allowing the Huskers to take game six with ease 216-157 to win the match 4-2 and claim an auto-bid to the final.

With a spot in the final already secured, the Big Red would take on Walsh in a match with no bracket implications. Game one saw the Huskers post a clean game with no open frames, handily taking a 1-0 match lead with a scoreline of 215-126. Game two was a similar story, resulting in a 223-136 victory and moving the match lead to 2-0. Game three was a strike short of perfection, ending in a 279-130 score in favor of NU, who struck 11 times, marking their highest pinfall and strike count in a game in the tournament thus far. Game four completed the sweep, with the Huskers taking the match 4-0 behind a 211-193 performance, setting up the Huskers to compete for the tournament championship in the final against No. 6 Arkansas State.

In the championship final against the four-seed Red Wolves, NU would sub Karina Capron for Breedlove to start game one. The Huskers would take the first game by a slim margin of 196-192 to get off to a 1-0 match lead to start. Game two saw Desiree Buchert check in for Jillian Martin for the last ball thrown in the 10th, but the Big Red was bested by Arkansas State 222-183 to tie the series at one game apiece. In game three, Nebraska was able to battle back and take the series lead at 2-1 with a 223 - 216 win. Game 3 was a low-scoring affair, but the Huskers were able to come out on top 183-177 to extend their lead to 3-1. Arkansas State rebounded in game five with a 226-212 performance, cutting the NU lead to 3-2. The Red Wolves kept the momentum going into game six, winning 224-190 and forcing the decisive game seven. In the final game to determine the tournament champion, the Huskers were clutch, striking six straight and eight total to the tune of a 255-186 stomping to take the series and the tournament crown.

Three Huskers finished in the top 25 for individual performances. Martin was fourth with a pinfall of 1,166 and a 233.2 average, Hartzler was tenth with a pinfall of 1,075 and an average of 215.0, and Karina Capron finished sixteenth with 1,039 and a 207.8 average. Two Huskers received tournament honors, with Martin being selected to the All-Tournament team and Starkey being named Tournament MVP in her college debut.

The Big Red is back in action Oct. 24-26 as they travel to Orlando, Fla., for the Destination Orlando Tournament hosted by No. 11 Sacred Heart.

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