Tony Denke Season 1997-98

NCAA Championships
2002- Denke earned a wild card selection to earn his second career appearance at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Denke lost a 9-5 decision to Penn's Rick Springman and a 4-3 decision to Cleveland State's Gerald Harris to go 0-2.

2001-In his first career NCAA Championship appearance, Denke posted a 1-2 record, including a win over a seeded opponent. Denke started off the tournament with a dominating 11-6 win over 12th-seeded Ian Nelms from Cal State-Bakersfield. In the second round, Denke lost to fifth-seeded Matt Lackey of Illinois, 13-4. Denke's season ended in wrestlebacks with an 11-4 loss to Noel Thompson of Hofstra.

Big 12 Championships
2002-Wrestling at 174 pounds, Denke lost by fall to Oklahoma's Michael Barger in the semifinals, and by 4-3 decision to Iowa State's Nick Passolano to go 0-2 at the 2002 Big 12 Championships.

2001-For the second year in a row, Denke carded a major decision win (14-5) over Missouri's Mark Vollmar in a pigtail match to move on to face Iowa State's second-ranked Joe Heskett in the semifinals. Heskett dominated Denke with 12-2 major decision victory. Denke then took third place and earned a bid to the NCAA Championships with an injury default victory over Oklahoma State's Chris Pendleton.

2000-Denke opened the Big 12 Championships with a 14-6 major decision over Mark Vollmar of Missouri to advance into the semifinals. Denke's next opponent, Joe Heskett of Iowa State, entered the match with a 73-2 career record and a No. 1 national ranking. Denke, who was unranked and unseeded, took a 6-4 lead well into the third period. But with 90 seconds remaining, Heskett scored a takedown and earned three near-fall points, plus riding time to escape with a 10-6 win. In the third-place match, Denke was pinned at the 6:40 mark by third-seeded Robbie Waller of OSU.

Career Notes
2002-Denke entered the 2001-02 season ranked 12th in the country at 165 pounds by InterMat, but the Husker ended up splitting time between 165 and 174 during the year. He finished with a 16-10 record, including 13-4 in duals, with one pin, one technical fall and two major decisions.

2001-After competing with senior Ryan Schultz for most of the season, Denke emerged as NU's starter at 165 pounds in time for the Big 12 Championships. Denke's third-place finish in Stillwater gave him his first career NCAA Championship appearance.

At NCAAs, Denke went 1-2, which included an upset victory in the first round over Cal-State Bakersfield's 12th-seeded Ian Nelms, 11-6. Four of Denke's seven losses came against the nation's top three wrestlers, No. 1 Don Pritzlaff, No. 2 Joe Heskett and No. 3 Brad Pike. Denke's only other loss in the regular season came to Oklahoma State's then-No. 12 Chris Pendleton, 6-2. Denke trailed Pendleton by two points for most of the third period, but gave up a last-second takedown after missing on his own shots.

Before his loss in Stillwater, Denke played a key role in NU's come-from-behind, 23-20 win over Northern Iowa on Feb. 2, when he defeated Nate Lawrenz, 6-2. Denke had dropped his previous two matches to Lawrenz. At the Big 12 Championships, Denke scored a major decision over Missouri's Mark Vollmar in a pigtail match, before falling to Heskett in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Denke advanced to Iowa City with an injury default victory over Pendleton, who later claimed one of six Big 12 wild cards.

2000-A solid contributor to the Husker starting lineup, Denke sported a 6-9 dual record during the 1999-2000 season. He earned a key win over Ben Stehura in the season opener against Lock Haven to help lead the Huskers to the victory. At the Cornell Classic on Nov. 20, Denke pinned Josh Bardun of Drexel 1:41 into the match on his way to a fourth-place finish. He went 3-1 on NU's California road swing Feb. 11-12. At the Big 12 Championships, Denke nearly knocked off top-ranked Joe Heskett of Iowa State in the semifinals, but Heskett prevailed with a late takedown and near-fall points to advance.

1999-Denke saw dual action in six meets for the Huskers at 165 and 174 pounds, compiling a 1-5 record. Denke wrestled for an ill Josh Henson in two matches at the National Duals, finishing 0-2. Denke's dual win was a 6-4 victory against Air Force's Terry Parham. In open tournaments, Denke finished with a 5-4 mark, with a season-high fourth-place finish at the Great Plains Open, where he compiled a 5-1 record.

1998-Denke redshirted, competing in open tournaments at 158 pounds. Denke wrestled unattached and compiled a 13-6 record with one major decision. He finished first in the 20-and-under division at the Cowboy Open and fifth at the Kaufman-Brand Open.

Before Nebraska-Denke was a three-time state champion, recording a 205-17 career record for Coach Mike Olson at Bennett County High School. Denke closed his prep career by winning 135 consecutive matches while leading BCHS to three straight top-10 team finishes. He was an honorable-mention All-American and a three-time all-stater. A tremendous all-around athlete, Denke earned 17 letters, including five in wrestling, five in track, four in football and three in cross country. He was also an academic all-state performer in all four sports. Denke ranked fourth in his high school class with a cumulative 3.6 grade-point average.

Personal-The son of Larry and Donita Denke, Tony has two sisters, Tara and Tonya. Tony was born on Jan. 8, 1979. He majors in agribusiness.