Huskers Score Two Victories at Nebraska Duals
The fifth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team scored a pair of season-opening victories over ranked Division II foes as part of the Nebraska Duals on Thursday night. The event featured the Huskers, 24th-ranked Chadron State, Hastings College and fourth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
The Big Red first grappled with Chadron State. The 1,477 fans in attendance at the Devaney Center had barely taken their seats before redshirt freshman Alex Thomsen (125) pinned Tate Stoddard in their 58-second match. The Huskers then scored decisions in their next five bouts. Zak Hensley (133), Christian Miller (141) and Caleb Licking (149) all secured victories before Johnny Blankenship (157) triumphed over fifth-ranked Chase Clasen 7-4. Following a closely-contested bout at 165 between Tate Allison and junior Dalton Peters, returning All-American Mikey Labriola (174) needed only 13 seconds to pin Gavin Eason. A sixth-place finisher at the 2019 NCAA Championships, the third-ranked Labriola began his sophomore campaign in style.
Colton Wolfe (184) needed an extra period but came away with a 4-2 victory by taking down Terry Winstead in overtime. NU then closed out their first dual victory of the night with consecutive technical falls. Eric Shultz (197) stormed his way to 26-10 win over 10th-ranked Wade French before Christian Lance (HWT) overwhelmed Mason Watt 25-9 to give the Huskers a 37-3 win.
Following a brief intermission, the Huskers squared off against the Lopers of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) in a matchup of squads ranked in the top five of their respective divisions by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. No. 5 Nebraska got off to another fast start when Thomsen (125) followed up his pin with a 17-6 major decision over John Portillo. Hensley (133) didn't surrender a point to Scott Fulsos, winning 6-0. Perhaps the most exciting match of the night followed. Returning All-American and sixth-ranked Chad Red Jr. (141) battled second-ranked Wesley Dawkins. Not 30 seconds into the match, Dawkins had Red on his back, with the latter doing everything in his power to avoid a pin. Red was able to navigate his way out of trouble, yielding near fall points in the process. From that point forward, Red scored two takedowns and four near fall points on his way to a 10-7 triumph.
Peyton Robb (157) won his match against Jacob Wasser by injury default before fifth-ranked Isaiah White (165) made his season debut. The returning All-American faced Matt Malcom, the top-ranked Division II wrestler in his weight class, and earned a hard-fought 6-4 decision. Following White's match (at the conclusion of which UNK was deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct), the Huskers got pins from Labriola (174), fourth-ranked Taylor Venz (184) and David Jensen (HWT) in addition to Eric Shultz's second technical fall victory of the night. When all was said and done, the Huskers walked away with a resounding 47 - -1 win.
Nebraska has a quick turnaround, as the team travels to Troy, N.Y. for the Journeymen/Defense Soap Wrestling Collegiate Classic on Sunday. Competition is slated to begin at 8 a.m. Central time and will take place at Hudson Valley Community College.
Full Nebraska Duals match results can be seen below.
#5 Nebraska 37, #24 Chadron State 3
125: Alex Thomsen (NEB) pinned Tate Stoddard (CHA) (0:58) (NEB 6, CHA 0)
133: Zack Hensley (NEB) dec. Brandon Kile (CHA) 9-4 (NEB 9, CHA 0)
141: Christian Miller (NEB) dec. Joseph Ritzen (CHA) 12-7 (NEB 12, CHA 0)
149: Caleb Licking (NEB) dec. Caleb Haskell (CHA) 7-1 (NEB 0, CHA 15)
157: Johnny Blakenship (NEB) dec. #5 Chase Clasen (CHA) 7-4 (NEB 18, CHA 0)
165: Tate Allison (CHA) dec. Dalton Peters (NEB) 3-1 (NEB 18, CHA 3)
174: #3 Mikey Labriola (NEB) pinned Gavin Eason (CHA) (0:13) (NEB 24, CHA 3)
184: Colton Wolfe (NEB) sv-1 Terry Winstead (CHA), 4-2 (NEB 27, CHA 3)
197: Eric Schultz (NEB) tech fall #10 Wade French (CHA) 26-10 (NEB 32, CHA 3)
HWT: Christian Lance (NEB) tech fall Mason Watt (CHA) 25-9 (NEB 37, CHA 3)
#4 UNK 54, Hastings 0
125: Josh Portillo (UNK) dec. Max Stevens (HAS) 15-11 (UNK 3, HAS 0)
133: Scott Fulsos (UNK) pinned Edrich Nortje (HAS) (5:32) (UNK 9, HAS 0)
141: #2 Wesley Dawkins (UNK) pinned Zac Charity (HAS) (2:08) (UNK 15, HAS 0)
149: Teontae Wilson (UNK) dec. Austin Mitchell (HAS) 9-7 (UNK 21, HAS 0)
157: Jacob Wasser (UNK) pinned Taygen Smith (HAS) (2:27) (UNK 24, HAS 0)
165: #1 Matt Malcolm (UNK) pinned Anthony Espinoza (HAS) (1:38) (UNK 30, HAS 0)
174: Terrell Garraway (UNK) pinned Shaun Van Der Torre (HAS) (3:18) (UNK 36, HAS 0)
184: Talon Seitz (UNK) pinned Jayden Miller (HAS) (2:01) (UNK 42, HAS 0)
197: Jace Lacaille (UNK) pinned Nolan Wandersee (HAS) (1:16) (UNK 48, HAS 0)
HWT: Lee Herrington (UNK) pinned Marco Valdiva (HAS) (0:57) (UNK 54, HAS 0)
#5 Nebraska 47, #4 UNK -1
125: Alex Thomsen (NEB) major dec. Josh Portillo (UNK) 17-6 (NEB 4, UNK 0)
133: Zach Hensley (NEB) dec. Scott Fulsos (UNK) 6-0 (NEB 7, UNK 0)
141: #6 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #2 Wesley Dawkins (UNK) 10-7 (NEB10, UNK 0)
149: Collin Purinton (NEB) tech. fall Teontae Wilson (UNK) 18-5 (NEB 15, UNK 0)
157: Peyton Robb (NEB) inj. def. Jacob Wasser (UNK) (1:58) (NEB 21, UNK 0)
165: #5 Isaiah White (NEB) dec. #1 Matt Malcom (UNK) 6-4 (NEB 24, UNK -1)*
174: #3 Mikey Labriola (NEB) pinned Talon Seitz (UNK) (2:09) (NEB 30, UNK -1)
184: #4 Taylor Venz (NEB) pinned Terrell Garraway (UNK) (3:24) (NEB 36, UNK -1)
197: Eric Shultz (NEB) tech. fall Jace Laicille (UNK) 27-11 (NEB 41, UNK -1)
HWT: David Jensen (NEB) pinned Lee Herrington (UNK) (2:57) (NEB 47, UNK -1)
*UNK deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
#24 Chadron State 45, Hastings 3
125: Tate Stoddard (CHA) pinned Max Stevens (HAS) (3:37) (CHA 6, HAS 0)
133: Brandon Kile (CHA) pinned Edrich Nortje (HAS) (5:57) (CHA 11, HAS 0)
141: Zac Charity (HAS) dec. Joseph Ritzen (CHA) 6-3 (CHA 11, HAS 3)
149: Caleb Haskell (CHA) major dec. Austin Mitchell (HAS) 9-0 (CHA 15, HAS 3)
157: #5 Chase Clasen (CHA) dec. Taygen Smith (HAS) 8-2 (CHA 18, HAS 3)
165: Tate Allison (CHA) pinned Anthony Espinoza (HAS) (3:48) (CHA 24, HAS 3)
174: Gavin Eason (CHA) maj. dec. Shaun Van Der Torre (HAS) 14-2 (CHA 28, HAS 3)
184: Terry Winstead (CHA) pinned Joseph Felix (HAS) (0:27) (CHA 34, HAS 3)
197: #10 Wade French (CHA) tech. fall Nolan Wandersee (HAS) 15-0 (CHA 39, HAS 3)
HWT: Mason Watt (CHA) pinned Marco Valdiva (1:21) (CHA 45, HAS 3)
Huskers Head to New York for Collegiate Classic
Following a pair of season-opening dual victories against in-state foes, the Nebraska wrestling team is headed to the east coast to compete in the Journeymen/Defense Soap Collegiate Classic on Sunday. The competition begins at 8 a.m. CST and will take place at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y.
The Huskers are coming off two dominant performances at the Nebraska Duals on Thursday. In their first action of the season, the Huskers cruised past No. 24 Chadron State (Division II) 37-3. Alex Thomsen (125) and #3 Mikey Labriola (174) recorded pins in 58 and 13 seconds, respectively, while Eric Schultz (197) and Christian Lance (HWT) registered technical falls.
In their second match of the evening, NU did not concede a single team point, defeating No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney (Division II) 47-(-1), as Nebraska-Kearney was deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Big Red registered three pins (#3 Mikey Labriola (174), #4 Taylor Venz (184) and David Jensen (HWT)), two technical falls (Collin Purinton (149) and Eric Schultz (197)) and one major decision (Alex Thomsen (125)). In addition, returning All-Americans #6 Chad Red Jr. (141) and #5 Isaiah White (165) made their season debuts and earned decisions over top-two ranked opponents in their respective weight classes.
The Journeymen/Defense Soap Collegiate Classic is an individual tournament. The Huskers will send 15 wrestlers (listed below) altogether and each will compete in their respective weight class. The Collegiate Classic features wrestlers from No. 8 Arizona State, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 25 Old Dominion, No. 20 Oklahoma, Bloomsburg, Brown, Davidson, George Mason, Hofstra, Indiana, Lock Haven, Long Island, The Citadel and Utah Valley.
Fans can watch the action on FloWrestling (subscription required). Results will also be posted on @HuskerWrestling throughout the day.
JourneyMen/Defense Soap Collegiate Classic Lineup:
125: Alex Thomsen
133: Zak Hensley
141: Christian Miller
141: #6 Chad Red Jr.
149: Caleb Licking
149: Collin Purinton
157: John Blankenship
157: Peyton Robb
165: Dalton Peters
165: #5 Isaiah White
174: #3 Mikey Labriola
184: #4 Taylor Venz
197: Eric Schultz
285: David Jensen
285: Christian Lance