No. 6 Huskers Outlast No. 4 Gophers
Huskers.com
The No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team took down No. 4 Minnesota behind the efforts of three upset victories for the Big Red, winning the dual 21-13. Head coach
Mark Manning notched his 300th dual win at Nebraska, and the Huskers improved to 6-1 (1-0 Big Ten) while handing the Gophers (4-1, 0-1 Big Ten) their first loss of the season.
The Saturday afternoon crowd of 3,518 at the Devaney Center set the stage for the Big Ten home opener, and the Huskers came out on top in the top-10 matchup, taking seven of 10 bouts and three of four top-10 ranked individual matches.
Starting at 157, the Huskers’ fifth-ranked
Antrell Taylor took on No. 10 Tommy Askey. The pair traded escapes in the first two periods, and went scoreless in the third to force overtime. Taylor took control quickly into the sudden victory period, and claimed the win with a takedown. The sophomore notched his 14th victory of the season, sixth ranked win, and three points for the Big Red. It was Askey’s first loss of the season.
Next,
Christopher Minto faced No. 9 Andrew Sparks at 165. Minto struck first with a two-point reversal in the second period. Trailing in the third, Minto scored a takedown to take the lead at 5-4. He held that lead to the end of the period, scoring the second victory for Nebraska, and extending the overall lead to 6-0. The win was Minto’s 13th of the season, and the upset was the second of his career to topple a ranked opponent.
On the mat at 174 was No. 16
Lenny Pinto and Minnesota’s No. 24 Clayton Whiting. Two takedowns gave Pinto the 6-2 lead entering the second period. A penalty and escape in the third, along with riding time, gave Pinto the 9-3 decision.
With a 9-0 lead for the Huskers, No. 6
Silas Allred faced No. 4 Max McEnelly at 184. Allred scored with six escapes in the match, but fell to undefeated McEnelly in a major decision, 16-6, putting four on the board for the Gophers.
At 197,
Camden McDanel faced off against the Gopher’s No. 9 Isaiah Salazar. McDanel wasn’t able to secure any points in the match, and lost in a major decision with Salazar’s ride time point, 8-0.
Following a brief intermission, heavyweights No. 24
Harley Andrews and No. 1 Gable Steveson met on the mat. Steveson, a two-time NCAA champ at 285, dominated the bout dealing Andrews three takedowns and scoring himself another four points with nearfall. The Husker scored on escapes, but the Gopher's tech. fall streak remains intact after Steveson won 19-4.
Back up at 125, No. 7
Caleb Smith took on No. 5 Cooper Flynn. After a scoreless first two periods, Smith scored a late escape and the riding time point to take the Huskers’ fourth win of the dual, and cut the Gopher lead to one at 13-12. Smith handed Flynn his first dual loss of the season.
Trailing by one, the Huskers sent No. 19
Jacob Van Dee out to face No. 11 Tyler Wells at 133. Van Dee took the lead in the second period with an escape, entering the third period 1-0. A late takedown in the final period gave Van Dee the 4-1 decision, as well as the lead for the Huskers in their third upset of the dual.
With a 15-13 lead, Nebraska’s No. 6
Brock Hardy took the mat against No. 8 Vance VomBaur. Both came out firing early, but it was Hardy who took the early lead at 6-5 in the second period. An escape, takedown, and a late reversal propelled Hardy to a third consecutive decision for the Big Red, winning 12-10.
The final match of the night was between No. 5
Ridge Lovett and No. 21 Drew Roberts, with Nebraska holding a five-point lead in the dual, 18-13. After a scoreless first period, Lovett got on the board with a takedown in the second. Another point for an escape, as well as riding time, secured the 5-0 shutout for Lovett and the 21-13 win for Huskers.
UP NEXT
The Huskers stay home to host top-ranked Penn State on Friday, Jan. 17. The Big Ten dual is set to start bouts at 8 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on BTN. Dubbed “Coach’s Challenge,” the matchup aims to set an attendance record at Devaney, taking on the Nittany Lions in Lincoln for the first time in five years.
No. 6 Nebraska 21, No. 4 Minnesota 13
157: No. 5 Antrell Taylor dec. No. 10 Tommy Askey (MINN) SV-1, 4-1 (NEB 3, MINN 0)
165: Christopher Minto dec. No. 9 Andrew Sparks (MINN) 5-4 (NEB 6, MINN 0)
174: No. 16 Lenny Pinto dec. No. 24 Cam Whiting (MINN) 9-3 (NEB 9, MINN 0)
184: No. 4 Max McEnelly (MINN) major dec. No. 6
Silas Allred 16-6 (NEB 9, MINN 4)
197: No. 9 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) major dec. No. 22
Camden McDanel 8-0 (NEB 9, MINN 8)
HWT: No. 1 Gable Steveson (MINN) tech. fall No. 24
Harley Andrews 19-4 (3:32) (NEB 9, MINN 13)
125: No. 7 Caleb Smith dec. No. 5 Cooper Flynn (MINN) 2-0 (NEB 12, MINN 13)
133: No. 19 Jacob Van Dee dec. No. 11 Tyler Wells (MINN) 4-1 (NEB 15, MINN 13)
141: No. 6 Brock Hardy dec. No. 8 Vance VomBaur (MINN) 12-10 (NEB 18, MINN 13)
149: No. 5 Ridge Lovett dec. No. 21 Drew Roberts (MINN) 5-0 (NEB 21, MINN 13)
