Huskers Host Tri-Meet With Northwestern, Maryland

The Nebraska wrestling team kicks off two consecutive weekends at home on Saturday, Jan. 23 with a triangular dual against No. 25 Northwestern and Maryland at the Bob Devaney Sport Center. The Huskers meet the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. (CT), followed by the Terrapins at 3 p.m. (CT).
 
Nebraska (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) looks to return to the win column after falling to Iowa in the first road contest of the season last weekend. Mikey Labriola (174 pounds) and Eric Schultz (197 pounds) earned points for the Huskers with individual match victories over the Hawkeyes.
 
The Huskers meet the Terrapins and Wildcats in the regular season for the first time in two years. In Lincoln, NU is undefeated against this weekend’s opponents, having met Maryland three times before in Lincoln and Northwestern six times.
 
Northwestern (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten) comes to Lincoln after suffering an 8-28 loss at Purdue last weekend. Chris Cannon (133 pounds) defeated Nate Cummings by major decision and Yahya Thomas (149 pounds) earned a major decision win over Trey Kruse to start off their 2021 seasons. Last season, Northwestern finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships with Ryan Deakin (157 pounds) and Sebastian Rivera (133 pounds) earning conference titles.
 
Maryland (0-3, 0-3 Big Ten) enters Saturday’s tri-meet after falling last weekend to Michigan State and Minnesota. Kyle Cochran (184 pounds) owns the Terrapin’s lone varsity match win, a 3-2 decision over Michigan’s Joseph Walker in the team’s season opener on Jan. 10.
 
The tri-meet starts at 12 p.m. (CT) with Northwestern and Maryland wrestling first. All three duals will be streamed live online on BTN+ (subscription required).

UP NEXT

Following this weekend’s action, the Huskers host No. 22 Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 31 for the final home dual of the season.

PROJECTED LINEUPS  

 
NEBRASKA FACES THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK OF RANKED OPPONENTS
Nebraska enters its third consecutive week facing opponents ranked in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Prior to facing No. 25 Northwestern, the Huskers met No. 1 Iowa and then-ranked No. 12 Minnesota. Looking ahead in the 2021 schedule, NU faces three more opponents currently ranked in No. 15 Rutgers, No. 24 Illinois and No. 25 Michigan State.

LABRIOLA AND SCHULTZ REMAIN UNBEATED

After picking up wins in their matches against Iowa, Mikey Labriola and Eric Schultz remain undefeated in the 2021 campaign.

Labriola defeated Patrick Kennedy by 7-4 decision last Friday, earning his second win over Iowa for his career. Labriola earned his first victory of the season by fall over Minnesota’s Jake Allar. The junior has 25 career dual wins and has won 13 conference duals for Nebraska.

Eric Schultz extended his regular season win streak to six matches with a win over Iowa’s Jacob Warner last weekend. The streak began last season against Purdue’s Jared Florell. His longest win streak is nine matches, starting against Chadron State’s Wade French Nov. 7, 2019. Schultz has won 35 duals for his career as a Husker, including 22 Big Ten duals.

HUSKERS IN THE RANKINGS

Each member of the starting lineup is ranked headed into this weekend’s tri-dual, with five earning top-10 ranks. Eric Schultz tops the Huskers in the rankings, recognized as high as No. 2 at 197 pounds by InterMat and TrackWrestling. Mikey Labriola ranks as high as No. 3 by FloWrestling at 174 pounds. Chad Red Jr. (141 pounds) is rated sixth by TrackWrestling and FloWrestling. Taylor Venz (184 pounds) comes into the weekend ranked as high as No. 7. Rounding out Husker grapplers earning top-10 rankings is Liam Cronin, who has climbed to No. 8 ranks by TrackWrestling and FloWrestling.

EXTRA MATCH SUCCESS

Through the first two duals of the season, six Huskers have earned dual victories in extra matches contested prior to the varsity dual. Tucker Sjomeling (133), Ridge Lovett (141), Jevon Parrish (149), Silas Allred (197) and Cale Davidson (285) picked up match wins against the Hawkeyes last weekend while Landon Brown (285) earned a win by fall against Minnesota on Jan. 8.

HUSKERS FALL TO TOP-RANKED HAWKEYES

Mikey Labriola and Eric Schultz won their individual matches for the Huskers, but the No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team ultimately fell to No. 1 Iowa, 6-31, on Friday, Jan. 15 in Iowa City, Iowa.

No. 4 Labriola put the Huskers (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) on the board, earning a 7-4 decision over Patrick Kennedy in the 174-pound match. The junior landed his first shot, taking an early 2-0 lead that he would not surrender for the remainder of the match. Labriola scored three takedowns and an escape to pick up his second win of the season and second win over Iowa for his career.

No. 2 Schultz earned himself a top-10 win and added to the Huskers’ team total with a 3-2 decision over No. 4 Jacob Warner. In his second win over Warner in as many years, Schultz scored the lone takedown late in the third period to come away victorious in the 197-pound match.

Prior to the dual, the teams wrestled six extra matches. Nebraska finished 5-1 in the extra bouts, with Tucker Sjomeling, Ridge Lovett, Jevon Parrish, Silas Allred and Cale Davidson picking up victories.

NEBRASKA TOPS MINNESOTA IN 2021 OPENER

The Nebraska wrestling team kicked off the 2020-21 season on a high note, defeating then-ranked No. 12 Minnesota 22-14 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Jan. 8. The Huskers wrestled in two top-20 matchups and won six bouts on their way to the first victory of the season. 

 Liam Cronin started the night with a win for the Huskers at 125 pounds, defeating Patrick McKee by decision, 8-1. Cronin earned the upset victory in his first dual for Nebraska.

 Minnesota’s Boo Dryden put the Golden Gophers on the board, defeating Alex Thomsen in a 9-2 decision at 133 pounds.

 Nebraska won the next two matches as Chad Red Jr. (141 pounds) opened his senior season with a win over Marcos Polanco by decision, 4-1. Brock Hardy (149 pounds) started his Husker career off with a 9-2 decision win  over Michael Blockhus.

Minnesota took the next two matches as Brayton Lee defeated Caleb Licking in a 10-5 decision at 157 pounds and Andrew Sparks won the 165-pound match against Peyton Robb by 7-6 decision.

 Mikey Labriola (174 pounds) picked up the team’s first pin of the season, defeating Jake Allar by fall in 6:17.

 Rounding out the group of newcomers in the lineup for Nebraska, Nathan Haas won the 184-pound match against Owen Webster by decision, 5-2.

 Eric Schultz added bonus points for the Huskers, defeating Garret Joles at 197 pounds by major decision, 14-3.

Closing out the night was a top-20 matchup as Minnesota’s top-ranked Gable Steveson wrestled Christian Lance at heavyweight. Lance ultimately fell to Steveson by 14-3 major decision.