Huskers Lead After Day One At Cliff Keen

LAS VEGAS — The No. 9 Nebraska wrestling team got off to a blazing start at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas on Friday, winning 21 of its 24 bouts. Seven Huskers advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinals and all seven qualified for Saturday’s semifinal round. After Day 1, Nebraska’s 79.5 team points are the most among the 27 teams in the overall standings.

Round of 32 

Tournament action for the Huskers began at 141 pounds. #11 Chad Red Jr. (141) set the tone with a victory over Zach Zeamer of Oklahoma, recording two takedowns in an 8-4 decision. #12 Ridge Lovett (149) followed suit with an 11-2 major decision over Wyoming’s Jaron Jensen. Lovett tallied two takedowns, an escape and a four-point nearfall.

 

Bubba Wilson (165) battled Cameron Amine of Michigan, recording three escape points, but fell by decision 5-3. #3 Mikey Labriola and #10 Eric Schultz continued their winning ways. Labriola defeated Michael Squires of Princeton by major decision, 18-8, and Schultz recorded his second fall of the year as he pinned Ben Stemmet of Citadel. 

               

Round of 16

Jeremiah Reno (125) started off competition for the Huskers in the round of 16 with a battle against Cornell’s Greg Diakomihalis. Reno recorded three escape points, but fell by technical fall. Red (141) kept his momentum going and got NU back on track with a 6-4 decision against Cornell’s Cole Handlovic. Red recorded his second takedown of the match in overtime to secure the victory. 

 

Lovett (149) marked the second Husker of the day to make the quarterfinals with his second fall of the season. Lovett pinned Kody Komara of Kent State in the second period after recording a takedown and an escape. #6 Peyton Robb (157) kept the positive momentum going as he pinned Adam Santoro of Cornell in the third period.

 

Labriola (174), #15 Taylor Venz (184), Schultz (197) and #13 Christian Lance (285) also vaulted into the quarterfinals with hard-fought wins. Labriola defeated Michael Ferree (Kent State) by decision, 9-7, Venz recorded a 17-0 technical fall over Jack Jessen (Northwestern), Schultz topped Andrew Davison (Northwestern), 4-0, and Lance beat Jacob Cover (Kent State) by major decision, 20-8. 

 

After Friday’s first two rounds, seven Husker grapplers who traveled to Las Vegas advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinal round. 

 

Consolation

In the 125-consolation round of eight, Reno battled Beau Bayless of Harvard, recording an escape in the first period, but was unable to grab the victory as Bayless won by decision, 8-2. Reno finished his competition in Las Vegas with a 1-2 record.

 

Wilson (165) also wrestled in the consolation round of eight as he matched up with Matthew Olguin of Oregon State. The two wrestled a scoreless first period before Wilson recorded an escape in the second period. Olguin evened the score in the third, which two forced an extra period. Wilson tallied a takedown in overtime to secure the 3-1 decision. He now moves on to the second-round consolation of eight. 

 

Quarterfinals 

 

The Huskers were undefeated in the quarterfinal round and faced ranked competition in all seven bouts. Red (141) was the first Husker to advance to the semifinals as he faced off against #20 Dylan D’Emilio of Ohio State and won by decision, 3-2. Red recorded an escape in the second period and held the 1-0 lead heading into the final period. D’Emilio evened the score 1-1 with an escape of his own before Red scored a takedown at the end of the third period to secure the victory.  

 

Lovett (149) faced off against #6 Jaden Abas of Stanford and recorded the 9-2 upset. Lovett scored eight of his nine points in the second period while holding Abas scoreless through two. Abas recorded a reversal in the third period, but Lovett was able to win by decision and advance to the semifinals. 

 

Robb (157) was victorious in the quarterfinals as he defeated #31 Dazjon Casto (Citadel) by decision, 3-1. The two wrestled a scoreless first period before Robb recorded an escape in the second period and a takedown in the third to claim the victory. 

Labriola (174) worked quickly against Oregon State’s Aaron Olmos as he recorded a takedown and four nearfall points in the first period while only allowing an escape. He kept the momentum in the second period as he tallied eight more points. With a takedown and two more nearfall points, Labriola sealed the technical fall and a spot in the semifinals. 

 

Venz (184) became the fifth Husker to qualify for the semifinals with his 6-2 victory over #24 Travis Stefanik of Princeton. Stefanik attacked first with a takedown in the opening period, but Venz responded with a reversal, and the two entered the second period tied. Venz recorded an escape, a takedown and the riding time point to hold off Stefanik and grab the win.

 

Schultz (197) and Lou Deprez of Binghamton wrestled a scoreless first period before Schultz recorded an escape in the second period and secured the riding time point. Schultz defeated Deprez by decision 2-0 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals. 

In the final match of the evening involving a Husker wrestler, Lance (HWT) tallied two takedowns against South Dakota State’s AJ Nevills to win by decision, 6-3. 

Action resumes tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CT with the consolation second round of eight. The championship and consolation semifinals begin at noon, with the fifth and seventh place matches following shortly thereafter. The championship and third place matches are set for 5 p.m.

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational 

Dec. 3-4, 2021 

Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas Convention Center)

Match Results (rankings from InterMat)

125: Jeremiah Reno (1-2)

Round of 16: Jack Medley (Michigan) tech. fall Jeremiah Reno, 18-3 (7:00)

Cons. of 16 (#2): Jeremiah Reno dec. Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell), 4-3

Cons. of 8 (#1): Beau Bayless (Harvard) dec. Jeremiah Reno, 8-2

141: #11 Chad Red Jr. (3-0) — In semifinals on Saturday  

Round of 32: #11 Chad Red Jr. dec. Zach Zeamer (Oklahoma), 8-4 

Round of 16: #11 Chad Red Jr. dec. Cole Handlovic (Cornell), 6-4 

Quarterfinals: #11 Chad Red Jr.  dec. #20 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), 3-2

Semifinals: #11 Chad Red Jr. vs #9 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)

149: #12 Ridge Lovett (3-0) – In semifinals on Saturday  

Round of 32: #12 Ridge Lovett major dec. Jaron Jensen (Wyoming), 11-2 

Round of 16: #12 Ridge Lovett pinned Kody Komara (Kent State) (4:29)

Quarterfinals: #12 Ridge Lovett dec. #6 Jaden Abas (Stanford), 9-2

Semifinals: #12 Ridge Lovett vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)

157: #6 Peyton Robb (2-0) — In semifinals on Saturday  

Round of 32: Bye    

Round of 16: #6 Peyton Robb pinned Adam Santoro (Cornell) (6:22) 

Quarterfinals: #6 Peyton Robb dec. #31 Dazjon Casto (Citadel), 3-1

Semifinals: #6 Peyton Robb vs #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton)

165: Bubba Wilson (2-1) — In Consolation Round of 8 (#2) on Saturday 

Round of 32: Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec. Bubba Wilson, 5-3

Cons. of 16 (#2): Bubba Wilson pinned Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) (2:13) 

Cons. of 8 (#1): Bubba Wilson dec. Matthew Olguin (Oregon State), 3-1

Cons. of 8 (#2): Bubba Wilson vs Mathew Malcom (UNK) 

174: #3 Mikey Labriola (3-0) — In semifinals on Saturday  

Round of 32: #3 Mikey Labriola major dec. Michael Squires (Princeton), 18-8 

Round of 16: #3 Mikey Labriola dec. Michael Ferree (Kent State), 9-7   

Quarterfinals: #3 Mikey Labriola tech. fall #22 Aaron Olmos (Oregon State) (5:19)

Semifinals:#3 Mikey Labriola vs #16 Cade Devos (South Dakota State)

184: #15 Taylor Venz (2-0) —  In semifinals on Saturday 

Round of 32: Bye  

Round of 16: #15 Taylor Venz pinned Jack Jessen (Northwestern) (5:27)  

Quarterfinals: #15 Taylor Venz  dec. #24 Travis Stefanik (Princeton), 6-2

Semifinals: #15 Taylor Venz vs #16 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 

197: #10 Eric Schultz (3-0) —  In semifinals on Saturday 

Round of 32: #10 Eric Schultz pinned Ben Stemmet (Citadel) (4:23)

Round of 16: #10 Eric Schultz dec. Andrew Davison (Northwestern) 4-0 

Quarterfinals: #10 Eric Schultz dec. #11 Lou Deprez (Binghamton), 2-0

Semifinals: #10 Eric Schultz vs #6 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 

   

HWT: #13 Christian Lance (2-0) — In semifinals on Saturday  

Round of 32: Bye

Round of 16: #13 Christian Lance major dec. Jacob Clover (Kent State), 20-8 

Quarterfinals: #13 Christian Lance dec. #22 AJ Nevills (SDSU), 6-3

Semifinals: #13 Christian Lance vs Gary Traub (Oregon State)