Huskers Travel to Detroit for NCAA Championships

The Nebraska wrestling team heads to Detroit for the 2022 NCAA Championships in the quest for a national title. The three-day event will consist of six sessions beginning Thursday morning at the Little Caesar’s Arena. 
 
Eight grapplers compose the field for Nebraska at this year’s national championship. Seven earned automatic bids as a result of their finishes at the Big Ten Championships, including Ridge Lovett (149), Peyton Robb (157), Bubba Wilson (165), Mikey Labriola (174), Taylor Venz (184), Eric Schultz (197) and Christian Lance (285). Chad Red Jr. earned an at-large bid.
 
The championships schedule, with streaming information is as follows:
 
Thursday, March 17        
Session I – First Round      
11 a.m. – ESPNU      
Session II – Second Round         
6 p.m. – ESPN2       

Friday, March 18

Session III – Quarterfinals

10 a.m. – ESPNU

Session IV – Semifinals

 7 p.m. – ESPN

Saturday, March 19

Session V – Medal Rounds

10 a.m. – ESPNU

Session VI – Championships

6 p.m. – ESPN

 

Live stats and brackets will be available on Trackwrestling.com and updates will be posted on Twitter (@HuskerWrestling) throughout the weekend. The entire national championship tournament will be broadcast on ESPN networks and additional mat camera streams will be available on ESPN3.

 

Last Time Out: Nebraska finished seventh at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with 75.5 points. Schultz led the team with second-place finish as seven Huskers finished in the top seven.

 

NEBRASKA’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUP

With seeding

 

141: #19 Chad Red Jr. • Sr. • Indianapolis, Ind.

149: #10 Ridge Lovett • So. • Post Falls, Idaho

157: #10 Peyton Robb • So. • Owatonna, Minn.

165: #27 Bubba Wilson • RFr. • Manhattan, Kan.

174: #9 Mikey Labriola • Jr. • Easton, Pa.

184: #10 Taylor Venz • Sr. • Farmington, Minn.

197: #3 Eric Schultz • Sr. • Tinley Park, Ill.

285: #12 Christian Lance • Sr. • Nixa, Mo.

 

QUICK NOTES

• Nebraska outscored its 11 opponents this season by a score of 240-154.
• The team won 45 of 65 (69%) individual matches during the regular season.
• Nebraska won its fourth Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on December 4.
• Stats leaders among starters:
  

NEBRASKA FINISHES SEVENTH AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Nebraska wrestling team finished seventh at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with 75.5 points for the program’s 10th top-seven finish at the event. The Huskers were led by a second-place finish from Eric Schultz (197), and NU clinched seven automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
 
ALL-AMERICANS BACK FOR MORE
Six Huskers who were named All-Americans following the 2019-20 season return to the national champion stage once more. Nebraska’s returning First-Team All-Americans include Chad Red Jr., Taylor Venz and Eric Schultz. Mikey Labriola earned Second-Team All-America honors and Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb both earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades. Last season, Red Jr. became the third four-time All-American in Husker history and Labriola earned his third career All-American nod.
 
RED JR. EYES FIFTH ALL-AMERICAN HONOR
Heading into the 2022 NCAA Championships, Chad Red Jr. leads the Huskers with four previous All-American finishes at the national championship tournament. He earned his highest finish last season, coming in sixth place for the Huskers. He is a combined 14-8 at the tournament in three outings. He enters this year’s post-season competition with a 12-6 overall record.
 
LOVETT CARRIES B1G CONFERENCE SUCCESS INTO NCAAs
Following a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, Ridge Lovett will take his second trip to the NCAA Championships. During the regular season, he tallied a 20-3 overall record and a 10-1 mark in conference dual competition.
 
ROBB MAKES SECOND-STRAIGHT TRIP TO NCAAs 
Following a fifth-place finish at the 2022 Big Ten Championships, Peyton Robb will take his second trip to the NCAA Championships this season. The sophomore is 13-8 on the year and 5-4 in the conference.
 
WILSON SET FOR FIRST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS OUTING 
Bubba Wilson makes his first trip to the NCAA Championships this weekend after earning an automatic bid with a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. The redshirt-freshman is 13-13 on the year and 5-5 in conference play.
 
LABRIOLA AIMS TO EXTEND 2021-22 SUCCESS INTO THE POSTSEASON
Mikey Labriola earned a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships this season to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. This is his third trip to the tournament after finishing fourth in 2018 and third last season. He finished the 2021-22 regular season with a 19-3 record and now holds a career record of 101-34.
 
VENZ READY FOR ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRIP 
Taylor Venz makes his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships this season after earning his fifth bid with a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. The senior is 11-6 at the NCAA Championships and earned his best finish in 2018, coming in fourth.
 
SCHULTZ AIMS TO EXTEND WINNING SEASON
Eric Schultz, who finished second at the conference championship, enters the NCAA Championships as the highest seeded Husker at No. 3 at 197 pounds. Schultz continued his winning ways into the postseason, picking up two wins in his first two matches, but ultimately falling in the title match. He has qualified for five NCAA Championships in his career and has an overall record of 14-8 at the event and a career-high finish of sixth.
 
LANCE MAKES SECOND NCAA TRIP
As the Huskers’ starter at heavyweight this season, Christian Lance has earned himself a spot in the Nebraska NCAA Championships lineup for the second time. Lance has a 16-8 overall record and 5-5 in conference competition.
 

NU AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are set for March 17-19 at the Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, Mich.
• The Big Ten boasts seven of the 10 top-seeded wrestlers, including Michigan’s Nick Suriano (125), Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young (133), Penn State’s Nick Lee (141), Penn State’s Carter Starocci (174), Michigan’s Myles Amine (184), Penn State’s Max Dean (197) and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson (285).
• The Huskers are led by three-seed Eric Schultz at 197 pounds.
• The Huskers have had 11 NCAA Champions, 24 NCAA finalists, 122 All-Americans and 23 top-10 team finishes. NU has finished in the top 10 in five of the last six NCAA Championships. Take a look at Nebraska’s NCAA finishes over the last 11 years:

  • 2010-11: 12th (43.5 pts.); seven qualifiers, one All-American
  • 2011-12: T-21st (28 pts.); eight qualifiers, two All-Americans
  • 2012-13: 13th (38 pts.); seven qualifiers, two All-Americans
  • 2013-14: 11th (43.5 pts.); seven qualifiers, two All-Americans
  • 2014-15: 9th (59 pts.); nine qualifiers, three All-Americans
  •  2015-16: 8th (58 pts.); ten qualifiers, three All-Americans
  • 2016-17: 9th (59.5 pts.); seven qualifiers, four All-Americans
  • 2017-18: 9th (47 pts.); seven qualifiers, three All-Americans
  • 2018-19: 10th (51 pts.); eight qualifiers, four All-Americans
  • 2019-20: NCAA Championships canceled; ten qualifiers, eight All-Americans
  • 2020-21: 12th (38 pts.); nine qualifiers, two All-Americans

FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS
141 pounds
No. 19 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska, 12-6) vs. No. 14 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan, 18-5)
149 pounds
No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska, 20-3) vs. No. 23 Jaden Abas (Stanford, 18-7)
157 pounds
No. 10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska, 13-8) vs. Markus Hatman (Army, 16-8)
165 pounds
No. 27 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska, 13-12) vs. No. 6 Cameron Amine (Michigan, 16-5)
174 pounds
No. 9 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska, 20-4) vs. No. 24 Joel Devine (Iowa State, 12-9)
184 pounds
No. 10 Taylor Venz (Nebraska, 16-8) vs. No. 23 Travis Stefanik (Princeton, 15-4)
197 pounds
No. 3 Eric Schultz (Nebraska, 16-2) vs. No. 30 Cole Urbas (Penn, 23-9)
285 pounds
No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska, 16-8) vs. No. 21 Tyrie Houghton (NC State, 20-8)