NCAA Announces Championship Brackets – University of Nebraska

Five Huskers are seeded tenth or better for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships as the NCAA released the championship brackets Wednesday evening. This year’s championship tournament is set for March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. 
 
More than half of the Huskers’ lineup will make their NCAA Championships debuts next weekend. Of the group, Liam Cronin, Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb all earned a trip to last season’s tournament before it was canceled. 
 
Eric Schultz leads the Huskers with a No. 2 seed at 197 pounds. The senior is coming off a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, his second consecutive runner-up finish at the conference tournament. Schultz, 10-1 on the season, is a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and will face North Dakota State’s No. 31 Owen Pentz first. 
 
Mikey Labriola earned a four-seed at 174 pounds after earning a career-best third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. The junior punches his third ticket to the NCAA Championships and enters the tournament 11-1 on the year. He will face No. 29 Lance Runyon of Northern Iowa in his first match.  
 
Lovett earns a No. 5 seed for his first outing at the NCAA Championships. The Post Falls, Idaho native earned his second national championship qualification following a runner-up finish in the 149-pound bracket at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. Lovett enters the tournament 8-1 this season and meets Michigan State’s No. 28 seed Peyton Omania in the first round.
 
Chad Red Jr. (141) and Taylor Venz (185) are seeded eighth in their respective weight classes and are set to make their fourth trip to the national tournament. Red Jr. finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and enters the NCAA Championship tournament 10-3 on the year. The three-time All-American will meet No. 25 seed Drew Matten of Michigan first. Venz earned a career-best second place at the conference championship last weekend and is 7-3 overall this season. The Farmington, Minn. native enters the NCAA Championships as a two-time All-American and will face No. 25 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) in his first match. 
 
Cronin (133) and Robb (165) make their national championship tournament debuts seeded 13 and 14, respectively. Cronin earned an at-large bid at 133 pounds and finished ninth at the conference tournament this season to enter the championships 9-3 on the year. He’ll meet No. 20 seed Jake Ferri of Kentucky in the first round of the tournament. At 165 pounds, Robb earned a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. He is 9-5 on the year and meets No. 19 Gerrit Nijenhuis of Purdue in his first match. 
 
Caleb Licking (157) and Christian Lance (285) head to the national tournament for the first time as the No. 29 and No. 12 seeds, respectively. Both earned automatic qualifications to St. Louis in their first Big Ten Championship outings last weekend. Returning to his home state, Lance enters the tournament following a fifth-place finish at Big Tens and with a 9-5 overall record to face Ohio State’s No. 21 seed Tate Orndorff first. Licking, who finished seventh at the conference tournament and is 5-6 overall this season, will face No. 4 seed Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider first. 
 
Nebraska’s NCAA Championship Lineup*
125: #13 Liam Cronin • Sr. • Orange, Calif.
141: #8 Chad Red Jr. • Sr. • Indianapolis, Ind. 
149: #5 Ridge Lovett • So. • Post Falls, Idaho
157: #29 Caleb Licking • Sr. • Norfolk, Neb.
165: #14 Peyton Robb • So. • Owatonna, Minn.
174: #4 Mikey Labriola • Jr. • Easton, Pa.
184: #8 Taylor Venz • Sr. • Farmington, Minn. 
197: #2 Eric Schultz • Sr. • Tinley Park, Ill. 
285: #12 Christian Lance • Sr. • Nixa, Mo.
 
*Number indicates seeding