Nebraska Heads to St. Louis For NCAA Championships

After missing out on its shot to compete for a national title last season, the Nebraska wrestling team returns to the NCAA Championships this week to conclude the unprecedented 2020-21 season. The three-day event will consist of six sessions beginning Thursday morning at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.  

Nine grapplers compose the field for Nebraska at this year’s national championships. Eight earned automatic bids as a result of their finishes at the Big Ten Championships, including Chad Red Jr. (141), Ridge Lovett (149), Caleb Licking (157), Peyton Robb (165), Mikey Labriola (174), Taylor Venz (184), Eric Schultz (197) and Christian Lance (285). Liam Cronin, who finished ninth at the conference championship at 125 pounds, earned an at-large bid. 

The championships schedule, with streaming information is as follows: 

Thursday, March 18        

Session I – First Round      

10 a.m. – ESPNU      

Session II – Second Round         

5 p.m. – ESPN2       

Friday, March 19

Session III – Quarterfinals

10 a.m. – ESPNU

Session IV – Semifinals

 7 p.m. – ESPN2

Saturday, March 20

Session V – Medal Rounds

10 a.m. – ESPN2

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 third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships with 105.5 points. Lovett, Schultz and Venz led the team with second place finishes as eight Huskers finished top eight. 

NEBRASKA’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUP

With seeding 

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.

QUICK NOTES

• Nebraska outscored its eight opponents this season by a score of 212-89. 
• The team won 56 of 80 (70%) individual matches during the regular season.  
• All-time dual wins
• The Huskers finished the 2020-21 season undefeated at the Devaney Center and 7-1 on the year. Their only loss came to top-rated Iowa in the first road dual of the season. 
• Stat leaders among starters (regular season):
  

NEBRASKA FINISHES THIRD AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 
The Nebraska wrestling team finished third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships with 105.5 points for the program’s seventh top-five finish at the event and sixth in as many years. The team was led by second-place finishes from Ridge Lovett (149), Taylor Venz (184) and Eric Schultz (197) and eight Huskers clinched automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The Huskers were rolling into the 2020 NCAA Championships following a program-best second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and qualifying the entire lineup for the national championships when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Huskers return to the national championship stage this year ready to finish what they set out to last season. Seven of Nebraska’s 2021 qualifiers earned bids to last year’s championships with three of them set to make their championships debut. The group returns to the national championship mats in search of the sixth consecutive top ten finish. 

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 last season and Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb both earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades.

HUSKER VETERANS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four Huskers hit the NCAA Championships mats with prior experience competing at the event. Chad Red Jr., Eric Schultz and Taylor Venz are the most veteran Huskers to take the national championship stage, having qualified for the tournament every year since the 2017-18 season. Red Jr. leads the returners with three All-America honors, having placed seventh in 2018 and eighth in 2019. Venz earned his highest finish, and first All-America honor with a fourth-place finish at the 2018 championships. Mikey Labriola, who has competed at the championships once before and qualified twice prior to this season, earned his first All-America nod in 2019 with a sixth-place finish. A Schultz is 4-4 overall at the tournament but has not placed in either of his previous two outings. 

SIX MAKE THEIR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS DEBUT

Nebraska’s NCAA Championship lineup features six wrestlers who will be taking the national championship mat for the first time in their careers. Liam Cronin, Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb each qualified for the 2020 championships, but would not have the opportunity to take the mat. Caleb Licking and Christian Lance both earned their first career NCAA Championships qualification this season following their performances at the Big Ten Championships to clinch a trip to St. Louis.

NU AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

This year marks the first time in two years that wrestlers will set foot on the NCAA Championship mats. Before the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nebraska qualified its entire lineup for the national championships for the first time since 2016. Eric Schultz led the group with a three-seed at 197 pounds and Isaiah White (165) followed with a No. 5 seed. Chad Red Jr. (141) was seeded sixth followed by Taylor Venz (184) and Collin Purinton (149) with No. 7 seeds. Rounding out the top ten seeded Huskers was Mikey Labriola (174) at No. 10.  

The Huskers, led this year by two-seed Eric Schultz at 197 pounds, have had 11 NCAA Champions, 24 NCAA finalists, 120 All-Americans and 23 top-10 team finishes. NU has finished in the top 10 in the past five NCAA Championships. Take a look at Nebraska’s NCAA finishes over the last 10 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

HUSKERS’ SUCCESS IN ST. LOUIS
Of Nebraska’s 23 top 10 NCAA finishes, six have come in St. Louis. The team earned its highest finish in the Gateway to the West in 2008 and 2009, finishing fourth. The Huskers’ highest finish with Mark Manning at the helm has come in St. Louis. Nebraska’s top ten finished by location: 

• Missouri – 6 (St. Louis) 
• Iowa – 6 (Ames, 3; Iowa City, 3)
• Oklahoma – 3 (Stillwater, 2; Oklahoma City, 1)
• New York – 2 (New York, 1; Albany, 1)
• Colorado – 1 (Fort Collins)
• New Jersey – 1 (Meadowlands)
• Maryland – 1 (College Park)
• Minnesota – 1 (Minneapolis)
• Ohio – 1 (Cleveland)
• Pennsylvania – 1 (Pittsburgh)

FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

125 pounds
No. 13 Liam Cronin (Nebraska, 9-3) vs. No. 20 Jake Ferri (Kentucky, 13-2)
141 pounds
No. 8 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska, 11-3) vs. No. 25 Drew Mattin (Michigan, 4-6)
149 pounds
No. 5 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska, 8-1) vs. No. 28 Peyton Omania (Michigan State, 4-6)
157 pounds
No. 28 Caleb Licking (Nebraska, 5-6) vs. Kaleb Young (Iowa, 5-1)
165 pounds
No. 14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska, 9-5) vs. No. 19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue, 9-5)
174 pounds
No. 4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska, 11-1) vs. No. 29 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa, 7-5)
184 pounds
No. 8 Taylor Venz (Nebraska, 7-3) vs. No. 25 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga, 11-5)
197 pounds
No. 2 Eric Schultz (Nebraska, 10-1) vs. No. 31 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State, 7-4)
285 pounds
No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska, 9-5) vs. No. 21 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State, 7-8)