Nebraska wrestlers are ‘just realizing their potential’ heading into Cliff Keen Invitational

Mark Manning knew before the first dual this fall there would be a trial-by-fire element for many wrestlers in his Nebraska lineup.

Five-year starters and All-Americans CJ Red, Taylor Venz and Eric Schultz exhausted their eligibility last season. Another All-American, Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds, is redshirting.

And then there’s been injuries. Manning said Liam Cronin at 125 is finally healthy. Bubba Wilson, last year’s starter at 165, has wrestled in just four matches.

All those changes led to Nebraska going 1-2 in its first three duals before it won the 12-team Navy Classic two weeks ago.

“Our lineup has ever changed through the first three weeks of competition,” Manning said. “Some of our young guys have gotten great experience. … They may not have looked sharp the first week, but they looked better when we went out east. All those guys made a big jump with their wrestling.”

The new starters also weren’t afforded many opportunities over the past two years. Because of COVID restrictions, there weren’t as many open tournaments that Husker non-starters had the opportunity to compete in.

That includes guys like Boo Dryden (133), Brock Hardy (141), Lenny Pinto (184), Silas Allred (197) and heavyweight Cale Davidson, who all will be in the lineup when Nebraska defends its title at the 32-team Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.

The tournament, which takes place Friday and Saturday, features 12 teams ranked in InterMat’s top 25, including five in the top eight — No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Cornell and No. 8 Northwestern. Nebraska is ranked 16th.

“This is big-boy wrestling,” Manning said. “This is a good opportunity to see where each wrestler is at and see where our team is.”

Two Huskers who will be among the favorites to win individual titles this weekend will be Peyton Robb (157) and Mikey Labriola (174). Robb placed fourth at nationals in March, while Labriola was seventh. Both are undefeated this season — Labriola has earned bonus points in six of his eight wins, while Robb has had bonus points in four of his seven wins.

“When people get better, it’s usually something technically they do. In our sport, they’re wrestling harder and their mental game is better. And I think both (Robb and Labriola) have made good strides with the technical aspect, but I think they’re just wrestling harder,” Manning said. “They got more in them, and they’re just realizing their potential.”

The Cliff Keen Invite is one of just two competitions for Nebraska in December. The other will be a dual at South Dakota State on Dec. 18.​