NU Hosts Michigan, Travels to Penn State

No. 8 Nebraska (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Michigan (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten)
Friday, February 4 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Devaney Center
Lincoln, Neb.
 
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» TV: BTN
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No. 8 Nebraska (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) at No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 6-0 Big Ten)

Sunday, February 6 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)

Rec Hall

University Park, Pa.

 

» TV: BTN

» Twitter Updates: @HuskerWrestling

 

The No. 8 Nebraska wrestling team will stay home for the first time in three weeks as it plays host to No. 3 Michigan on Friday. The Huskers will then hit the road again as they visit No. 1 Penn State on Sunday. The battle with the Wolverines is slated for 8 p.m. on Feb. 4 while the Huskers and Nittany Lions will wrestle beginning at 11 a.m. on Feb. 6. Both duals will be televised nationally on BTN.

 

No. 3 Michigan (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) enters Friday’s dual with a three-match win streak against No. 14 Rutgers (Jan. 23), No. 16 Minnesota (Jan. 28) and Maryland (Jan. 30). The Wolverines’ lineup features six wrestlers ranked inside the Top 10 of their weight class, No. 8 Dylan Ragusin (133), No. 4 Stevan Micic (141), No. 6 Logan Massa (174), No. 2 Myles Amine (184), No. 10 Patrick Brucki (197) and No. 3 Mason Parris (HWT).

 

Undefeated No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 6-0) is coming off last weekend’s defeat of No. 2 Iowa 19-13. The Nittany Lions are led by Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184) who are all ranked at the top of their weight class nationally.

The Huskers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) return to action after recent conferences wins over No. 7 Wisconsin (Jan. 21) and No. 21 Northwestern (Jan. 23). The Huskers recorded victories in a combined 13 bouts.

 

History: Nebraska and Michigan meet for the 14th time in series history on Friday. The Huskers lead the all-time series 9-5 and have won eight of the last 10 matchups between the teams.

The Huskers will look for their ninth win over the Nittany Lions on Sunday, as Nebraska is 8-10-1 all-time against Penn State. The last time NU defeated PSU was in the 2008-2009 season at the National Duals semifinals.

Up Next: The Huskers will host Illinois (2-4, 0-4 Big Ten) on Sunday, Feb. 13. The meet will begin at 11 a.m. and will be televised on BTN.

No. 8 Nebraska’s Projected Lineup*: (dual/overall)

125: Jeremiah Reno Fr. • Kansas City, Mo. (1-5/3-9)

133: Alex Thomsen So. • Neola, Iowa (1-3/2-5) -OR- Dominick Serrano Fr. • Windsor, Colo. (1-1/12-6) 

141: No. 8 Chad Red Jr. Sr. • Indianapolis, Ind. (4-1/9-2) -OR- Tucker Sjomeling Jr. • Delano, Minn. (0-1/2-3)

149: No. 8 Ridge Lovett So. • Post Falls, Idaho. (6-1/13-2) -OR- Jevon Parrish So. • Olathe, Kan. (2-0/5-1)

157: No. 5 Peyton Robb So. • Owatonna, Minn. (3-2/8-4)

165: No. 29 Bubba Wilson RFr. • Manhattan, Kan. (4-3/9-8) 

174: No. 5 Mikey Labriola So. • Easton, Pa. (4-1/13-1)

184: No. 9 Taylor Venz Sr. • Farmington, Minn. (5-1/12-3)

197: No. 3 Eric Schultz Sr. • Tinley Park, Ill. (6-0/10-1) 

HWT: No. 12 Christian Lance Sr. • Nixa, Mo. (4-2/12-3)

*InterMat rankings used 

No. 3 Michigan’s Projected Lineup*:

125: No. 1 Nick Suriano Gr. • Paramus, N.J. (6-0)

133: No. 8 Dylan Ragusin RFr. • Elk Grove Village, Ill. (15-4)  

141: No. 4 Stevan Micic Gr. • Cedar Lake, Ind. (3-2)

149: Pat Nolan RSo. • Orland Park, Ill. (2-4)

157: No. 13 Will Lewan RJr. • Chicago, Ill. (11-3)

165: No. 12 Cameron Amine RSo. • Brighton, Mich. (10-3)

174: No. 6 Logan Massa Gr. • St. Johns, Mich. (10-1)

184: No. 2 Myles Amine Gr. • Brighton, Mich. (10-1)

197: No. 10 Patrick Brucki Gr. • Orland Park, Ill. (14-4)

HWT: No. 3 Mason Parris Sr. • Lawrenceburg, Ind. (9-2)

*InterMat rankings used

 

Potential Matchups:

• Four-time All-American No. 8 Red will face his second Top 10 opponent of the year in No. 4 Micic.
• Redshirt Freshman No. 5 Robb will wrestle in his seventh ranked bout in a row and eighth of the season as he faces No. 13 Lewan. In 2019-2020, Robb lost to Lewan by decision 4-3.
• At heavyweight, No. 12 Lance will face his fourth straight ranked wrestler. Two seasons ago, No. 3 Parris defeated Lance by decision 6-1.

Scouting the Wolverines:

• Last season, Michigan went 5-1 and finished in fifth place at the NCAA Tournament.
• Top ranked Nick Suriano (125), a graduate transfer from Rutgers, is 6-0 on the season.
• Coached by Sean Bormet (Fifth season at Michigan); Record at UM: 30-9

No. 1 Penn State’s Projected Lineup*:
125: No. 6 Drew Hildebrandt Sr. • Granger, Ind. (5-1)
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young Sr. • Tucson, Ariz. (11-0)
141: No. 1 Nick Lee Sr. • Evansville, Ind. (11-0)
149: No. 18 Beau Bartlett So. • Tempe, Ariz. (10-4)
157: Terrell Barraclough So. • Kaysville, Utah (6-7) -OR- Tony Negron Jr. • North Babylon, N.Y. (1-5)
165: No. 11 Brady Berge Sr. • Mantorville, Minn. (3-1) -OR- Creighton Edsell Jr. • Wyalusing, Pa. (7-3)
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci So. • Erie, Pa. (14-0)
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks Jr. • Hagerstown, Md. (12-0)
197: No. 2 Max Dean Jr. • Lowell, Mich. (13-1)
285: No. 5 Greg Kerkvliet So. • Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (11-1)
*InterMat rankings used 

Potential Matchups:

• Sunday’s dual will have a total of 16 ranked wrestlers between the two teams, including a total of seven potential ranked matches.
• Serrano faces a great opportunity as he’s slated to wrestle top-ranked Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds. Bravo-Young was the 2021 NCAA Champion.
• Red could see a tough test at 141 pounds as he could wrestle top-ranked Lee, the NCAA Champion in 2021.
• No. 5 Labriola (174) will face a rematch from last year’s Big Ten Championships as he will grapple No. 1 Starocci in a Top 5 bout.
• At 184, No. 9 Venz will battle a familiar foe as he matches up with No. 1 Brooks, the reigning NCAA Champion and two-time Big Ten Champion.

Scouting the Nittany Lions:

• Last season, Penn State finished with a 6-0 record and was runner-up at the NCAA tournament.
• Starocci, Brooks, Bravo-Young and Lee are all back in the Nittany Lions lineup after claiming individual NCAA titles last season.
• Coached by Cael Sanderson (13th season at Penn State); Record at PSU: 158-14-2

Back Points
Quick Notes

• Nebraska won its fourth Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on Dec. 4.
• Labriola was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 8 after winning his 14th-straight victory and claiming the Cliff Keen individual title. This was Labriola’s second Big Ten weekly honor of his career and first for the Huskers since Venz garnered the award on Jan. 29, 2019.
• Nebraska has outscored its dual opponents by a combined score of 176-82.
• NU has won 46/70 (66%) individual dual meet matches this season. 
• With this season’s win over North Carolina on Nov. 17, Coach Manning picked up his 290th career victory.
• Team leaders by category among starters:
  

Schultz Shines for Huskers

• Eric Schultz (6-0) is undefeated against dual meet competition this season.
• Senior Schultz (197) leads the team with 24 dual points and 21 dual takedowns. The Tinley Park, Ill., native has also recorded two pins, one tech. fall and one major decision.

Huskers Getting Close to the 100-win Milestone

• Senior Chad Red Jr. owns a 92-40 record and a career dual record of 37-18.
• Mikey Labriola, a senior from Easton, Pa., is now 95-32 in his collegiate career, while Schultz is also bearing down on the milestone with a 94-39 career record.

Manning In 22nd Season as Head Coach

• The Huskers have a familiar face at the helm this season. The 2021-22 campaign is Coach Manning’s 22nd season leading the NU wrestling program. Manning is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a mark of 267-99-3. During his decorated coaching career, Manning has coached 61 of Nebraska’s 116 All-Americans and five of Nebraska’s 11 national champions. The Huskers have nine top-10 NCAA finishes overall during his tenure. Manning has also been instrumental in helping former Huskers Jordan Burroughs and James Green enjoy international success, as Burroughs won the Olympic Gold in 2012 and World Championship Gold five times, while Green earned World Championship Silver in 2017.

Nebraska To Host Big Tens

• The Big Ten Championships will take place at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., March 5-6. It will be the first time the Huskers host the Big Ten Championships since joining the conference in 2011-12. Seeding for the tournament is determined by pre-seeds and finalized at the coaches’ meeting ahead of the tournament. A double-elimination tournament will be held at each weight, with the top team finisher being determined by tournament scoring. The first rounds, quarterfinals and consolation rounds will be held in Session I on March 5, while the quarterfinals, consolation second rounds and semifinals will be held in Session II on that same day. Session III will consist of the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches on March 6, with the finals, third-place and fifth-place matches being contested in Session IV. The 2022 NCAA Championships will be held in Detroit, Mich. on March 17-19.

NU Welcomes Highly Touted Newcomers

• Eight wrestlers will don the Scarlet and Cream for the first time this season, including one transfer and seven freshmen.
• Redshirt junior Boo Dryden competed at Minnesota before transferring to NU, compiling 13 career victories and placing eighth at the 2021 Big Ten Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
• Nebraska natives Quinton Chavez, a two-time state champion, Blake Cushing, a state and district champion, and Joshua Licking, a state runner-up with a 31-1 record his senior year, look to make immediate impacts for the Huskers. After compiling a 141-26 high school record and capturing a Pennsylvania state title, Jagger Condomitti joins the Huskers for the 2021-22 campaign. Fellow Pennsylvania native Lenny Pinto also was a state champion and totaled a school record of 44 wins in the 2020 season. Jenkins-Harris and Adam Thebeau add to the impressive group of newcomers with Jenkins-Harris earning an undefeated season his senior year and Thebeau being named an all-state wrestler.