Six Huskers Advance In First Round of NCAA Championships

After one session of competition at the 2021 NCAA Championships, six Nebraska wrestlers have advanced in the championship bracket and are on to this evening’s second round. The team is in eighth place with 11.5 points. 
 
Liam Cronin, Mikey Labriola and Taylor Venz added bonus points for the Huskers. Cronin, seeded 13th at 125 pounds, pinned Jake Ferri of Kent State in his first NCAA Championship match. It is his third pin of the season, a single-season high for the senior. 
 
Four-seed Labriola (174) advanced to Thursday’s second round after Northern Iowa’s Lance Runyon medically forfeited the opening round match. 
 
Venz, seeded eighth at 184 pounds, earned his 10th career NCAA Championships match win with a dominant 19-0 technical fall over Chattanooga’s Matthew Waddell. The senior scored 12 back points on his way to the bonus point victory.
 
#8 Chad Red Jr. (141) also earned his tenth NCAA Championship match win with an 8-6 decision over Michigan’s Drew Mattin. Despite a late push from Mattin, Red was able to come away with the win to move on to the second round. 
 
#5 Ridge Lovett (149) met Michigan State’s #28 Peyton Omania in his first career NCAA Championships match. After tying 4-4 through two periods of regulation and a scoreless third, the match went to sudden victory. Lovett scored the deciding takedown with 30 seconds left in the first overtime period to take the match, 6-4. 
 
Peyton Robb, seeded 14 at 165 pounds, met Purdue’s #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis in the opening round, earning a 4-1 decision. The second meeting between the two Big Ten foes in the postseason this year was also Robb’s first NCAA Championship match win. 
 
Caleb Licking, Christian Lance and Eric Schultz each fell in their first-round matches. Licking suffered a 10-2 major decision loss to Iowa’s #5 Kaleb Young. Lance fell in a 2-1 decision to Ohio State’s #21 Tate Orndorff. Schultz dropped his match to North Dakota State’s #31 Owen Pentz by fall. They will continue to compete in the first round of the consolation bracket in Thursday evening’s Session II. 
 
Session II starts at 5 p.m. (CT) with television coverage by ESPN2. Both consolation matches and second round matches will be contested in the session. 
 
2021 NCAA Championships 
St. Louis, Mo. | Enterprise Center 
Individual Results – Session I
 
125 pounds: #13 Liam Cronin (1-0)
First Round: #13 Liam Cronin (NEB) pinned Jake Ferri (KENT), 6:29
Second Round: #13 Liam Cronin (NEB) vs. #4 Drew Hildebrandt (CMU)
 
141 pounds: #8 Chad Red Jr. (1-0)
First Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. #25 Drew Mattin (MICH), 8-6
Second Round: #8 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) vs. #9 Dresden Simon (CMU)
 
149 pounds: #5 Ridge Lovett (1-0)
First Round: #5 Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. #28 Peyton Omania (MSU), 6-4 SV
Second Round: #5 Ridge Lovett (NEB) vs. #12 Max Murin (IOWA)
 
157 pounds: #28 Caleb Licking (0-1)
First Round: #5 Kaleb Young (IOWA) major dec. #28 Caleb Licking (NEB), 10-2
Cons. First Round: #28 Caleb Licking (NEB) vs. #21 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY)
 
165 pounds: #14 Peyton Robb (1-0)
First Round: #14 Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR), 4-1
Second Round: #14 Peyton Robb (NEB) vs. #3 Jake Wentzel (PITT)
 
174 pounds: #4 Mikey Labriola (1-0)
First Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) def. #29 Lance Runyon (UNI), Medical Forfeit
Second Round: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) vs. Trenton Munoz (ASU)
 
184 pounds: #8 Taylor Venz (1-0)
First Round: #8 Taylor Venz (NEB) tech. fall #25 Matthew Waddell (CHAT), 19-0 (5:15)
Second Round: #8 Taylor Venz (NEB) vs. Jeremiah Kent (Missouri)
 
197 pounds: #2 Eric Schultz (0-1)
First Round: #31 Owen Pentz (NDSU) pinned #2 Eric Schultz (NEB), 4:51
Cons. First Round: #2 Eric Schultz (NEB) vs. #18 Jacob Koser (NAVY)
 
285 pounds: #12 Christian Lance (0-1)
First Round: #21 Tate Orndorff (OHST) dec. #12 Christian Lance (NEB), 2-1
Cons. First Round: #12 Christian Lance vs. #28 Jon Spaulding (EDIN)
 
 
Team Results (Top 10)
1. Iowa – 19.0
2. Penn State – 17.0
3. Missouri – 14.0
T-4. Arizona State – 13.0
T-4. NC State – 13.0 
6. Oklahoma State – 12.5
7. Michigan – 12.0
8. Nebraska – 11.5
9. Virginia Tech – 9.0
T-10. Minnesota – 8.0
T-10. Northern Iowa – 8.0