Three Huskers To Wrestle For Conference Crowns After Day 1 of Big Ten Championships

Three Huskers will wrestle for Big Ten titles on Sunday, March 7 as the No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team sits in third place after the first day of the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. 
 
In their quest for conference titles, Ridge Lovett, Taylor Venz and Eric Schultz tie the program-high of three wrestlers advancing to the finals at a single Big Ten Championship tournament. The team previously saw three grapplers make it to the conference finals in 2014. It is also the second most finalists in a conference championship since sending five to the 2009 Big 12 Championships final. 
  
Session I
The first session of the day was highlighted by seven Huskers moving on to semifinal bouts, including Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb who pulled off upsets of No. 2 seeds and Taylor Venz defeating the No. 3 seed. 
 
Lovett rattled the 149-pound bracket, taking an 11-6 decision over Iowa’s two-seed Max Murin in the quarterfinals after winning his first match against Indiana’s Graham Rooks, 6-1. He took a 6-0 lead over Murin after one period with a takedown and four near fall points to set the tone for the bout. He added two takedowns in the second period and recorded an escape and a stalling point in the third to complete the upset. 
 
In the Huskers’ second upset of a No. 2 seed on the day, Robb got redemption for his regular-season finale loss by defeating Dan Braunagel (Illinois), 9-5, in the 165-pound quarterfinal match. He defeated Indiana’s Nick South in the opening round, 10-4. 
 
At 184 pounds, Venz took down Michigan State’s No. 3 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State), 13-6, to advance to Saturday’s semifinal matches. He earned eight points in the first period and finished with three reversals, four near fall points, a takedown and a riding time point to take the match. In his first match of the day, the senior picked up the Huskers’ only pin of the tournament, defeating Maryland’s Kyle Cochran by fall in 3:41.
 
At heavyweight, Christian Lance held Purdue’s Dorian Keys scoreless in the first round, winning by 4-0 decision. The senior and No. 4 Luke Luffman (Illinois) met for the second time in as many weeks in the quarterfinal bout, but this time, Lance got the deciding takedown in overtime to advance to the semifinals. 
 
Chad Red Jr. hit the mat first for the Huskers, meeting Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern) in the first round of the 141-pound bracket. He jumped ahead early, scoring a takedown and a two-point near fall in the first minute of the match. He went on to take the match by 10-2 major decision, adding two reversals and another two-point near fall.
 
Mikey Labriola continued his regular-season dominance into the postseason with an 11-9 decision over Jackson Turley (Rutgers) in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Labriola jumped ahead early with a 4-2 lead after three minutes. After tying the match at eight with two minutes in regulation, Turley recorded an escape early in the third period to take the one-point advantage. Labriola added a takedown with just over a minute left and ended with nearly three minutes of riding time for the win. 
 
Top-seeded Eric Schultz made his third Big Ten Championships semifinal appearance Saturday afternoon after defeating Ohio State’s Gavin Hoffman in a 2-0 decision in the quarterfinals. The match was scoreless until the second period as Schultz recorded an escape and went on to add a riding time point to secure the semifinal bout.  
 
Caleb Licking, Liam Cronin and Tucker Sjomeling fell in the championship bracket in the opening session. After a first-round bye, Cronin (125 pounds) fell 1-3 in overtime to Devin Schroder (Purdue). Sjomeling advanced to the quarterfinals after a media forfeit by Ohio State’s Austin DeSanto but lost, 1-4. Licking fell in the first round of the 157-pound bracket to No. 7 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) and went on to the consolation bracket. 
 
The Huskers finished the first session in second place with 63 points, 12.5 points behind first-place Iowa. 
 
Session II
 
Lovett continued his domination of the championship bracket, beating No. 6 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) in a tiebreaker match by scoring the match-winning escape just 10 seconds into the first 30 second tiebreaker period. He will meet No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) in the conference title bout. 
 
Venz picked up his second upset of the day with a 10-3 decision over Wisconsin’s No. 2 Christopher Weiler in the semifinal match. He will make his first appearance in the Big Ten Championships final bout in four appearances at the tournament and will face No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State). 
 
Schultz earned his tenth win of the season with a 2-1 decision over No. 4 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State). He will make his second consecutive Big Ten title bout appearance on Sunday against Michigan’s No. 2 Myles Amine. 
 
Licking picked up his first Big Ten Championship win, defeating Ohio State’s Elijah Cleary by 2-1 decision in the second consolation round. He advances to Sunday morning’s third consolation round and will face Penn State’s No. 5 Brady Berge. 
 
Red Jr., Robb and Labriola battled through their semifinal matches, but were unable to complete the title run. Red Jr. fell to Iowa’s top-seeded Jacob Eierman by 7-1 decision while Robb and Labriola fell in their respective semifinal bouts in sudden victory. Lance fell by injury default to No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) The group of Huskers will wrestle in Sunday’s consolation semifinals and compete for a chance at a third-place finish. 
 
Cronin and Sjomeling were defeated in the second consolation rounds of their respective weight classes, and will wrestle for ninth place on Sunday. Cronin was unable to complete the comeback over Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), falling 1-4. Sjomeling met Wisconsin’s Kyle Blockus and managed to cut the Badger lead to one point with over a minute in the consolation match, but ultimately fell 3-6. In the ninth-place quarterfinals, he pinned Rutgers’ Shane Metzler to stay alive in the tournament. 
 
Wrestling resumes Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) with the consolation semifinal and seventh-place matches and championship bouts start at 3 p.m. (CT). 
 
Big Ten Championships 
Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa.
Sessions I & II 
March 6, 2021 
 
125 Pounds: No. 2 Liam Cronin – 0.0 pts.
First Round:  BYE
Quarterfinals: No. 7 Devin Schroder (PUR) dec. Liam Cronin (NEB), 3-1 SV1
Cons. Second Round: No. 8 Michael DeAugustino (NW) dec. Liam Cronin (NEB), 4-1

133 Pounds: No. 11 Tucker Sjomeling – 3.0 pts. 

First Round:  Tucker Sjomeling (NEB) def. No. 7 Austin DeSanto (OSU), Medical Forfeit 

Quarterfinals: No. 2 Austin DeSanto (IOWA) def. Tucker Sjomeling (NEB), 4-1

Cons. Second Round: No. 9 Kyle Burwick (WIS) dec. Tucker Sjomeling (NEB), 6-3

9th-Place Quarterfinals: Tucker Sjomeling (NEB) pinned No. 14 Shane Metzler (RUT), 5:57

 

141 Pounds: No. 4 Chad Red Jr. – 10 pts. 

First Round:  Chad Red Jr. (NEB) major dec. No. 13 Colin Valdiviez (NU), 10-2

Quarterfinals: Chad Red Jr. (NEB) major dec. No. 5 Dylan Duncan (ILL), 12-3

Semifinals: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (IOWA) dec. Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 7-1

149 Pounds: No. 7 Ridge Lovett – 15 pts.

First Round:  Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. No. 10 Graham Rooks (IU), 6-1

Quarterfinals: Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. No. 2 Max Murin (IOWA), 11-6

Semifinals: Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. No. 6 Michael Blockhus (MINN), 2-1 TB1

157 Pounds: No. 10 Caleb Licking – 4 pts. 

First Round:  No. 7 Chase Saldate (MSU) pinned Caleb Licking (NEB), 3:31

Cons Second Round: Caleb Licking (NEB) dec. No. 9 Elijah Cleary (OSU), 2-1

 

165 Pounds: No. 7 Peyton Robb – 8 pts. 

First Round:  Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. No. 10 Nick South (IU), 10-4

Quarterfinals: Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. No. 2 Dan Braunagel (ILL), 9-5

Semifinals: No. 3 Ethan Smith (OSU) dec. Peyton Robb (NEB), 5-3 SV1

 

174 Pounds: No. 2 Mikey Labriola – 8 pts. 

First Round:  BYE

Quarterfinals: Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. No. 7 Jackson Turley (RUT), 11-9 

Semifinals: No. 3 Carter Starocci (PSU) dec. Mikey Labriola (NEB), 3-1 SV1

 

184 Pounds: No. 6 Taylor Venz – 17 pts. 

First Round:  Taylor Venz (NEB) pinned No. 11 Kyle Cochran (MD), 3:41

Quarterfinals: Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. No. 3 Layne Malczewski (MSU), 13-6

Semifinals: Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. No. 2 Christopher Weiler (WIS), 10-3

 

197 Pounds: No. 1 Eric Schultz – 15 pts. 

First Round:  BYE

Quarterfinals: Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. No. 9 Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 2-0

Semifinals: Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. No. 4 Cam Caffey (MSU), 2-1

 

285 Pounds: No. 5 Christian Lance – 8 pts. 

First Round:  Christian Lance (NEB) dec. No. 12 Dorian Keys (PUR), 4-0

Quarterfinals: Christian Lance (NEB) dec. No. 4 Luke Luffman (ILL), 3-1 SV1

Semifinals: No. 1 Gable Steveson (MINN) def. Christian Lance (NEB), Injury default

 

Team Scores (Points): 

1. Iowa (126.5)
2. Penn State (111.5)
3. Nebraska (88.0)
4. Michigan (76.0)
5. Purdue (67.0)
6. Northwestern (63.5)
7. Ohio State (63.0)
8. Minnesota (62.5)
9. Michigan State (61.0)
10. Rutgers (35.0)
11. Illinois (25.5)
12. Wisconsin (23.5)
13. Indiana (22.0) 
14. Maryland (2.0)