Wrestling: Nebraska in the Trophy Hunt Going into NCAA Championships

If you’re a wrestling fan, March is the best month of the year. With conference weekend behind us, we’re heading into the NCAA Championships this week starting Thursday morning in Kansas City.

The Huskers are one of a number of contenders that will challenge for a team trophy — after awarding team trophies to the top 4 each year previously, the NCAA will only be awarding trophies to the top 3 finishers this year and going forward.

Having only finished in the top-3 once in program history in 1993 (although they finished fourth twice in 2008 and 2009 and received team trophies), it goes without saying that this year’s team will have to put together a historic national tournament performance to get it done.

With nine qualifiers and six of them seeded in the top 10, the Huskers appear to have the firepower to contend for one of those two trophy spots behind the presumptive winner Penn State. The Nittany Lions are heavy favorites to win their third team title in a row and their 11th in their last 13 tries. In wrestling, Penn State is a dynasty right now and there’s no end in sight, so the rest of the field is really just wrestling for 2nd place and individual glory from their wrestlers.

Based on seeds, Penn State is projected to win the tournament with 131.5 points (doesn’t include potential bonus points adding to their total). NC State is projected to get second with 83. That’s a 48.5 point cushion between #1 and #2, which is likely to be even larger once bonus points are factored in.

Nebraska is projected at third place with 58 points, while Lehigh (57), Oklahoma State (55), Iowa State (53.5), Arizona State (52), Cornell (52), Iowa (49.5), Virginia Tech (46) and Michigan (45.5) will all be in contention for a team trophy.

The 3rd-ranked Huskers went an impressive 12-2 in their dual season this year. In tournaments, Nebraska was just as impressive with its second-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas in early December. Then just over a week ago, the Huskers placed third at the Big Ten Championships behind just Penn State and Michigan. Nebraska even crowned a conference champ for the second straight year when Lovett won the Big Ten crown at 149 pounds — Silas Allred won a Big Ten title a year ago at 197 pounds, breaking an 8-year drought in that department.

Six of Nebraska’s qualifiers are making return trips to nationals — Peyton Robb has qualified for his fifth NCAAs (this will be his fourth tournament after the 2020 tournament was cancelled). Caleb Smith is going for a third time after qualifying for Appalachian State twice, while Lovett will also be going to his third tournament (4-time qualifier). Brock Hardy, Lenny Pinto and Silas Allred are all returning after qualifying last year as redshirt freshmen.

As for All-Americans, Nebraska has three wrestlers who have previously earned that honor in Robb, Lovett and Hardy. Robb is a two-time All-American and is going for his third. Full NCAA brackets can be found here.

Nebraska hasn’t had an individual NCAA champion since Jordan Burroughs did it in 2012. This year, Nebraska’s top-seeded Lovett gives the Huskers the best chance to end that drought they’ve had in years.

How do teams score points at NCAAs?

There are three ways that teams score points at nationals. There’s placement scoring, advancement points and bonus points.

The Top-8 finishers at each weight earn placement points for their team — these finishers earn All-American status. Here’s how it breaks down:

1st Place – 16 points

2nd Place – 12 points

3rd Place – 10 points

4th Place – 9 points

5th Place – 7 points

6th Place – 6 points

7th Place – 4 points

8th Place – 3 points

In addition to placement points, wrestlers earn advancement points. Every round that a wrestler advances to in the championship bracket is worth one point, while advancing a round in the consolations is worth .5 points.

Bonus points are awarded when a wrestler beats his opponent via pinfall, technical fall or major decision. A major decision (win by 8-14 points) is worth an extra team point, while a tech fall (win by 15 or more, match is stopped when this happens) is worth 1.5 points for the team. A pinfall win is worth an extra two points.

How to Watch

The NCAA Championships will air from Thursday morning until Saturday night with two sessions per day. The morning/afternoon sessions will air on ESPNU and ESPN+ each day, while the evening sessions will air on ESPN and ESPN+.

For the complete TV schedule, go here.

125 pounds – 15-seed Caleb Smith

NCAA tournament history

2022 – DNP (1-2) – at App St.

2023 – DNP (0-2) – at App St.

In his first season in the Husker room, Caleb Smith is going into NCAAs with a 20-9 record on the year. The App State transfer, Smith just finished in 8th place at the Big Ten Championships.

Not to be counted out of any matchup, Smith has some very impressive wins this year. He beat this week’s 1-seed Braeden Davis of Penn State 11-3 by major decision in their dual matchup and also has an 8-4 win over the 4-seed Matt Ramos of Purdue, last year’s NCAA finalist. The knock on Smith is that he’s struggled with some opponents, namely guys like 9-seed Patrick McKee of Minnesota and 10-seed Eric Barnett of Wisconsin. He lost to both guys twice this year, falling to McKee via 18-2 tech fall in their dual then 5-2 at Big Tens. Against Barnett, he fell 5-3 in their dual matchup before losing 17-2 by tech fall in the Big Ten 8th-place match.

For his career, Smith has a 76-25 record and is going to his third NCAA tournament. He hasn’t gotten close to placing at NCAAs yet, but he appears to have made noticeable improvements this year in Lincoln.

If he’s able to get on the podium from the 15-seed, it would help enormously in Nebraska’s hunt for a team trophy. Let’s take a look at what his tournament path could potentially be.

In the first round, Smith will take on 18-seed Michael DeAugustino of Michigan. Smith beat DeAugustino 8-5 in their dual match this year. If he gets by DeAugustino, which I believe he will, he’ll likely take on 2-seed Luke Stanich of Lehigh. A true freshman, Stanich was #65 on the class of 2023 Big Board. This season, he’s 19-3 on the year and just won the EIWA title. His only losses came to 8-seed Richard Figueroa of Arizona State, 6-seed Troy Spratley and high school phenom Jax Forrest. Considering he lost to a high school sophomore this season, the Lehigh freshman is obviously beatable. I expect the Husker junior to be in this match and possibly pull off the upset win.

With a win over Stanich, Smith could see either 7-seed Jakob Camacho of NC State or the 10-seed Barnett. I think either will be a tough matchup for Smith, especially Barnett who just beat him pretty badly.

Looking at the bracket, Smith would then drop down to possibly face 5-seed Jore Volk of Wyoming or 12-seed Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Volk is the Big 12 champion and has two wins over Smith this year, while Noto is 17-2 on the year and was ranked #1 in the country for a short time early in the season. Either of those matchups will be tough for Smith and he could fall here, one win shy of All-American honors.

If Smith wins that consolation matchup in the “bloodround”, he’ll lock up his first All-American finish, moving on to face 6-seed Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State or the 9-seed McKee. I believe Smith’s chances to be much better against Spratley than McKee based on past history.

The matchups don’t get any easier as you go to the next rounds of consolations. In an incredibly deep 125-pound weight class this year, it’s going to be exceedingly hard to make it on the podium through the back side. I’m not saying Smith can’t do it, but (after filling out the brackets) I personally have him falling in the bloodround (Round of 12) to Volk.

Regardless, he’s been a nice addition to Nebraska’s roster this year and will help anchor this lineup next year as a senior.

133 pounds – 14-seed Jacob Van Dee

NCAA tournament history

2024 – First-time Qualifier

In his redshirt freshman season, Jacob Van Dee took over the job and never looked back. He is going into NCAAs with a 22-8 record after finishing in 4th place at Big Tens with some solid wins over tough competition.

For Van Dee, his best win this year came against 5-seed Dylan Ragusin of Michigan in their dual, a 3-2 decision. Undefeated at that time, Ragusin went on to become a Big Ten finalist this year. Van Dee then went on to get wins over #11 Brody Teske of Iowa and #12 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State at Big Tens.

Looking at his path through the bracket, the 14-seed Van Dee will start with a first-round match against 19-seed Julian Farber of UNI. Van Dee has wrestled Farber twice this year, losing both matches — 9-5 at CKLV and 8-1 in their dual. Obviously, Van Dee is a freshman and has improved rapidly this year, but that’s a bit concerning going into a first-round matchup.

If Van Dee is able to beat Farber, he’ll likely see 3-seed Kai Orine of NC State in the second round. Orine is 15-2 on the year and just won an ACC title. This is a tough matchup for Van Dee, and I’d expect he falls to the consolations here.

On the back side, Van Dee would likely then have to face 20-seed Tyler Wells of Minnesota before facing either 11-seed Zeth Romney of Cal Poly or 12-seed Sam Latona of Virginia Tech. Van Dee fell to Romney 10-4 in their match at CKLV, so this is a tough matchup for him.

If Van Dee can advance to the bloodround, I have him facing 9-seed Dominick Serrano of Northern Colorado, a former starter for Nebraska in 2022 that transferred out. What could be more fun than a current and former Husker battling it out with the winner earning All-American honors and the loser going home?

If Van Dee does in fact get this far and wants to place high, he’ll likely see consecutive matches against guys like 5-seed Ragusin, 6-seed Vito Arujau (last year’s NCAA Champion and senior-level World Champion) and 7-seed Nasir Bailey.

I do think that placing on the podium is going to be a tall task for Van Dee, but he’s a tough kid who’s shown he can win tough matches. Much like Smith, Van Dee would really improve Nebraska’s chances if he can reach the podium out of the 14-seed.

141 pounds – 9-seed Brock Hardy

NCAA tournament history

2023 – 6th place (3-2)

Last season, Brock Hardy made it all the way to the national semis but ended up breaking a rib in his match to Iowa’s Real Woods, dropping an 11-1 major decision while noticeably in pain. He then lost a match to Lachlan McNeil in the consolation semis before injury defaulting out of the 5th-place bout, placing sixth to earn All-American honors. Had he been healthy, a trip to the finals was in reach.

This season, Hardy has struggled at times but still brings a 19-8 record into nationals after finishing fifth at Big Tens. For his career, Hardy has a 54-19 career record and will be climbing up the Husker career charts if he keeps on track the next two years. As the 9-seed this year, Hardy will have a tough road ahead of him if he wants to stay on track to be a four-time All-American.

As for bonus-point potential, Hardy has 12 bonus-point wins this year. He is tied with Allred for second on the team with six pins to go along with four techs and two majors.

Hardy opens his tournament with a match against 24-seed Vince Cornella of Cornell. Cornella is 14-9 on the year, and I think Hardy gets past him without too much trouble. Moving on to the second round, Hardy will likely see 8-seed Sergio Lemley of Michigan for their rubber match. The two split matches this season with Hardy winning 13-9 in the dual and Lemley winning 4-2 on a last-second takedown in the Big Ten quarterfinal. After how that match ended, I expect a more motivated and focused Hardy in that match.

With a win over Lemley, Hardy will move onto the quarters to face 1-seed Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, the 2024 Big Ten Champion at 141 pounds. Hardy faced Mendez at CKLV in early December, dropping the match via 11-3 major decision. Hardy is a sizable underdog in this one, so I have him likely dropping to the bloodround here.

In the Round of 12, Hardy could face either 11-seed Josh Koderhandt of Navy, 19-seed Malyke Hines of Lehigh, 20-seed Tom Crook of Virginia Tech or 21-seed Josh Edmond of Missouri. Hardy has a 4-0 win over Koderhandt this season but hasn’t faced the other three. Regardless, I think Hardy makes it past this round to secure All-American honors.

Next up for Hardy will likely be 4-seed Ryan Jack of NC State, 7-seed Cael Happel of UNI or 18-seed Cole Matthews of Pitt. Hardy is 1-1 against Jack in his career and 1-2 against Happel. This match is a true coin flip kind of match.

If Hardy advances past Jack or Happel, he’ll likely face 2-seed Beau Bartlett of Penn State or 3-seed Real Woods of Iowa in the consolation semi. Hardy is 1-1 against Bartlett and 0-5 lifetime against Woods.

If he can win that match, Hardy would wrestle for 3rd place against someone like 5-seed Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State or 6-seed Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina.

I do think Hardy will get to the quarterfinal before a back-side run that will place him in the 4-7 range. As the 9-seed and a returning All-American, Nebraska needs placement points out of the sophomore.

149 pounds – 1-seed Ridge Lovett

NCAA tournament history

2020 – Qualifier at 133 (Cancelled due to COVID)

2021 – DNP at 149 (1-2)

2022 – 2nd place at 149 (4-1)

2023 – Redshirt year

The biggest story of the year for the Huskers has been the performance out of top-seeded and top-ranked Ridge Lovett. He’s 24-1 on the year with his only loss of the year a 4-3 decision to Arizona State’s Kyle Parco, the 2-seed at NCAAs.

Lovett won a CKLV title back in December and has taken out 12 ranked opponents along the way — he twice beat Michigan’s #5 Austin Gomez, in their dual matchup and in the Big Ten final. Those are Gomez’s only two losses this year. Lovett leads the Huskers with seven pins in his 14 total bonus-point wins.

For his career, Lovett comes in with a 70-16 record and has finished as an All-American once in 2022. Lovett qualified for nationals as a true freshman down at 133 pounds (tournament was cancelled due to COVID) before moving up two weight classes the following year. He didn’t place at nationals in 2021 but he was a Big Ten finalist. He then came back in 2021-22 and made it all the way to the NCAA final where he lost to Yianni Diakomihalis. It was Diakomihalis’ third NCAA title and he went on to win his fourth last season. Lovett redshirted last year, so this is his junior season.

Looking at his path, Lovett will open with a first-round matchup against 32-seed Jeffrey Boyd of the Citadel or 33-seed Michael Cetta of Rutgers. That’s easy work for Lovett, advancing him on to face possibly 17-seed Graham Rooks of Indiana in the second round. Lovett beat Rooks by pinfall last weekend at Big Tens, so I don’t think he’ll be challenged here.

The quarterfinal round is where Lovett may first be challenged as he’ll take on Iowa State’s Casey Swiderski, one of the most aggressive wrestler in the weight class. He’s hard-nosed and he’ll take it straight to Lovett, so it’s certainly a match to circle. I still think Lovett wins this one, but he might come out of it a bit bloodied and beaten up.

Moving on, Lovett will face either 4-seed Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech or 5-seed Ty Watters of West Virginia. Henson gave Lovett a tough match in the CKLV final this year, a 4-3 decision win for Lovett, while Watters is a true freshman who just won a Big 12 title. He’s long, rangy and dominant in the top position. He reminds me a lot of a young Lovett when he was down at 133. I do expect Watters to eventually move up to 157 or higher in his career, but this match would be another fun one to watch. Neither of these are gimmes, but Lovett has been elite all season, so I expect him to win here and advance to his second NCAA final.

In the final, Lovett could face 2-seed Parco of ASU, 3-seed Jackson Arrington of NC State or 6-seed Gomez. Obviously, Parco gave Lovett his only loss this year, so that’s a matchup I’m sure he’d love to have so he could avenge that. Also, Lovett is 2-0 this year against Gomez, but he’s always dangerous with his big-move potential. Arrington is 18-3 on the year and just beat Henson in the ACC final, so he’s no slouch either.

Regardless of who he sees in the final, I expect Lovett to bring home some NCAA gold, snapping Nebraska’s national title drought.

157 pounds – 8-seed Peyton Robb

NCAA tournament history

2020 – Qualifier at 157 (Cancelled)

2021 – DNP at 165 (2-2)

2022 – 4th place at 157 (6-2)

2023 – 6th place at 157 (3-2)

After qualifying for the cancelled 2020 NCAA tournament, Robb has qualified each year since. In 2021, he was up a weight class at 165 and fell short of the podium. Down at his optimal weight of 157, Robb found the podium in 2022 and 2023 — finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.

Last year, he was plagued by a skin infection in his leg that soon threatened him life and limb. At the time, he was on a tear at NCAAs, falling in the semis to this year’s 1-seed Levi Haines of Penn State. He then spiked a fever and still competed in the consolation semis, dropping a 3-1 decision in sudden victory to Jared Franek, then of North Dakota State. Robb then medically forfeited out of the 5th-place match.

This season, Robb comes in as the 8-seed with his 21-6 record. He started this season winning his first 14 matches, capturing a title and being named Outstanding Wrestler at CKLV where he downed this year’s 2-seed Jacori Teemer of Arizona State in the final. He also leads the Huskers with nine tech falls. He has 13 bonus-point wins on the year.

As a senior with a 96-33 career record, Robb is heading into his final tournament in a Husker singlet. If he can win at least four matches this week, he’ll be the newest name on Nebraska’s 100-win list — he’d be the 31st member of that list. Last season, we saw Mikey Labriola get to 100 wins (120-28 career) and we could see another name added to the list for the third year in a row (Taylor Venz finished his career in 2022 with a 101-40 record). Looking ahead, Nebraska has a few more guys poised to join the club on the team right now — Ridge Lovett is 70-16 right now and could eclipse 100 wins next season. Then there’s sophomores Hardy (54-19), Allred (50-14) and Pinto (44-15) who are mathematically on track to get over the 100-win mark or close to it, especially considering their trajectory.

Anyway, back to Robb, the only senior on Nebraska’s roster (although this is also Nash Hutmacher’s one and only season in a Husker singlet. Next year he’ll be gearing up for the NFL combine after football season).

Looking at the bracket, Robb will have a first-round match against 25-seed Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern. Robb is 3-0 in his career against Chumbley, winning their only match this season 5-0 at Big Tens, so I don’t see much threat with this matchup.

Moving to the second round, Robb will likely face 9-seed Will Lewan for the third time this year. Robb beat the Wolverine 8-2 at Cliff Keen then 2-1 in their dual. Lewan is hard to score on as he wrestles a very defensive style, but he also isn’t much of a threat to score on Robb. I see Robb advancing here in a close one-takedown match.

In the quarterfinal, Robb will take on the 1-seed Haines. Robb is 0-3 against Haines in his career, dropping a 10-3 decision in their dual this year. This may be a hill too high for Robb to climb, as I have Haines going to the finals again as a sophomore.

With the loss, Robb drops to the bloodround and will likely face 11-seed Brayton Lee of Indiana or 14-seed Cody Chittum of Iowa State. Robb is 2-1 against Lee lifetime, winning a 2-1 decision at Big Tens last weekend. A match against the freshman Chittum and his hard-nosed style would be a fun one to watch, but I expect the savvy veteran Robb gets it done here to secure his third All-American finish.

Robb would then face someone like 4-seed Ed Scott or 7-seed Peyten Kellar of Ohio in the next round. Robb is 3-0 lifetime against Scott and 2-0 against Kellar. Robb beat Kellar twice this season in both the Navy Classic and at CKLV, winning both matches by tech fall 15-0 and 16-1.

Moving on to the consolation semis, Robb would face the loser of the semifinal between 2-seed Teemer and 3-seed Meyer Shapiro of Cornell. Personally, I think Shapiro gets to the final, so I think Teemer will be the opponent. Robb and Teemer have wrestled three times with Robb winning all three. In 2020, Robb won a 5-0 decision. In 2022, Robb won a wild 6-4 decision in the consolation semis at nationals (see the end of that below). This season, Robb beat Teemer 6-4 again in the CKLV final. I like Robb to win the fourth installment of this rivalry.

With a win, Robb will find himself in the 3rd-place match against either 5-seed Ryder Downey of UNI, 6-seed Daniel Cardenas of Stanford, 10-seed Jared Franek of Iowa or 12-seed Bryce Andonian. I think it’ll end up being Cardenas or Downey. Robb beat Cardenas 6-4 last year at NCAAs. Against Downey, Robb is 0-1, dropping a 6-5 decision in the dual in January. This could be a coin-flip type of match.

A 3rd-place finish for a third All-American to end his career would put him at 102-34 for his career, cementing his status as one of the best to ever compete for the Huskers.

165 pounds – 8-seed Antrell Taylor

NCAA tournament history

2024 – First-time Qualifier

Coming off a redshirt year when he and Van Dee were named co-Redshirt of the Year for the Huskers, they’re both in the NCAA tournament as freshmen. Taylor comes in with a 20-7 record on the year in a brutal weight class that’s loaded with accomplished wrestlers.

This season, Taylor has put together a solid freshman campaign with an 11-3 dual record. At Big Tens, he finished in 5th place. His best win of the season came in a 3-2 tiebreaker win over three-time All-American Cam Amine of Michigan in their dual.

Looking at the 165-pound bracket, Taylor faces a first-round match against 25-seed Holden Heller of Pitt. Taylor would get by the Panther with the 13-7 record on the year.

In the second round, Taylor will likely face Peyton Hall of West Virginia. Hall is 26-7 on the year out of the Big 12, the premier conference at 165 pounds. Hall will probably be considered the favorite in this matchup, but don’t rule out Taylor.

If Taylor downs Hall, he’ll move on to face 1-seed Keegan O’Toole of Missouri. A junior with two NCAA titles to his name already, O’Toole is on track to be a four-timer and will be an incredibly tough out for Taylor. I just don’t see how Taylor beats O’Toole, dropping him to the bloodround where he could face 14-seed Giano Petrucelli of Air Force. Taylor split matches this year with Petrucelli, but I think he gets him here.

Moving on, Taylor will likely face 5-seed Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin who just pinned Taylor in the Big Ten semifinal. Tough matchup for Taylor who would then drop to the 7th-place match where he’d likely face 6-seed Michael Caliendo of Iowa. Another opponent who downed Taylor in their only match this year, Caliendo would be the favorite here.

I’m not saying Taylor is going to place, but I do expect him to get a couple wins with the chance to find the podium. If he does place, that will move the Huskers up the team standings for sure.

184 pounds – 5-seed Lenny Pinto

NCAA tournament history

2023 – DNP (1-2)

Last season, Lenny Pinto burst onto the scene with his 22-11 finish as a redshirt freshman. This year, he’s upped his level and goes into NCAAs with a 22-4 record and got the 5-seed.

Boasting ten ranked wins on the year, Pinto has only lost to guys in the Top 5. His best win this year came against this weekend’s 3-seed Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State, a 12-10 decision at CKLV — Plott then beat Pinto later on in Vegas. Pinto also has a win over 6-seed Bernie Truax of Penn State who then beat Pinto in the Big Ten semifinal.

Pinto will open his second NCAA tournament with a first-round match against 28-seed Caleb Hopkins of Campbell. In their dual matchup this year, Pinto beat Hopkins 6-5, so this one may be another close one, but I expect Pinto to get the win.

In the second round, Pinto will likely face 12-seed Jaden Bullock of Michigan for the fourth time this year. Pinto is 3-0 in that series, beating Bullock 9-6, 10-4 and 4-1 in sudden victory. Pinto should get past the Wolverine again.

Moving on to the quarters, Pinto will face 4-seed Trey Munoz of Oregon State. Munoz is 19-3 on the year. These two met at CKLV in 2022 with Pinto winning the match 5-4. Pinto has gotten much better this year, so I expect he’ll get past Munoz in a close match.

In the semifinal, Pinto will likely face 1-seed Parker Keckeisen for the third time in his career. Pinto is 0-2 against the Panther junior — falling via 11-2 major decision at CKLV in 2022 and again at this year’s CKLV 8-4. This is a matchup that Pinto wants to prove he’s a title contender. It won’t be easy for him, but he’ll likely need to hit a big move at some point to get the win here.

With it probable that Pinto falls to Keckeisen, he’ll then drop to the consolation semifinal where he’ll likely face either 10-seed Dylan Fishback of NC State or 6-seed Truax. Pinto is 1-0 against Fishback with a 4-1 overtime win at CKLV. Against Truax, Pinto is 1-1, dropping the last one 4-2 at Big Tens.

For Nebraska to place where it wants to as a team, it probably needs Pinto to finish in the Top 4.

197 pounds – 8-seed Silas Allred

NCAA tournament history

2023 – DNP (2-2)

As a redshirt freshman a year ago, Silas Allred won a Big Ten title and made it to the NCAA tournament, going 2-2 and losing 1-0 in the bloodround to four-time All-American Jacob Warner of Iowa. He finished that season with a 25-7 record.

This season, Allred is 24-6 and just finished third at Big Tens with his only loss to #1 Aaron Brooks of Penn State. He had a few hiccups early in the season, but he’s largely been solid lately. He’s 11-2 in his last 13 matches with the only losses coming to Brooks. Allred is not only Nebraska’s leader in wins, he’s its leader in bonus-point wins with 17 — 6 pins, 8 tech falls, 3 majors.

At Big Tens, Allred finished third, getting his most impressive win of the season in the 3rd-place match against then-#3 Jaxon Smith of Maryland — a 10-3 decision where he collected three takedowns in the third period.

As the 10-seed at NCAAs, Allred will first face 23-seed Luke Geog of Ohio State. At Big Tens, Allred defeated Geog in the consolation semi via injury default when Geog injured his leg during an Allred takedown and was unable to continue. Allred was up 4-0 in the second period, so I assume the rematch will be all Allred.

In the second round, Allred will have a tough task as he faces an opponent that majored him this year in Iowa’s 7-seed Zach Glazier. Allred seemed off in January when this match happened, so I do think he can get the win this time with how he’s been wrestling lately.

Next up in the quarters will be as far as Allred will go this year as he’ll face 2-seed Trent Hidlay of NC State. Hidlay is undefeated and smashing everyone and looks like he’s on the war path toward Brooks in the final. It’s a match I want to see for sure.

With the likely Hidlay loss, Allred will fall to the bloodround and could face 5-seed Jacob Cardenas of Cornell or 12-seed Rocky Elam of Missouri. Allred lost to Cardenas via 17-1 tech fall at CKLV, so that’s a tough matchup for him. He hasn’t faced the three-time All-American Elam. Like I said, Allred has been peaking lately and looks like he could beat Cardenas or Elam, but it’ll be a tall task as he’ll be at risk of falling in the bloodround for the second straight year.

Let’s say he gets the win, Allred would likely move on to face 6-seed Lou Deprez of Binghamton — he’s 23-2 on the year. Allred will have another tough match here.

With a win, Allred would move on to face 4-seed Michael Beard of Lehigh, a former Nittany Lion. One of the best in the country the last couple years, Beard will be a tough out. With a win, Allred would likely see 3-seed Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State for third, an opponent he’s struggled against historically.

Regardless, Allred breaking through the bloodround and scoring placement points would be important for Nebraska.

285 pounds – 29-seed Nash Hutmacher

NCAA tournament history

2024 – First-time Qualifier

In one of the biggest stories of the year for Nebraska, current Husker and future NFL defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher joined the team in December, cut 45 pounds to 285, and took over the starting gig at heavyweight.

He’s 7-6 on the year and just picked up two upset wins at Big Tens on the way to placing sixth to auto qualify for NCAAs. He beat both #24 Seth Nevills of Maryland 7-0 and #32 Bennett Tabor of Minnesota 9-1 by major decision on the back side of the bracket. All six of his losses came to ranked opponents, including to #1 Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State.

Looking at the bracket, Hutmacher will first face 4-seed Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State. A Greco-Roman world-teamer, Schultz is also a former NCAA finalist. He’s 9-1 on the year. This matchup will probably be the “biggest” match weight-wise in the tournament, as Hutmacher routinely weighs in right at 285 pounds and Schultz often tips the scales at 280.

Hutmacher is facing very long odds here, and I expect him to hit the back side early. He’ll start with a match against 20-seed Daniel Bucknavich of Colorado State who is 23-4 on the year. This will likely be a close match as the Polar Bear tries to score some team points.

If he beats Bucknavich, Hutmacher will face 14-seed Boone McDermott of Oregon State. McDermott is 18-9 on the year and I could see Hutmacher beating him. With a win, Hutmacher could face 11-seed Josh Heindselman of Oklahoma who is 22-6 on the year. That’s about as far as I can imagine Hutmacher making it, but with his want-to and work ethic, I’m sure he can leave me eating crow on Friday, which I would love.

If he does, He could move on to face Ohio State’s 9-seed Nick Feldman before 5-seed Nathan Taylor of Lehigh. Then would come a match against 3-seed Wyatt Hendrickson and a 3rd-place match against either Schultz or 7-seed Taye Ghadiali of Campbell.

That’s a tough road for Nash Hutmacher or anyone to get through unscathed.

Regardless, just qualifying for this tournament was a huge accomplishment. Whatever he does this weekend is all just gravy.