Nebraska Wrestlers pound Hoosiers 35-6

The Huskers continue to roll, picking up their fourth straight dual victory.

The No. 4 Nebraska wrestling team (9-3, 4-3 Big Ten) defeated Indiana (1-9, 1-8) 35-6 Sunday afternoon at Wilkinson Hall. The Huskers scored bonus points in six of their eight victories on the day in what turned out to be a dominant showing.

Match-By-Match Breakdown

*InterMat individual rankings used

141 pounds

Junior All-American Chad Red Jr. started things off with a bang for the Huskers, as the eighth-ranked Husker dominated an overmatched Eddie Bolivar. Red jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns, but just 52 seconds into the match Red rolled Bolivar onto his back for the quick win by pinfall.

Team Score: Nebraska 6, Indiana 0

149 pounds

In the lone matchup of the dual between ranked wrestlers, Nebraska’s No. 16 Collin Purinton took on Indiana’s No. 14 Graham Rooks. After a scoreless first period, Rooks got on the board first with a reversal after starting the period on bottom. A Purinton escape cut the Hoosier’s lead to 2-1 going into the third period. In the third and final period, Purinton started on bottom and tied the match at 2-2 with a quick escape. In a match that looked destined for overtime, a stalling call on Purinton gave Rooks a point and the eventual 3-2 decision victory.

Team Score: Nebraska 6, Indiana 3

157 pounds

For Nebraska, No. 18 Peyton Robb took the mat against Fernando Silva. Robb took an early lead with a takedown and a two-point nearfall after putting the Hoosier on his back to go up 4-0. In the second period, Robb scored two more points with an escape and a stall call on Silva to take a 6-0 lead into the final period. Robb secured another takedown and the riding time point before Silva got on the board with an escape. With riding time tacked on, Robb won the match 9-1 by major decision.

Team Score: Nebraska 10, Indiana 3

165 pounds

Nebraska elected to sit out senior All-American Isaiah White (No. 5) in this match, instead sending out redshirt freshman Jake Silverstein to face Indiana’s Dillon Hoey. Silverstein, a 157-pounder on the Husker roster, jumped out to a quick lead with a takedown and a four-point nearfall. After racking up over a minute of riding time, Silverstein gave up a reversal to Hoey. With a 6-2 lead, Silverstein gave up a takedown early in the second period but was awarded a point when Hoey was called for an illegal position. After scoring an escape, Silverstein went up 8-4 going into the third period. Hoey made things interesting to start the final period with a reversal to cut the lead to 8-6. In an attempt to even things up, Hoey cut loose Silverstein for an escape as he was hunting for more takedowns. Instead, Silverstein fended off a shot by Hoey before circling around for a takedown of his own. After the riding time point was tacked on for Silverstein, he secured his first career dual win 11-7.

Team Score: Nebraska 13, Indiana 3

174 pounds

Nebraska’s sixth-ranked Mikey Labriola took the mat to face Diego Lemley. Looking for his first win of the year, Lemley was no match for the Husker All-American. After a pair of takedowns, Labriola put Lemley on his back to secure the win by pinfall in under a minute.

Team Score: Nebraska 19, Indiana 3

184 pounds

No. 11 Taylor Venz of Nebraska was dominant as he picked up his second win of the weekend against Indiana’s Jake Hinz. Venz used a takedown, a stall call on Hinz and a four-point nearfall to take a 7-0 lead into the second period. In the second, Venz scored a reversal and a pair of nearfalls by rolling Hinz on his back to pick up a 15-0 tech fall victory, giving Nebraska yet another bonus point win.

Team Score: Nebraska 24, Indiana 3

197 pounds

No. 5 Eric Schultz of Nebraska started the scoring slow, as he secured a takedown and a 2-0 lead in the first period against Indiana’s Nick Willham. In the second, Schultz ramped things up with a catch-and-release strategy. The Husker junior secured three takedowns and an escape while releasing Willham three times in an effort to run the score up looking for bonus points. Taking a 10-3 lead into the third, Schultz continued to take down Willham on the way to an 18-6 major decision victory.

Team Score: Nebraska 28, Indiana 3

285 pounds

In an odd turn of events, Nebraska sent out No. 16 Christian Lance after going with fellow senior David Jensen the last three duals. Causing some confusion, Lance took the mat wearing Jensen’s singlet. It’s unclear why he was wearing his teammates garb, but it certainly sent the announcers for a loop. Anyway, Lance faced off against Indiana’s Jake Kleimola, a converted 197-pounder. With a noticeable size advantage, Lance controlled the match from beginning to end. The Husker secured five takedowns and an escape to comfortably win the match 11-4 for the major decision, giving the Husker more bonus points.

Team Score: Nebraska 32, Indiana 3

125 pounds

Nebraska’s Alex Thomsen took on Indiana’s Lium Cronin in what ended up being a low-scoring affair. After a scoreless first period, Thomsen started the second period on bottom and scored an escape, giving him a 1-0 lead that he took into the final period. Cronin secured an escape of his own to start the third, and with the match tied at 1-1, the Hoosier secured an all-important takedown with under a minute left to go up 3-1. With his riding time just getting over a minute as he rode Thomsen out for the remainder of the match, Cronin finished with a 4-1 victory, his sixth straight victory.

Team Score: Nebraska 32, Indiana 6

133 pounds

Nebraska’s 14th-ranked Ridge Lovett took on fellow true freshman Cayden Rooks in the final match of the afternoon. Lovett took the early lead with a two-point takedown, but Rooks tied things up with an escape and a point off of an illegal hold call on Lovett for locked hands. Tied 2-2 going into the second period, Lovett started on bottom and scored an escape to go up 3-2. Needing a point to tie the match, Rooks chose bottom position in the third period despite Lovett’s dominant top game. In fact, almost all of Lovett’s opponents this season have elected to go neutral rather than try their luck on bottom against Lovett who’s proven to be a human blanket on top. The move by Rooks backfired, as Lovett racked up a riding time point on the way to riding the Hoosier out for the entire third period. Lovett got his fourth-straight victory with the 4-2 decision.

Team Score: Nebraska 35, Indiana 6

What’s Next for Nebraska

Nebraska plays host to No. 22 Michigan Friday night at the Devaney Sports Center.