Wrestling Roundup: Big-Time Commit, Another Commit takes 3rd, Conference Schedule Announced

Well, a lot has happened in the world of Nebraska wrestling lately. Yes, the season doesn’t start until early November, but that doesn’t stop the Huskers from making moves.

In the last few weeks, Nebraska’s schedule was released, it picked up a big-time recruit, and another recruit impressed at one of the premier high school tournaments.

Camden McDanel Commits

Just this past Saturday, the Huskers picked up a huge commitment from Camden McDanel out of Ohio.

McDanel is a two-time Ohio state finalist and a former cadet Fargo National Champion (see below) in freestyle. He’s currently ranked No. 6 in the country at 195 pounds and is now Nebraska’s highest-rated wrestler in this class, coming in at No. 34 on the 2023 Big Board by Flowrestling. He chose Nebraska over Ohio State and Purdue.

McDanel now gives Nebraska four Top-100 wrestlers in its 2023 class. Also included are No. 41 Alan Koehler (120 pounds), No. 43 Kael Lauridsen (120) and No. 95 Weston Dalton (145). Nebraska also has a commitment from Griffin Ray who is not in the Top 100.

McDanel projects as a 197-pounder in college. And with the bulk of Nebraska’s roster in the lower and middle weights right now, the Huskers need to add talented depth in the upper weights.

This is a great start.

Alan Koehler at Journeymen Fall Classic

Husker commit Alan Koehler competed on October 1-2 at Journeymen, one of the toughest wrestling tournament of the offseason for high-schoolers.

Facing a small field at 125 pounds that included both No. 1 and No. 2 in the country at 120 pounds, Koehler had his work cut out for him.

In the quarterfinal round, the No. 4-ranked 120-pounder in the country took out Carson Walsh 10-6 via decision. Then in the semis, Koehler faced No. 2 Luke Lilledahl out of Pennsylvania. Koehler dropped the match 5-2 and fell to the 3rd-place match.

Facing No. 13 (at 126 pounds) Coleman Nogle, Koehler used a third-period takedown and ride-out to earn the 6-5 win.

Koehler moved up to No. 3 at 120 pounds in the updated rankings after the tournament.

Huskers Announce Full Schedule

In late September, Nebraska announced its conference wrestling slate. I already went into the nonconference slate here, but now we know the Huskers’ conference opponents.

2022-23 Nebraska Wrestling Schedule

Friday, Nov. 4 - North Dakota State in Lincoln, Neb.

Saturday, Nov. 12 – Journeyman’s Wranglemania (Army/NC State) in Bethlehem, Pa.

Saturday, Nov. 19 – Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md.

Saturday, Dec. 2-3 – Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.

Sunday, Dec. 18 – South Dakota State in Brookings, SD

Saturday, Jan. 7 – Campbell/Gardner-Webb in Buies Creek, NC

Friday, Jan. 13 – Minnesota in Lincoln, Neb.

Sunday, Jan. 15 – Northwestern in Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, Jan. 20 – Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa

Sunday, Jan. 29 – Wisconsin in Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, Feb. 3 – Illinois in Champaign, Ill.

Sunday, Feb. 5 – Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind.

Friday, Feb. 10 – Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio

Sunday, Feb. 12 – Rutgers in Lincoln, Neb.

Sunday, Feb. 19 – Arizona State in Lincoln, Neb.

Saturday, March 4-5 – Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Thursday, March 16-18 – NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

Initial Thoughts...

While Nebraska will face Big Ten heavyweights Iowa, Ohio State and Minnesota, the Huskers will not face off against Penn State and Michigan.

Avoiding those two heavyweights of the wrestling world is unfortunate, although the Huskers make up for that with non-conference duals against top teams NC State and Arizona State.

More of a deep-dive into this schedule and what it means coming soon.