Wrestling: Huskers Look Impressive at Saturday Tourneys

On Saturday, Nebraska sent 13 wrestlers to compete at the Navy Classic while eight more Huskers traveled to Kearney, Neb. to compete in the Younes Hospitality Open.

The Husker starters and a few backups traveled to the Navy Classic, while select backups and redshirts competed in Kearney.

Navy Classic

All in all, Nebraska had impressive performances from almost the entire team on Saturday, as 11 of its 13 entries made it to the semifinal round. Seven Huskers made it to the finals with five winning titles.

At 133, senior Boo Dryden improved to 5-1 on the year as he went 3-0 in capturing first place. In the final, Dryden defeated No. 17-ranked Cody Phippen of Air Force 3-2.

Then at 141, Nebraska’s No. 24 Brock Hardy went 5-0 with all five wins with bonus points. Hardy won his first two matches via major decision (win by at least 8) before pinning Kent State’s Louis Newell in 58 seconds. Hardy then earned a second-period tech fall (win by 15 or more) in the semis before downing Bucknell’s No. 17-ranked Darren Miller via 9-1 major decision in the final.

Wrestling at 149 pounds, Dayne Morton struggled as he went 0-2 on Saturday.

At 157 pounds, Nebraska had both No. 3-ranked Peyton Robb and true freshman Antrell Taylor competing. Robb was his normal dominant self as he went 4-0 with one pin, one tech fall and one major decision. He beat No. 18 Chase Saldate of Michigan State 12-6 in the final.

Taylor had himself a solid start to the day as he faced a tough field at 157. He started his tournament with a 10-7 upset win over No. 16 Andrew Cerniglia of Navy before a 10-1 major decision win in the quarters. In the semifinal round, Taylor fell to Saldate via pinfall. In the 3rd-place match, the young Taylor was again pinned, this time by No. 22 Peyten Kellar of Ohio. Taylor finished the day with a 2-2 record to place fourth.

Nebraska also had two wrestlers at 165 pounds. Sophomore Bubba Wilson, last year’s starter, made his season debut after he started the season injured. He started with two straight wins via decision before dropping his next two matches, decision losses in the semis and the 3rd-place match. Also wrestling at 165, redshirt freshman Jagger Condomitti won his first match but dropped his next two, going 1-2 and failing to place.

Nebraska wrestled both No. 3-ranked Mikey Labriola and sophomore Elise Brown Ton at 174 pounds. Labriola was simply dominant. He won his first match via 17-2 tech, then a first-period pin followed by a 24-9 tech fall in the quarters. He then downed The Citadel’s Ben Haubert via 17-7 major decision. In the final, Labriola won a forfeit. He’s now 7-0 on the year.

Brown Ton really surprised some people on Saturday, winning his first three matches via decision, including a 3-2 win over No. 24 Sam Wolf of Air Force. With the three wins, Brown Ton made it to the finals, setting up a Husker vs. Husker final, but he forfeited to his teammate Labriola.

In what is probably Nebraska’s closest roster battle, both Lenny Pinto and Nathan Haas wrestled in the 184-pound bracket this weekend. Pinto cruised into the final with a 21-6 tech fall in his first match followed by a pair of major-decision wins. In the final, Pinto fell to No. 15 Layne Malczewski of Michigan State via pinfall in the first period.

Haas had himself a solid tournament as well, winning his first three matches (one pinfall, one major decision and one regular decision). He then fell to Malczewski via 10-2 major decision in the semis. Haas then beat Lock Haven’s Colin Fegley 10-3 in the 3rd-place match.

At 197 pounds, Nebraska’s redshirt freshman No. 19 Silas Allred continued his early-season surge. He won his first two matches via pinfall before winning a 14-4 major decision over 5-seed Jacob Lucas of Navy. In the final, Allred took out Jacob Koser of Navy 9-4. With his 4-0 weekend, Allred improves to 8-1 on the year.

Husker senior Cale Davidson took the mat at 285 pounds. He won his first match 10-0 via major decision before earning a 7-3 decision to advance to the semifinal round where he faced No. 9 Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force. Hendrickson pinned Davidson in the first period. In the 3rd-place match, Davidson won via forfeit. With his 2-1 record on the day, Davidson is now 3-6 on the year.

Younes Hospitality Open

There were two divisions this weekend in Kearney, the amateur and the elite divisions. Nebraska had four in each with its true freshmen in the amateur division and the others in the elite division.

We’ll start with the elite division. Still waiting on Wisconsin to sign off on his eligibility, Kyle Burwick remains ineligible and wrestled unattached this weekend at 133 pounds. After a first-round 4-0 decision win, Burwick was on fire the rest of the day. He won his next four matches via 18-0 tech fall, then two first-period pins, and a 16-0 tech fall win in the final over Chadron State’s Quentrevio Campbell. He’s now 10-0 on the year, and if and when he’s eligible, expect him to be in the conversation for the starting spot at 133.

At 157 pounds, Nebraska wrestled both Nic Stoltenberg and Josh Licking. Both are redshirt freshmen and both went 1-2 on the day.

Husker junior Austin Emerson competed at 285 pounds. He won his first two matches via pinfall before a 5-3 decision win in the semis. In the final, Emerson fell to DII No. 2-ranked Lee Herrington of the University of Nebraska-Kearney via 3-1 decision.

In the amateur division, the Huskers were led by Nate Wemstrom at 197 pounds. He won his first three matches via decision before pinning Roman Bushek in the semis. Wemstrom then dominated Ibrahim Ameer of Cloud County CC 9-0 via major decision in the final.

Reese Davis also made it to the finals for the Huskers. Wrestling at 149 pounds, Davis pinned his first two opponents before a 20-2 tech fall win in his third match. Davis then earned a 12-5 decision in the quarters before winning via injury default in the semis. In the final, Davis was pinned by Jakob Smith of the Colorado School of Mines. Davis is now 9-2 on the year.

Wrestling at 157 pounds, Cameron Graham won his first match via pinfall before winning his next with an 18-0 tech fall. Graham then dropped his quarterfinal match 6-4 in overtime. Graham won three straight matches in the consolation bracket before earning third place with a no contest victory in the 3rd-place match.

At 133, Nebraska’s Hayden Mills won his first match via major before losing his second match via 8-4 decision, dropping him to the consolation bracket. He then rattled off four straight wins before having to “no contest” out after the consolation quarters, giving him sixth place. After going 5-1 on Saturday, Mills is now 8-3 on the season.