This weekend marked one of the most positive events in college wrestling in decades as the first national doubles tournament took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This was a major step in the development of wrestling as 16 of the best teams in the country came together for an incredible doubleheader with payouts of over $1 million.
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Unfortunately, after a strong Saturday in the early rounds, No. 2 Nebraska pretty much fell flat on its face Sunday in the semifinal round and subsequent No. 3 doubles match. Nebraska beat No. 8 Lehigh 35-7 on Saturday and then beat No. 11 Michigan 24-14 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Nebraska dominated No. 4 Ohio State 33–3, winning just one match. With third place and $75K on the line—3rd place took home $150K and 4th $75K—Nebraska faced No. 5 Oklahoma State and again failed to compete competitively in a 33-6 double-header.
Overall, after winning 14-6 head-to-head on Saturday, the Huskers went 3-16 on Sunday.
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With so much hype surrounding this team entering the season after a historic runner-up finish last March at the NCAAs, this weekend has certainly tempered expectations for a team that suddenly doesn't seem as dangerous as it did last week.
But that's the nature of the sport—guys get beat and teams get blown out of doubles—especially early in the season. However, it seemed like other top teams – particularly eventual champion Ohio State, Iowa State and Oklahoma State – were simply more prepared and prepared for this weekend.
Sometimes weekends like this early in the season can be the best thing for a team, but that doesn't make it any easier for the Huskers to swallow. If you've followed this team for years, like I have, you know Sunday's performance isn't necessarily unusual for the Huskers – they often struggle early in the season and then again in early January. From what I can tell, a lot of it depends on Nebraska's training cycle.
Despite this, this pill is still difficult to quit.
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Nebraska is now 3-2 on the year in doubles and doesn't have an undefeated starter — except for No. 8 Chance LaMere, who is not yet eligible to wrestle with the team. With 19 days left until the next meet, the Huskers have some work to do.
Here are my thoughts after this weekend:
125 pounds “There's a big hole in Nebraska, and there's no two ways about it.” I do expect both Kael Lauridsen and Alan Koehler to recover from their experience this weekend, but Nebraska has yet to win a doubles match this year at 125. Lauridsen is 0-3, and one of his matches this weekend will see him at 133, while Koehler is 0-2 at doubles.
133 lbs – No. 11 Jacob Van Die of Nebraska won his only match this weekend, but he was wearing a shoulder brace and appeared to be injured – otherwise he would have struggled more this weekend. Van Di won a 10-0 decision over Michigan's Gage Botero. Omar Ayoub went 1-1 for Van Die, defeating Lehigh's Mason Ziegler 11-2 in a major decision before falling to No. 8 Ohio State's Ben Davino 11-2. In the final against the Cowboys, neither Van Di nor Ayoub took the mat – instead Lauridsen struggled with weight – losing the match 9-3 to Oklahoma State freshman Ronnie Ramirez.
141 lbs — It was a tale of two days for No. 2 Brock Hardy — he went 2-0 on Saturday with a pin and technical fall, and went 0-2 on Sunday. In the semifinals, Hardy fell to top seed Jesse Mendez 4–1 with a late takedown and then surrendered four takedowns to Oklahoma State freshman Sergio Vega in a 13–2 major decision loss. I'm not worried about the loss to Mendes – Mendes is a monster and is now 4-1 against Hardy – but the loss to Vega does bother me. Vega was by far the best rookie and very talented, but it's not often you see Hardy completely outclassed on the mat.
149 pounds — Despite going 1-3 over the weekend, true freshman Nikadeh Zinkin showed he's a serious starter. He's replacing Lamer as a redshirt this year, and he won his first match 5-1 over Lehigh's Anthony Ewanicki, but he actually showed us more in his losses – he nearly scored a takedown on No. 2 Michigan's Lachlan McNeil, was cradled on No. 10 Ohio State's Ethan Stiles before getting pinned, and scored a takedown in a close decision loss 7-6 Casey Swiderski from Ohio State. State of Oklahoma. A leader who now starts at 149 next season, we saw a few flashes this weekend.
157 pounds — In my opinion, No. 1 Antrell Taylor has never looked like himself this weekend. He went 1-2, losing to No. 23 Logan Rosinski of Lehigh (9-1 major) and No. 9 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State (16-4 major). He gave up some big moves and behind points and was never able to get going on offense except for his 20-5 technical fall over No. 30 Cam Catrabone of Michigan. Dez Gartrell got the start here and at 165 pounds – he scored the first takedown before falling to No. 4 Oklahoma State true freshman Landon Robideau 21-6 on technique.
165 pounds — The weekend started off with a bang as No. 18 LJ Araujo, a redshirt freshman who came into the tournament undefeated, defeated No. 8 Max Brignola of Lehigh. Araujo didn't pitch against Michigan after that and lost the major, 10-1, to No. 16 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State. Araujo injured his hamstring in that match as the Huskers lost at 165 against Oklahoma State and reserve Gartrell replaced him at 157.
174 lbs — No. 4 Christopher Minto of Nebraska had a great Saturday, winning his first match 11-2 (my top decision) and then coming off a surprise 4-1 win over No. 8 Bo Mantanona of Michigan. In Sunday's match against the Buckeyes, Minto gave up a first-period takedown in a 5-1 loss to No. 9 Carson Harchle. In the No. 3 doubles match, Minto fell to No. 10 Alex Facundo of Oklahoma State, causing controversy as an official review after a late sequence resulted in him being called for an illegal hold—a head scissors—costing him a point and match 2-1 by decision of the judges.
184 lbs — Nebraska's No. 6 ranked pound-for-pound Silas Allred had one of his best weekends. Allred first beat No. 29 Rylan Rogers of Lehigh 4-2 before falling to No. 14 Brock Mantanona in a close match, 10-8. Allred then lost 8-1 to No. 7 Ohio State's Dylan Fishback before picking up his biggest win of the season, a surprise 5-2 win over No. 4 Zack Ryder of Oklahoma State. It was a great result for Husker Sr. as he looks to find another podium finish among some truly talented youngsters.
197 pounds — Nebraska had another good weekend here, with No. 7 Camden McDanel leading 3-1. McDanel started with a 15-6 win over No. 20 JT Davis of Lehigh and then pulled off a surprise 4-1 win over No. 32 Michigan's Hayden Walters. On Sunday, McDanel picked up Nebraska's only win over the Buckeyes, defeating Seth Shumate 8-2. In the match against the Cowboys, McDanel took the field against No. 9 Cody Merrill—after regulation and a surprise victory, both players tied 1–1, with McDanel ultimately losing the tiebreaker 2–1.
285 pounds — Nebraska's No. 1 AJ Ferrari went 3-1 over the weekend — he started with a 19-4 technical victory over Lehigh and then pulled off an impressive 11-3 major win over No. 4 Taye Ghadiali of Michigan. Against the Buckeyes, Ferrari lost a 5-4 decision to No. 6 Nick Feldman before bouncing back to beat No. 9 Conner Doucet of Oklahoma State 2-1. For the most part he looked solid and Feldman's loss was a bit of a fluke – I just wish he would have focused more on his offense because when he decides to punch he often ends up on top.
Lastly, if you're a Husker fan and you're going crazy this Sunday, don't do it.
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The season is long and it is very rare for someone to go through the entire season without some setback. I have full faith that this team and this coaching staff can turn things around.
