Skip to main content
nebraska logo

Nebraska wrestling dominates Wisconsin for third straight dual victory

Joseph Maierby:Joseph Maier•about 21 hours•

JosephMaier29

Nebraska wrestling vs. Wisconsin
Photo Courtesy of Scott Bruhn and Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska wrestling returned to the Devaney Center on Friday after a dominant trip to Michigan which featured two dual victories by a combined score of 76-9.

The Huskers kept their momentum against Wisconsin, cruising to a 35-7 win. Despite trailing 7-0 early, back-to-back emphatic wins from Brock Hardy and Ridge Lovett put Nebraska back on top. The Huskers never looked back, winning the final eight bouts of the night.

Nebraska will have a week off before traveling to Iowa for a massive rivalry dual. The No. 2 Hawkeyes lost to Penn State 30-8 on Friday, earning one just more point than the Huskers did two weeks ago.

Here is a recap of the victory over Wisconsin:

141 lbs: No. 6 Brock Hardy vs. Brock Bobzien

Nebraska fell into a 7-0 hole early after Wisconsin’s only two ranked wrestlers won at 125 and 133 pounds. Brock Hardy was having none of it. He immediately turned things around in the third bout of the night.

Hardy took a quick 6-1 lead and cashed in his second takedown for a pin of Bobzien. The first-period fall erased the Badgers’ lead and ignited a crowd that was ready to explode.

“I try to avoid watching what’s before me. I’m one who gets wrapped up in other people’s matches,” Hardy said after the dual. “Obviously I could sense the energy was a little off in the arena when we were down 7-0. At that point, it was just, I gotta go do what I do which is score points and have fun.”

149 lbs: No. 3 Ridge Lovett vs. Royce Nilo

Lovett kept the momentum rolling in the following bout.

Lovett nabbed four takedowns in the first period to give himself a 12-3 advantage after three minutes. He started P2 on top and quickly added four near-fall points to his tally. Two more near-fall points gave Lovett a victory by technical fall with 25 seconds left in the second period, 18-3

Back-to-back dominant performances put the Huskers back on top 11-6. They never looked back.

“Both Brock [Hardy] and Ridge [Lovett] coming out like that, they’ve wrestled the big matches. They understand,” head coach Mark Manning said after the dual. “When good teams have good guys, they understand. In big matches, they rise up.

157 lbs: No. 4 Antrell Taylor vs. Luke Mechler

Antrell Taylor found himself in a dog fight early.

After nearly rolling into the stands, Mechler and Taylor exchanged a heated moment during a stoppage. The crowd immediately came to Taylor’s defense. He responded with a takedown and slammed Mechler down with an emphatic mat return.

Taylor led 4-1 after the second period with the riding time point still in the balance. He exploded with energy in P3 with two more takedowns, nearly earning a third. Taylor finished with a 10-3 win.

“Last year, early in the year, he wouldn’t have done that,” Manning said of Taylor. “It would have ended up being 4-3 or something like that. To get two takedowns late was big, and he almost got another one. Antrell [Taylor] is just figuring out how to be his best.”

Other Results

125 lbs: Kael Lauridsen fell to No. 17 Nicolar Rivera, 8-2. An early takedown was all Rivera needed against the former four-time state champion.

133 lbs: No. 22 Zan Fugitt dominated No. 14 Jacob Van Dee from start to finish. An 11-1 victory by major decision gave Wisconsin the early 7-0 advantage.

165 lbs: No. 8 Christopher Minto defeated Cale Anderson by major decision, 11-2.

174 lbs: No. 14 Lenny Pinto came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat Luke Condon at 174 pounds, 9-4.

184 lbs: No. 8 Silas Allred dominated Dylan Russo from start to finish. A 14-3 victory gave Nebraska its second major decision win of the night.

197 lbs: No. 20 Camden McDanel secured his first career pin against Niccolo Colucci in the first period.

Heavyweight: No. 22 Harley Andrews defeated Gannon Rosenfeld 10-2.

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for our Daily and Breaking News Newsletters.

You may also like