Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Nebraska wrestling team finished third at the 2023 Big Ten Championships with 104.5 team points. Silas Allred highlighted the day, winning the 197-pound Big Ten title. That marks the first Big Ten Champion for NU since Robert Kokesh won in 2015.
The Huskers put five wrestlers in the finals this weekend and clinched seven automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
Finals
The first of five Huskers in the finals, No. 2 Liam Cronin (125) met No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa for the second time this season. Cronin scored two escapes, but Lee held the momentum and defeated Cronin by decision, 8-2.
No. 3 Brock Hardy then faced No. 1 Real Woods of Iowa at 141. Woods got an early takedown before Hardy was rewarded a point due to Woods’ stalling. Hardy battled, but fell by decision 2-1 to finish second.
At 157, No. 1 Peyton Robb and No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State were tied, 1-1. Moving on to overtime, Haines recorded a big takedown to win 3-1 in sudden victory.
No. 2 Mikey Labriola added a runner-up finish, falling to No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) in the finals with a 6-1 decision. After two periods, Labriola only trailed by one, but Starocci pulled away in the final two minutes
At 197, No. 2 Silas Allred was crowned Big Ten Champion with a 6-3 decision over Penn State’s No. 1 Max Dean. Allred notched a takedown in each period to seal the win and cap off NU’s performance in the final session.
Fifth-Place Matches
At 165, No. 10 Bubba Wilson held on to a 1-0 advantage through the first two periods, but a third-period escape and takedown from No. 6 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) gave him the 3-1 win.
No. 7 Lenny Pinto (184) exploded from the whistle, pinning No. 8 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) in 1:09. That marks Pinto’s second fall of the meet and sixth of the season.
Consolation Semifinals
At 165, Wilson got NU started in the consolation semifinals against Michigan’s No. 2 Cameron Amine. Wilson and Amine wrestled to a 1-1 tie after regulation and went into overtime. After still holding the 1-1 score, the duo went into the tiebreak where Amine grabbed the escape point and was awarded another point due to Wilson’s locked hands to secure the 3-1 victory.
Pinto then faced Michigan’s No. 4 Matt Finesilver at 184. Pinto scored the takedown in Period 1, but it was not enough as Finesilver scored seven points in Period Two to claim the 8-2 victory.
Both Wilson and Pinto went on to wrestle for fifth place.
Ninth-Place Semifinals
In Nebraska’s opening bout of the session, No. 11 Dayne Morton dropped a tight 4-2 match to No. 11 Tony White (Rutgers) in sudden victory. Morton kept the 2-1 lead throughout the first two periods, but White got an escape to tie it up. With a takedown in sudden victory, White won the ninth-place semifinal.
Up next, NU has two weeks to prep for the 2023 NCAA Championships which are set for March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Nebraska Finishes Third at Big Ten Wrestling Championships
