Nebraska Wrestling Falls to Top Ranked Iowa

Iowa City – Mikey Labriola and Eric Schultz won their individual matches for the Huskers, but the No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team ultimately fell to No. 1 Iowa, 6-31, on Friday night in Iowa City, Iowa.

No. 4 Labriola put the Huskers (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) on the board, earning a 7-4 decision over Patrick Kennedy in the 174-pound match. The junior landed his first shot, taking an early 2-0 lead that he would not surrender for the remainder of the match. Labriola scored three takedowns and an escape to pick up his second win of the season and second win over Iowa for his career.

No. 2 Schultz earned himself a top-10 win and added to the Huskers’ team total with a 3-2 decision over No. 4 Jacob Warner. In his second win over Warner in as many years, Schultz scored the lone takedown late in the third period to come away victorious in the 197-pound match.

The Hawkeyes (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) emerged dominant in the lower weights, winning the first six matches on the night. The team earned bonus points in the 125, 133, 157 and 184-pound bouts.

Starting at 125 pounds, Iowa’s top-ranked Spencer Lee pinned No. 11 Liam Cronin in 1:21. The next match saw No. 5 Austin DeSanto defeat Alex Thomsen by technical fall, 21-6.

At 141 pounds, No. 7 Chad Red Jr. met No. 1 Jaydin Eierman for the first top-10 matchup of the night. Red Jr. fired first, scoring a double-leg takedown to go up 2-0 early in the first period. In the second period, Eierman scored five points in addition to a first period escape to ultimately take the lead and finish with the 8-4 decision win.

No. 20 Brock Hardy faced No. 8 Max Murin at 149 pounds. Murin attacked first, but Hardy scored twice by escape to enter the third period tied 2-2. Murin went on to score an escape and a takedown in the final period and add a riding time point to take the match by 6-2 decision.

The Huskers continued to fight through the dual, but came up short at 157, 165 and 184 pounds. Caleb Licking (157) battled through his match against No. 6 Kaleb Young, but fell by major decision, 5-17. Earning an escape in each period, No. 16 Peyton Robb (165) was unable to land a shot on No. 2 Alex Marinelli, falling by 3-9 decision. Taylor Venz returned to the starting lineup for the Huskers to grapple with Nelson Brands in the 184-pound match but was defeated by Brands in a 13-5 major decision.

Following Schultz’s win, Iowa took the final match of the night as No. 3 Tony Cassioppi won the heavyweight bout against No. 16 Christian Lance by 4-0 decision.

Prior to the dual, the teams wrestled six extra matches. Nebraska finished 5-1 in the extra bouts, with Tucker SjomelingRidge LovettJevon ParrishSilas Allred and Cale Davidson picking up victories.

The Huskers return home next Saturday, January 23 to host a tri-meet against Maryland and Northwestern at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The meet kicks off two consecutive weekends of home wrestling competition for Nebraska.

#1 Iowa 31, #6 Nebraska 6 

125: #1 Spencer Lee (IOWA) pinned #11 Liam Cronin (NEB), 1:21 (6-0)
133: #5 Austin DeSanto (IOWA) tech. fall Alex Thomsen (NEB), 21-6 (11-0)
141: #1 Jaydin Eierman (IOWA) dec. #7 Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 8-4 (14-0)
149: #8 Max Murin (IOWA) dec. #20 Brock Hardy (NEB), 6-2 (17-0)
157: #6 Kaleb Young (IOWA) major dec. Caleb Licking (NEB), 17-5 (21-0)
165: #2 Alex Marinelli (IOWA) dec. #18 Peyton Robb (NEB), 9-3 (24-0)
174: #4 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. Patrick Kennedy (IOWA), 7-4 (24-3)
184: Nelson Brands (IOWA) major dec. #7 Taylor Venz (NEB), 13-5 (28-3)
197: #2 Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. #4 Jacob Warner (IOWA), 3-2 (28-6)
285: #3 Tony Cassioppi (IOWA) dec. #16 Christian Lance (NEB), 4-0 (31-6)

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