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Ridge Lovett finally climbs mountain, wins NCAA Wrestling title for Nebraska

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko03/23/25nickkosko59
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Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Ridge Lovett has seen this movie before: the NCAA Wrestling Finals and the opponent, Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. The Nebraska 149 pounder ended his career on top though, beating the defending champ 1-0.

Lovett was the NCAA runner-up in 2022 before redshirting in 2023. Following a sixth place finish las season, Lovett went back to the drawing board.

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Relying heavily on his teammates, coaches and family, it seemed like a group effort all season long. Not only that, Lovett lost to Henson in overtime earlier this year before getting it done Saturday night in Philadelphia.

“It’s awesome,” Lovett told On3. “Having everybody, just to see my teammates being so happy for me because I know how hard they work every single day. And I know what their goals are. They want to be national champs. They want to go out there, accomplish their goals, make their dreams come true.

“Being able to come off the mat and see how happy they are for me, it’s so awesome just being able to know that the guys I put work in with every single day, the guys I room with, that I live with, all the people back in Lincoln, back in Post Falls — shout out to my Idaho people.”

Lovett made sure to remind everyone of the team aspect of wrestling as Nebraska chased down a historic second place finish. The team had three NCAA finalists, two champions and eight All-Americans.

It’s hard to top Penn State in the team race, but Nebraska had one of the most impressive runs over three days. Lovett went out with a bang, putting the Huskers on top midway through the final session.

“I had (the state of Idaho) behind me, all of them cheering me on. It’s so awesome to accomplish this goal. It’s a community thing. Individual sport but it’s a team,” Lovett said. “This is truly the most team-oriented sport in the world. Our individual results impact how our team finishes in the tournament, and just having my guys behind me every step of the way is awesome.”