3 Takes: Nebraska wrestling stumbles to finish fourth in the National Duals
After winning the first two rounds of the National Duals Invitational, No. 2 Nebraska wrestling (3-2) was dominated by Ohio State 33-3 in the semifinals and Oklahoma State 33-6 in a battle for third place. NU only won three of its 20 bouts on Sunday, crumbling any hope of what appeared to be a golden path to the championship.
The Huskers missed out on the $200,000 payout for the winning team, but still left Tulsa, Oklahoma, with $75,000 for their program.
Here are three takeaways following NU taking fourth place:
Reality check
Camden McDanel was the only Husker to get a win in the dual vs. Ohio State. In fact, the 197-pound sophomore also had two of Nebraska’s only three total takedowns against the Buckeyes.
Consequently, NU’s woes carried to the consolation battle against Oklahoma State, losing its first seven matches to the Cowboys.
Nebraska getting convincingly beaten wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card. The 66-9 combined margin of losses showed that although head coach Mark Manning has a talented lineup, the Big Red has significant strides to make if it wants to repeat the success it had last season.
What happened with Taylor & Hardy?
It was a tough tournament for NU’s two main leaders. No. 1-ranked 157-pound junior Antrell Taylor lost two of his three bouts during the tournament, which included being handed a 16-4 major decision by Brandon Cannon in the semifinal round.
Meanwhile, No. 2-ranked 141-pound senior Brock Hardy lost two of his four matches. Hardy was the underdog against No. 1-ranked Jesse Mendez and lost a respectable 4-1 dogfight. Yet what was shocking was that he got crushed 13-2 in his following match by a true freshman, Sergio Vega.
Taylor didn’t compete in the final dual against Oklahoma State. It’s unclear if he was battling an injury or if Manning decided to rest him. Dez Gartrell filled Taylor’s slot and was beaten 21-6 by technical fall by Landon Robideau.
While an upset may happen at times, four combined losses in two days is beyond bizarre for the two multi-time All-Americans.
Allred & Ferrari provide light
After each losing their bouts against Ohio State, 184-pounder Silas Allred and heavyweight AJ Ferrari each recovered to secure top-10 wins against Oklahoma State in their divisions.
Allred fell to Dylan Fishback 8-1 in a battle of No. 6 vs. No. 7. However, the senior All-American bounced back to take down No. 5-ranked Zack Ryder. Allred scored a reversal in the second period and a takedown in overtime to secure a 5-2 sudden victory.
Meanwhile, Ferrari fell 5-4 against Nick Feldman. But the No. 2-ranked pound-for-pounder responded by edging out No. 9-ranked Konner Doucet 2-1 to cap off the National Duals.
Top 10
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Considering Nebraska only won three bouts on Sunday, two of its three wins coming in the final three matches, gives NU something to build on.
Other Results
***Sophomore Alan Koehler (125) lost each of his bouts on Sunday, 5-0 against Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone and was pinned by Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley.
***Redshirt freshman Omar Ayoub (133) lost to Buckeye Ben Davino via 11-2 major decision.
***Redshirt freshman Kael Lauridsen took over the 133-pound slot against Oklahoma State and lost by a 9-3 decision vs. Ronnie Ramirez.
***Freshman Nikade Zinkin (149) was pinned by Ethan Stiles of the Buckeyes and came up just short in his final match, losing a tight 7-6 battle to the Cowboys’ Casey Swiderski.
***Redshirt freshman LJ Araujo (165) lost by a 10-1 major decision against Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher.
NU forfeited its 165-pound match against Oklahoma State. It’s unclear if Araujo suffered an injury or not.
***Christopher Minto (174) lost each of his bouts by decision, 5-1 against Carson Kharchla and 2-1 to Alex Facundo.
***McDanel lost his final 197-pound bout by a 2-1 decision against Cody Merrill.
Nebraska has the next few weeks off to reset before returning to action on Dec. 5 in the Journeymen Duals in St. Charles, Missouri. The Huskers will take on Brown at 6 p.m. CT, followed by Missouri at 8 p.m.
