Huskers Down Vikings, Lopers Behind Bonus Points

Returning to the Devaney Center, the No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team (5-0) defeated Augustana (S.D.), 37-7, and UN-Kearney, 28-17, behind 11 bonus-point match wins on Friday night. Seven Huskers made their dual debuts, and the Big Red came out on top in the “Holiday Havoc” triangular in front of 2,689 fans.

The dual against Augustana started at 125 as homegrown Husker Kael Lauridsen made his dual debut with a 8-1 decision over Christian Olsen. Lauridsen used a takedown and two nearfall points in the opening period to roll to the 8-1 decision.

With the 3-0 lead, Omar Ayoub (133) wrestled in his first career Husker match against Augustana’s Braiden Kort. Ayoub came out strong with two quick takedowns and four nearfall points to take the 10-1 lead at the end of the first period. With two more takedowns, two more nearfall points, and riding time in Period Two, Ayoub secured his first career tech. fall, 18-2.

The Huskers led 8-0 with Blake Cushing entering the mat at 141, facing Augustana’s Alex Mentzer. Cushing tallied three takedowns in the first period, leading 9-2. He opened the second period with three more points before recording a fall at 3:38 to earn the Huskers’ second-straight bonus point victory and Cushing’s eighth-career pin. 

Scott Robertson took on Cael Larson at 149, with Nebraska leading 14-0 in the match. Robertson held the 5-1 advantage with a takedown and a nearfall in the first period. Two more points by Robertson in the second period was enough to take the 7-5 decision for the Huskers. 

At 157, Dez Gartrell wrestled his first career match at Nebraska, facing Kyle Boeke. Gartrell scored a quick takedown and held a 3-1 lead through two periods, but two takedowns and riding time point for Boeke gave the Huskers their first loss of the dual, 8-5. 

After a brief intermission, Jagger Condomitti (165) returned to the mat against the Vikings' Payton Anderson. Condomitti led 5-1 with a takedown and a reversal, and took his first dual victory of his career with a pin at 4:38. With the six-point win, the Huskers extended their lead to 23-3 with four matches to go. 

LJ Araujo wrestled Josh Wagener at 174. Two takedowns and two nearfalls contributed to a 10-point first round for Araujo. Additional nearfalls and a reversal gave the freshman his first tech. fall of his career, 16-1. 

Adam Thebeau and Cade Mueller (184) both remained scoreless through two periods with Thebeau earning two minutes of riding time. Thebeau was the first on the board in period three with a reversal. Fending off a late rally from Mueller, Thebeau earned the 4-2 decision, bringing the match score to 31-3. 

On the mat next was Dominic Thebeau at 197, taking on Augustana’s Max Ramberg. Thebeau took the first three points with a takedown, however Ramberg responded with 15-straight points for a major dec., and the second victory of the day for the Vikings. 

For the final match of the dual, heavyweight No. 24 Harley Andrews wrestled Max Balow. After a takedown for Balow, Andrews responded quickly with an escape before earning his sixth-career pin. 

After the Huskers’ dominant 37-7 win over the Vikings, Nebraska met UNK. At 125, Alan Koehler took on Kearney’s Zach Ourada. After an early takedown from Ourada, Koehler responded with a reversal and a takedown to lead 5-4 going into the second period. Another reversal, takedown and riding time gave Koehler the 12-7 decision, and the first points for Nebraska in the dual. 

Next, No. 20 Jacob Van Dee met Hector Serratos at 133. Van Dee scored six points off takedowns in the first period and continued to dominate in the second, with 12-straight points. Van Dee recorded the first tech. fall of the dual for the Huskers (18-1) and gave Nebraska the 8-0 advantage. 

In Blake Cushing’s second match of the day, he faced the Lopers’ Joseph Airola (141). Cushing fired off 10 points in the first two periods. With five total takedowns, Cushing earned the Huskers’ second tech. fall of the dual (21-3). 

On the mat at 149, No. 5 Ridge Lovett wrestled Beau Hostler. Lovett recorded five takedowns and a nearfall in the first period, earning the tech. fall in less than two minutes. The victory for Lovett marked his fifth career tech. fall and extended the lead for the Huskers to 23-0. 

Looking for the fifth-straight bout victory, No. 3 Antrell Taylor took on UNK’s Cael Robb (157). Making quick work, Taylor used six takedowns in the first period for the Huskers’ fourth consecutive bonus-point victory of the dual (21-6) and second-straight first period tech. fall. 

After a brief intermission, action returned with a faceoff between No. 7 Bubba Wilson and Kearney’s Trenton Munoz. Wilson had a 6-2 lead after the first period. However, after sustaining an injury in the second, Wilson was forced to forfeit, giving UNK its first points of the dual (23-6). 

At 174, LJ Araujo wrestled his second match of the day, facing Dylan Vodicka. Four takedowns for Araujo in the first two periods contributed to a 15-2 lead. Another takedown early in the third was enough for the Huskers’ fifth tech. fall and Araujo’s second of the day. 

With three matches left, Ethan DeLeon took the mat against Jacob Deal at 184. After a scoreless first period, DeLeon scored an escape and earned a penalty point, however Deal tallied six points for the decision, and UNK’s second victory of the dual. 

With a 28-12 advantage, Nebraska’s Adam Thebeau wrestled Jackson Kinsella at 197. Two escapes from Thebeau in the second period wasn’t enough to take the victory, as Kinsella accumulated eight points in the final two periods for the decision, and UNK’s second-consecutive win. 

In the final match, heavyweights Matthew Moore and Crew Howard took the mat. In Moore’s first dual match of his career, he recorded two escapes in the first period, but 18 points from Howard clinched the third-straight win for UNK. Despite the loss, Nebraska powered past the Lopers, 28-17, and improved to 5-0 on the season. 

Up Next
The Big Red will head to No. 10 Northern Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 5 to close out non-conference competition. The dual is set for 1 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on FloWrestling.

No. 4 Nebraska 37, Augustana 7
125: Lauridsen dec. Christian Olsen (AUG) 8-1 (NEB 3, AUG 0)
133: Ayoub tech. fall Braiden Kort (AUG) 18-2 (4:31) (NEB 8, AUG 0)
141: Cushing pinned Alex Mentzer (AUG) 3:38 (NEB 14, AUG 0)
149: Robertson dec. Cael Larson (AUG) 7-5 (NEB 17, AUG 0)
157: Kyle Boeke (AUG) dec. Gartrell 8-5 (NEB 17, AUG 3)
165: Condomitti pinned Payton Anderson (AUG) 4:38 (NEB 23, AUG 3)
174: Araujo tech. fall Josh Wagener (AUG) 16-1 (3:39) (NEB 28, AUG 3)
184: A. Thebeau dec. Cade Mueller (AUG) 4-2 (NEB 31, AUG 3)
197: Max Ramberg (AUG) major dec. D. Thebeau 15-3 (NEB 31, AUG 7)
HWT: No. 24 Andrews pinned Ballow 1:35 (NEB 37, AUG 7)

No. 4 Nebraska 28, UNK 17
125: Koehler dec. Zach Ourada (UNK) 12-7 (NEB 3, UNK 0)
133: No. 20 Van Dee tech. fall Hector Serratos (UNK) 18-1 (3:04) (NEB 8, UNK 0)
141: Cushing tech. fall Joseph Airola (UNK) 21-3 (6:38) (NEB 13, UNK 0)
149: No. 5 Lovett tech. fall Beau Hostler (UNK) 19-4 (1:52) (NEB 18, UNK 0)
157: No. 3 Taylor tech. fall Cael Robb (UNK) 21-6 (2:27) (NEB 23, UNK 0)
165: Trenton Munoz (UNK) injury default No. 7 Bubba Wilson (NEB 23, UNK 6)
174: Araujo tech. fall Dylan Vodicka (UNK) 18-3 (5:22) (NEB 28, UNK 6)
184: Jacob Deal (UNK) dec. DeLeon 6-2 (NEB 28, UNK 9)
197: Jackson Kinsella (UNK) dec. A. Thebeau 8-2 (NEB 28, UNK 12)
HWT: Crew Howard (UNK) tech. fall Matthew Moore 18-2 (5:27) (NEB 28, UNK 17)