Huskers Roll Past Buckeyes, 28-12

Columbus, Ohio – After losing two of the first three matches, No. 10 Nebraska (9-1, 3-1 Big Ten) won six of the last seven en route to a 28-12 victory over No. 11 Ohio State at St. John Arena on Friday night.

Redshirt freshmen Tim Lambert (125) and TJ Dudley (184) each earned pins for the Huskers, while No. 1 James Green (157) added more back points with a major decision.

Lambert’s win came in the first bout of the night as he took down No. 16 Nick Roberts in 4:56. Lambert, the No. 9 wrestler by InterMat, improves to 17-6 and picks up his second fall of the season.

No. 5 Jake Sueflohn earned Nebraska’s next victory of the night in the fourth match and started a streak of five consecutive Husker wins. Sueflohn battled No. 18 Ian Paddock to a 4-4 tie after two periods before the Husker junior exploded in the third period for a 9-4 triumph. Sueflohn started the period in the down position and earned a reversal before adding near fall points and tacking on a riding time point.

At 157 pounds, Green used seven takedowns in his 16-4 major decision over Randy Languis. Green, a two-time All-American, is 23-0 on the season and picked up his sixth major decision.

Austin Wilson snapped a three-match losing streak by taking down Ohio State’s Joe Grandominico at 165 pounds. Wilson, a sophomore, earned an early takedown and battled to a scoreless second period to take a 2-0 lead into the final two minutes. Starting the third period in the down position, Wilson escaped before earning a takedown and tacking on an additional point for riding time in a 6-0 win.

No. 4 Robert Kokesh (174) continued Nebraska’s momentum in the following match by defeating No. 14 Mark Martin by a 6-2 margin. The grapplers entered the third period in a tie at zero before Kokesh earned an escape and two takedowns for the final score. Kokesh picks up his 25th win of the season and improves to 10-0 in duals.

At 184 pounds, No. 11 Dudley extended Nebraska’s lead to 25-9 with his pin over No. 8 Kenny Courts in 2:29. The fall marks Dudley’s eighth of the season to tie Kokesh for first among Nebraska starters. Dudley is 21-4 on the season and improves to 9-1 in dual competition.

Collin Jensen capped the NU victory at heavyweight with a 10-4 decision over Nick Tavanello. Jensen, a redshirt freshman, trailed Tavanello 4-1 after the first period before reeling off nine straight points against the Buckeye. Starting the second period in the down position, Jensen managed a reversal and near fall before a takedown in the third period and one final near fall.

The Huskers suffered losses at 133, 141 and 197 pounds to ranked Buckeyes. Shawn Nagel dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 5 Johnni DiJulius at 133 pounds before Colton McCrystal was pinned by two-time defending national champion Logan Stieber at 141 pounds. At 197 pounds, No. 20 Caleb Kolb fell by a 3-1 sudden victory to No. 8 Nick Heflin.

The Huskers continue their road trip on Sunday at noon CT when they face No. 21 Purdue at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind. The dual will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network, with a subscription required to view the matches.

Results
125: #9 Tim Lambert (NEB) by pin over #16 Nick Roberts (OSU), 4:56 (NEB 6, OSU 0)
133: #5 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) by dec. over Shawn Nagel (NEB), 2-1 (NEB 6, OSU 3)
141: #3 Logan Stieber (OSU) by pin over Colton McCrystal (NEB), 2:19 (OSU 9, NEB 6)
149: #5 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) by dec. over #18 Ian Paddock (OSU), 9-4 (NEB 9, OSU 9)
157: #1 James Green (NEB) by major dec. over Randy Languis (OSU), 16-4 (NEB 13, OSU 9)
165: Austin Wilson (NEB) by dec. over Joe Grandominico (OSU), 6-0 (NEB 16, OSU 9)
174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #14 Mark Martin (OSU), 6-2 (NEB 19, OSU 9)
184: #11 TJ Dudley (NEB) by pin over #8 Kenny Courts (OSU), 2:29 (NEB 25, OSU 9)
197: #8 Nick Heflin (OSU) by sudden victory over #20 Caleb Kolb (NEB), 3-1 (NEB 25, OSU 12)
HWT: Collin Jensen (NEB) by dec. over Nick Tavanello (OSU), 10-4 (NEB 28, OSU 12)