No. 16 Nebraska Rolls Past North Dakota State, 31-6
FARGO, N.D. – No. 16 Nebraska won the final nine bouts en route to a 31-6 win over North Dakota State in a non-conference wrestling dual on Sunday, Dec. 18 in front of 649 fans at the Bison Sports Arena. The Bison fall to 1-2, while Nebraska improves to 7-0.
No. 16 125-pounder Trent Sprenkle got the Bison off to a strong start, pinning Shawn Nagel in one minute 57 seconds to give the home side a 6-0 lead.
The Huskers rolled from there, winning nine straight, including four by major decision.
At 133 pounds, Justin Solberg took on 17th-ranked Ridge Kiley. Kiley tallied four takedowns en route to a 10-2 win.
Tyler Diamond wrestled No. 11 Jake Sueflohn at 141 pounds. The duo went scoreless for the first two periods before Sueflohn earned a reversal with 1:28 to go in the third period. Two points for stalling and riding time sealed the 4-0 win for the Husker.
At 149 pounds, Brandon Wilbourn jumped out to a 5-0 first period lead over Mark Erickson courtesy of a takedown and three-point near fall. Wilbourn increased his lead to 10-2 early in the third period, but Erickson tallied an escape and a takedown to get back into the match. A stalling point for Erickson with 10 seconds remaining made the final margin 12-6 in favor of Wilbourn.
The battle at 157 pounds featured two ranked wrestlers in No. 15 Steven Monk and No. 14 James Green. After a scoreless first period, Monk scored first with an escape in the second, but Green tallied a takedown with 25 seconds to go. Green took over in the third period, scoring three takedowns en route to a 9-3 win for his second win over Monk this season. Green also defeated Monk 7-6 in the third place bout at the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month.
At 165 pounds, Tyler Johnson came out strong against No. 5 Robert Kokesh, notching an early takedown of the Husker. From there, Kokesh scored seven straight points, including two takedowns and a two-point near fall. Johnson tallied an escape to start the third, but a takedown and riding time point by Kokesh clinched an 11-3 major decision for the Husker.
Kurtis Julson dropped a 7-3 decision to Nebraska’s Tyler Koehn at 174 pounds. Koehn tallied a takedown in each period as well as a second period escape in the win.
At 184 pounds, No. 10 Josh Ihnen opened with a four-takedown first period against Mac Stoll. Ihnen went up 9-4 in the second after a two point near fall. Stoll tallied his first takedown of the match with 43 seconds to go in the third, but an escape by Ihnen with nine seconds left gave Ihnen an 11-6 win.
Nebraska’s James Nakashima jumped out to a 7-1 lead over John Gusewelle at 197 pounds through the first two periods. Gusewelle managaed an escape in the third period, but Nakashima earned a takedown and a point for riding time to clinch a 10-2 major decision.
In the final bout of the day, Evan Knutson took on No. 10 Tucker Lane. Lane tallied a takedown and two-point near fall early in the first period. Knutson tallied an escape with 21 seconds to go in the period, but it proved to be his only point as Lane scored five points in the third plus a riding time point to claim a 10-1 major diecision.
No. 16 Nebraska 31, North Dakota State 6
125 – No. 16 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) fall Shawn Nagel (UN), 1:57
133 – No. 17 Ridge Kiley (UN) maj. dec. Justin Solberg (NDSU), 10-2
141 – No. 11 Jake Sueflohn (UN) dec. Tyler Diamond (NDSU), 4-0
149 – Brandon Wilbourn (UN) dec. Mark Erickson (NDSU), 12-6
157 – No. 14 James Green (UN) dec. No. 15 Steven Monk (NDSU), 9-3
165 – No. 5 Robert Kokesh (UN) maj. dec. Tyler Johnson (NDSU), 11-3
174 – Tyler Koehn (UN) dec. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 7-3
184 – No. 10 Josh Ihnen (UN) dec. Mac Stoll (NDSU), 11-6
197 – James Nakashima (UN) maj. dec. John Gusewelle (NDSU), 10-2
Hwt – No. 10 Tucker Lane maj. dec. Evan Knutson (NDSU), 10-1