After a season-capping fourth-place finish at the NCAA tournament this weekend, the Nebraska wrestling team showed the nation it could be on its way to becoming an annual force.
But it was not only the team's five All-Americans or fourth-place standing that has the Cornhuskers looking at a bright future.
A 47-0 blowout over Wyoming and a number of solid tournament performances early in the year helped boost the Huskers' momentum heading into their Dec. 6 meeting with then-defending national champion Minnesota.
The Huskers, however, garnered respect in their 25-13 loss to the Golden Gophers, which featured two NU forfeits, including one that would have featured this year's third-place finisher at 125 pounds in Paul Donahoe.
After the Minnesota loss, the Huskers constructed a 7-0 winning streak that lasted into January. Throughout the team's midseason run, NU made handy work of South Dakota State, Dana College, Northern Colorado and Oregon State, with a combined advantage of 157-27.
Un-seeded Nebraska then rallied its way into the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National dual tournament in Iowa, defeating then No. 9-ranked Northwestern, No. 1 Penn State and No. 6 Minnesota. The Huskers finally lost their second dual of the season in a 24-6 battle against then-No. 2 Iowa to capture second place at the tournament.
The 18-point deficit was not, however, what displeased NU Coach Mark Manning the most. After the tournament, Manning said the team wrestled poorly, and that the outcome should have been much closer.
Throughout the year, Manning showed little regard for the team's points, but instead focused on getting his wrestlers to wrestle their best and win individual matches.
"Talk is cheap," Manning said in a postseason press conference. "It's all about action, and that's how our team wants to be remembered; about our performance and about the mindset and attitude we take out on the mat and how we compete."
Manning said the points would work out OK as long as the team stayed focused on each match at hand. That philosophy helped Jordan Burroughs and his teammates rally late in the NCAA tournament.
"We didn't want to be one of those teams that just gave up being national champs," Burroughs said after placing third at nationals. "We wanted to come back strong and show everyone we had character and heart."
The Huskers continued that mindset as they went 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference and 5-1 in the last month of the regular season, losing only to Iowa State in NU's final dual.
But the Iowa State dual told more about the Huskers than it may have seemed.
"It was one small mistake that allowed us to lose that dual meet." Manning said in the press conference. "It was just a couple minor things. It wasn't that big of a deal."
Manning also said the final dual of the season could have very well been a positive, causing his wrestlers to be more focused on the competition of the Big 12 tournament and nationals.
It was Iowa State again, though, sending the Huskers home without complete satisfaction. Nebraska's second-place finish at the Big 12 tournament showed its vulnerability in tournament play, as the team won three individual championships while also placing four wrestlers in fourth and one in fifth out of the five-team field.
NU's hopes for winning the national championship were still high as it entered the NCAA tournament in St. Louis. But after a few key losses from the team's strongest wrestlers, the Huskers have had to rest their heads on establishing five All-Americans and finishing as the fourth-best team in the country.
"We could do a lot better than we did," Manning said. "That's part of maturing and taking the team to that level. We're still a ways away."
Davehoufek@dailynebraskan.com
