ST. LOUIS - The Cornhusker wrestling team's talent was proven once again at the NCAA Championships.
When the winter sports season began months ago, the Nebraska wrestlers had set many goals for themselves, one of which involved making it to nationals to then become 2008 All-Americans.
Sure enough, five Nebraska qualifiers managed to clinch the elite status on Saturday, the most All-Americans for the team in nearly a decade and a half, dating back to 1995 when NU heavyweight Tolly Thompson won a national title.
Although five wrestlers were recognized, none of them made it to the finals.
"It is good for those five guys," NU Coach Mark Manning said. "We want to have some national champions, and that's not going to happen this year."
A 2008 Big 12 Conference champion, 149-pounder and NCAA third-place finisher, Nebraska sophomore Jordan Burroughs said the team may have made a few mistakes, but its finish was well deserved.
"Despite loses in the semifinals, we have done a lot of things we haven't done in a long time," Burroughs said. "This is kind of a record-breaking season for us."
In Burroughs' six matches over the weekend, he finished with five wins against one loss. In the semis Friday night, Burroughs put up a fight against the No. 1-ranked Brent Metcalf of Iowa. He put the first points on the board with a takedown, but couldn't manage to hold Metcalf back and finished on the short end of an 8-4 score.
Burroughs said he wasn't going to let himself get down because he had to wrestle twice Saturday. In his last competition, he faced Michigan's Joshua Churella for the second time in the tournament, ending it with a 4-2 victory.
Returning to nationals for the third time, NU 2007 national champion Paul Donahoe earned his second All-American title Saturday. Not able to defeat second-ranked Jayson Ness of Minnesota, Donahoe was entered in the consolation bracket for another chance. He finished the tournament in third place at 125 pounds when he defeated Penn State's Mark McKnight in his sixth match of the tournament.
Manning said Donahoe's match in the semifinals was the deciding factor for who would compete in the final match.
"Paul was a hairlash away from being a national champion," Manning said.
NU sophomore Stephen Dwyer earned a No. 8 spot on the podium in his second straight appearance at the championships. He ended his second season with a record of 33-9 after he won three and lost three matches during weekend competition. Dwyer said one of his goals was accomplished, earning All-American status.
NU's other 2008 All-Americans included juniors Brandon Browne and Craig Brester. Both of them got their first All-American titles when they finished in fourth place in their respective weight classes. At 174 pounds, Browne finished his season earning fourth-place honors for the Huskers after losing only one match in regular-season dual competition.
In all of Brester's career against MU's Max Askren, he has gone 0-4. On Friday, the 197-pounder earned his first win against Askren with a 9-2 decision. Brester said the win showed him his practice had paid off.
"It feels like I am finally starting to get somewhere," Brester said. "It feels good."
No collegiate teams went undefeated in the 2008 tournament, along with none of the Huskers. Manning said sometimes that is just how it goes.
"It is just the ups and downs of wrestling," Manning said. "That is what makes it a great sport. It's a life experience; there are highs and lows."
danaahrens@dailynebraskan.com
