Husker wrestlers defeat Penn State, tie CMU

Nebraska wrestlers Stephen Dwyer and Brandon Browne brought heroics to the Nebraska Coliseum Friday night in a 23-14 victory over Penn State.

Those same feats were not enough to put away No. 6 Central Michigan University Sunday. Instead, the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers had to settle for a 17-17 tie in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

"That shows a lot of heart and a lot of fight," NU Coach Mark   Manning said after Friday's dual. "We've got to get 10 guys doing (what Dwyer and Browne did)."

Manning's point rang true in Sunday's double-header against Virginia Tech and Central Michigan. The duals summarized the seemingly double-sided team and its season to this point.

The Huskers came off a fiery Friday night win and stuck it to an undefeated Hokie squad, 26-11.

While Nebraska's heavier weight classes won each of the final six matches, the team's four smaller wrestlers were able to keep the damage to a minimum.

Craig Brester led the way once again for NU at 197 pounds, adding to his total of 17 bonus-point victories with a technical fall. Jordan Burroughs, Dwyer and Vince Jones each contributed with major decisions.

For Nebraska's struggling lighter side, Matt Vacanti scored a 6-3     decision at 133 pounds, improving his previous record of 14-10. Notably, redshirt freshman Andy Pokorny fended off an aggressive third period by VT's 13th-ranked Jarrod Garnett in an 8-2 loss.

Not giving up a major decision was something Manning said would be crucial to wining close duals.

"They're first year-starters, so they're not used to getting beat," Manning said. "(It's) a confidence issue, and it keeps snowballing."

But in Sunday's second round, NU had a tougher time minimizing severe defeats and losses in general.

Curtis Salazar, who weighs 141 pounds, and 149-pounder Robert Sanders couldn't keep their matches close enough to avoid the eight-point margin awarded for a major decision.

Similar to his Friday night bout during which he lost 12-11, Sanders gave up a big 6-2 opening period to CMU's eighth-ranked Steve Brown.

"It's the little things," Sanders said. "We improved on some of the little things from last week at the national duals, and now just a couple of other little things that came up that we need to focus on."

Of Central Michigan's six ranked wrestlers, four were lightweights at 125, 133, 141 and 149 pounds.

As Nebraska trailed 14-0 after the first four matches, nationally ranked No. 3 Burroughs got NU's juggernaut of big bodies rolling with a 13-5 major decision over CMU's Tyler Grayson in the 157-pound weight class. 

Dwyer and Browne followed Burroughs lead by finishing the weekend the same way they started it. The two all-Americans knocked off two top-10 ranked opponents: CMU's Trevor Stewart and Mike Miller, respectively.

But what ended up being an upset for CMU's 184-pound Vince DiDona over No. 10 Vince Jones ultimately allowed the Chippewas to endure the core of the Husker lineup and end the match in a tie.

With the score 10-17, the Husker's final two wrestlers could not score enough points to get the win. Brester's 16-6 major decision gave heavyweight Tucker Lane an opportunity to win the dual with another major decision –  one on which he couldn't capitalize.

"You're not going to look like a national champion every match," Manning said. "It's just unrealistic, but that's what we strive for."

davehoufek@dailynebraskan.com