No. 7-ranked wrestling team wins first home dual

During an exciting neck-and-neck season-opening dual at home, the seventh-ranked Cornhusker wrestling team notched its first victory of the season.

In a dual that came down to the final bout, Nebraska defeated the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers 26-17. The win marks the team's 10th season-opening victory under head coach Mark Manning, as well as the team's 15th consecutive season-opening win.

With NU up by only three points heading into the final match of the day at 174 pounds, the fate of the Huskers was in the hands of senior Stephen Dwyer. With the score all knotted up at three apiece late in the third period, No. 6-ranked Dwyer pinned Wisconsin's Brendan Ard to solidify the NU victory.

"It was a good time, a very good dual meet," Dwyer said. "Wisconsin is a good team and a good opponent to have for a first home dual. They really came out and competed. Anytime you get a chance to face a team like Wisconsin, it's a real treat."

Nebraska started the day on fire. With the meet starting out at the 184-pound weight division, redshirt freshman Josh Ihnen made his Husker debut taking a 6-1 decision over UW's Jimmy Duffy.

Ihnen's win started a chain reaction as Nebraska would go on to take the first three matches of the day. All-American Craig Brester followed with a major decision winning 14-2. Sophomore Tucker Lane continued the winning in nail-biting fashion with a 4-3 overtime decision.

NU would then begin to slack, losing the next two matches at 125 and 133. Newcomer Mike Koehnlein then turned things back in Nebraska's direction with a 12-2 major decision. The win marked the first victory of Koehnlein's career at Nebraska.

Returning national champion Jordan Burroughs showed fans at the Coliseum why he is the top-ranked wrestler in the 157-pound weight division. Burroughs recorded his sixth pin of his career at Nebraska. The pin came just 25 seconds into the opening period, a time that will go down as the fastest fall in a varsity match since the Big 12 era began.

Aside from Koehnlein and Ihnen, three other newcomers competed for the Huskers against Wisconsin. Freshmen David Klingsheim, C.J. Napier and Ross Grande all made their Husker debuts, but fell short of victory.

"I think they did a good job." Dwyer said. "They are only going to get better, and I'm glad to have them on my team."

The majority of the team will now look ahead to the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha next Sunday. Burroughs, Brester and Dwyer have been selected to attend the 44th annual NWCA all-star tournament in Fullerton, Calif.

jayb.sloan@dailynebraskan.com