The Nebraska men struggled with distractions as well as No. 4 Iowa State in a 30-10 loss on Sunday afternoon.
NU’s 174-pound wrestler Brandon Browne lost his mother on Friday night. Thayes Browne died unexpectedly from heart complications. Brandon, the No. 3-ranked wrestler in his weight class, did not wrestle on Sunday.
“It is a tough deal, there are no guarantees in life,” said NU coach Mark Manning. “We teach our kids that family is the most important, and their faith is very important.”
Brandon and his brother Cameron, who also wrestles on the team, were not at the dual on Sunday.
Manning said his heart goes out to the Browne family.
“You know, hopefully this will make him stronger, and there is a reason why things happen and you have to make the best of every day,” Manning said.
The Cornhuskers carried on without the services of Browne but won just two matches on the day.
“Iowa State is a really good team,” Manning said. “They wrestle a tough style.”
That tough style paid off for the Cyclones, who were able to win several close matches throughout the dual.
“We had a couple opportunities to put ourselves in the match,” Manning said. “It looked like they dominated, but they are just a little bit better at a few of those weight classes.”
One of those classes is at 197 pounds. It featured a battle between No. 1-ranked Jake Varner of ISU and NU’s second-ranked Craig Brester.
Brester used a late escape to tie the match 1-1 in the third period. Varner managed a comeback with a quick takedown before Brester was able to escape again and was in the process of taking Varner down before he ran out of time. He fell 3-2.
When asked if he needed a few more seconds for the takedown, Brester responded, “Maybe that and maybe a couple more feet of mat. ... I got a little bit closer than last time.”
He was referencing the match at National Duals this year, when Varner beat Brester 10-3.
“I’ve got some work to do,” Brester said. “I’ve got some steps to take to get back up to the top.”
The two wrestlers who won for Nebraska were senior Vince Jones and junior Jordan Burroughs.
Jones ended his regular season with a first-period pin over Jerome Ward. He described the win as emotional - the loss of Browne’s mother affected him.
“I could tell before the match that he was emotional,” Manning said. “A lot of thoughts were going through his head.”
Manning said Jones did a great job fighting out of his situation to earn the first period pin.
“If he gets a guy on his back, he’s dangerous,” Manning said.
Jones just wanted to please the crowd.
“I kind of knew when they announced me as the ‘Kingpin’ that I wanted to give the crowd a pin,” Jones said.
Manning is looking for more of the same from Jones.
“We need seven more pins from him,” Manning said.
The seven pins would make Jones a Big 12 Champion and National Champion.
“Vince has a little spirit about himself,” Manning said. “He can really jump up there and surprise people. We want him to do that in two weeks and again at Nationals.”
The other win came from Jordan Burroughs. The win wasn’t in doubt, but the junior from Sicklerville, N.J., used a last-second takedown to secure the major decision.
Manning is glad the regular season has come to a close.
“We’ve had a trying season,” Manning said. “It has also made us tough as a team. We are going to prepare for Big 12 Championships.”
Manning made it clear that this loss won’t affect him or the team.
“The whole season is about two weeks from now and then nationals,” Manning said.
mikeschaefer@dailynebraskan.com
Wrestlers drop dual against ISU
Published: Sunday, February 22, 2009
Updated: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:02
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