Nebraska held its annual wrestle-offs Friday at the Hendricks Training Complex in front of a wrestling room full of fans.
Here is some of the action before we dive into things.
Now, here are the weight-by-weight notes:
125 pounds
Nebraska’s three 125-pounders competed in a round robin with a starting spot on the line.
Redshirt freshman Kael Lauridsen earned a 5-3 decision
win over sophomore Alan Koehler in a much-anticipated match that could decide who takes the mat for Nebraska this season. I fully expect this competition to continue on. Lauridsen also beat true freshman Abdi Unle via pinfall in the first period.
The difference in the match between Lauridsen and Koehler was Lauridsen’s ability on top — he earned an early takedown in the first period and rode out the remaining 2:12 of the period. Koehler hit a nice slide by for a takedown in the second and rode the period out after a Lauridsen escape to start the period. Koehler chose neutral in the third and was unable to score, although he was in pretty deep and approaching a takedown as time expired. Lauridsen added a riding-time point at the end with his 1:07 advantage.
Koehler then beat Unle 17-2 via tech fall with four takedowns and four near-fall points.
133 pounds
Returning All-American Jacob Van Dee looked in mid-season form today as he beat fellow junior Hayden Mills via pinfall while up 16-1 in the second period, pulling out his patented jonesy tilt.
Backup Omar Ayoub didn’t wrestle — it’s unclear why.
Regardless, Van Dee looks to be in great shape and was still working out as everyone left. He has that first-one-in, last-one-out kind of mentality. He seems focused and ready to jump levels.
141 pounds
This is the one weight class where there was no wrestle-off. Returning NCAA finalist Brock Hardy is the only wrestler at his weight.
He was however running practice before wrestle-offs — he’s the unquestioned leader of this team.
149 pounds
Outside of 125, this is the weight class with the most intrigue because senior transfer Chance Lamer is not eligible until the second semester, but that didn’t stop him from competing today.
In a four-man bracket, the 1-seed Lamer took on true freshman Nikade Zinkin, a highly-touted recruit out of California on the top side. Lamer scored a first-period takedown (in the video above), but Zinkin secured two escapes, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Lamer scored an escape to start the third before icing the match with a late takedown before Zinkin got a third escape. Lamer took the match 8-3, but Zinkin showed why he was recruited so heavily.
In the bottom semi, sophomore Scott Robertson faced senior Blake Cushing. After a scoreless first period, Robertson scored a second-period takedown to Cushing’s pair of escapes. Robertson extended his lead to 4-2 with an escape before holding off a furious late push by Cushing.
In the final, Lamer took an early lead over Robertson with a pair of takedowns in the first period to go up 6-2. He added an escape and a takedown in the second to go up 10-2. Robertson scored an escape in the third but was unable to get through Lamer’s defense, giving Lamer the 10-3 win. The Cal Poly transfer didn’t surrender a single takedown on the day.
On the back side, Zinkin took on Cushing. Zinkin used a first-period takedown on the edge (in the videos above) to eventually earn the 4-1 decision win.
I would imagine that Nebraska will employ a committee approach at 149 for the first semester. I expect Zinkin to get his five events, including some action at National Duals. Robertson will likely split time with Zinkin with Cushing possibly getting some action as well.
It’s also clear that Lamer is Nebraska’s best guy at the weight and he’ll add another threat to the lineup starting in January.
157 pounds
Obviously, Nebraska is set here with returning NCAA Champion Antrell Taylor. He certainly looked the part both in practice and in his match.
He took care of business today with a dominant 15-0 tech fall over fellow junior Dez Gartrell.
165 pounds
Redshirt freshman LJ Araujo looked solid today as he beat senior Jagger Condomitti 7-3.
Araujo scored a takedown in the first period before he and Condomitti traded reversals in the second period — Araujo was up 6-3 going into the third.
A guy who’s known for his top game, Araujo showed it off in the third period when he rode out the period to add on a riding-time point.
174 pounds
In what was possibly the match of the day, All-American Christopher Minto took on true freshman Ty Eise.
Minto was able to score a takedown (in the videos above) in the first period, and it ended up being enough to earn the 4-2 win. Eise gave Minto everything he could handle out there, showing why he was Nebraska’s top recruit in the 2025 class (#20 overall by FloWrestling).
The Huskers are certainly in good hands at 174 pounds, and that’s without mentioning the injured Ethan DeLeon who went 19-6 last year as a redshirt freshman.
184 pounds
Returning All-American Silas Allred took care of business against redshirt freshman Marco Christiansen, beating him via pinfall in the second period after scoring three takedowns.
Allred looked solid and will contend for a spot near the top of the podium this year.
197 pounds
In a round robin, All-American Camden McDanel was dominant. He first beat fellow sophomore Dominic Thebeau 13-2 by major decision before downing Cooper Colson 17-2 by tech.
Thebeau beat Colson 12-1 by major decision.
Nebraska is set with Camden McDanel who seems to have really grown into his new role on this team as one of its new leaders.
285 pounds
With both AJ Ferrari and Matthew Moore out with injury, last season’s starter Harley Andrews took on true freshman Cade Ziola.
Andrews started the scoring with a first-period takedown before Ziola scored a reversal. Andrews then went up 4-2 with an escape going into the second.
Andrews went up 5-2 with an escape point in the second before Ziola evened things at 5-5 in the third with a neutral danger takedown with 33 seconds left in the match. Needing to ride out the match, Ziola sunk both boots in and was able to score four near-fall points in the waning seconds for the 9-5 decision win.
Andrews did appear to injure his knee during a scramble, but he completed the match and it didn’t look too serious.
Ferrari was in attendance mingling with fans sporting both a walking boot on his right foot and a splint on his right pinky finger. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go next week for the Navy Classic.
