Husker Wrestling: #6 Nebraska Traveling to Face Both #12 Missouri and Brown

The 6th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team returns to action today for the first time since a disappointing 4th-place finish at the National Duals Invitational to take on both #12 Missouri and Brown at the Hustle

in the Heartland in St. Charles, Mo.

Nebraska will take on Brown at 6 p.m. and Missouri at 8 p.m. with the duals streaming live on FloWrestling.

While Brown does have some quality wrestlers, the real matchup here is against the Tigers of Missouri who just finished eighth at National Duals. Missouri has all ten of its starters ranked nationally, while Nebraska only has eight of its available starters currently ranked. The Huskers have seven guys in the Top 10 though, while Missouri has only one guy in that range — freshman phenom #2 Aeoden Sinclair at 184 pounds.

Nebraska will be tested here. After a down performance at National Duals and a couple weeks off, maybe it’s what this team needs.

It’ll also be interesting because Nebraska suffered multiple injuries in Tulsa — Kael Lauridsen at 125, Jacob Van Dee and Omar Ayoub at 133, Antrell Taylor at 157, LJ Araujo at 165, and AJ Ferrari at 285 were all injured in some way. To me, the most interesting thing will be who Nebraska sends out there — that’ll tell us a lot as far as those injuries are concerned.

I’m pretty sure most of those guys have been back to practice for a while now after missing minimal time.

Weight-By-Weight Preview

125 pounds

Nebraska has struggled this season at the lightest weight class — as a team, the Huskers are 0-5 in duals at that weight. Redshirt freshman Kael Lauridsen is 5-4 on the year while sophomore Alan Koehler is 8-7.

I expect Nebraska to keep splitting the reps here with Koehler getting one match and Lauridsen getting the other.

Against Brown, Nebraska will take on senior Jared Brunner — he went 4-21 last year as the starter and hasn’t wrestled a match this season yet. I think this may be an opportunity as well for Nebraska to get true freshman Abdi Unle a dual match.

Missouri will have #17 Mack Mauger — a redshirt freshman with an 8-4 record on the year. Mauger fell to #7 Jore Volk 2-1 at National Duals and beat #23 Diego Sotelo of Michigan via pinfall — Lauridsen fell to Sotelo 5-2 this year while Volk beat Koehler 3-0 at the Bison Open in November.

I would expect that the guy who’s ahead in the competition for the spot will be the guy who takes on Mauger.

133 pounds

Nebraska’s #8 Jacob Van Dee wrestled just one match at National Duals due to a shoulder injury, but he’s quietly been one of Nebraska’s best wrestlers to start the season — he’s 5-1 overall and 2-0 in duals, making him the only Husker starter who is undefeated in dual competition.

Van Dee’s one loss came when he got caught via pinfall while up 9-5 with under 30 seconds left in a match at the Navy Classic — it’s still the only takedown he’s given up all year. In fact, the one match Van Dee wrestled in Tulsa while injured was a 10-0 major decision win over Michigan’s Gauge Botero.

After having three weeks to heal up and recover, I expect Van Dee to be in for both of these matches against Brown’s Michael Joyce and Missouri’s #24 Kade Moore — especially since his backup Omar Ayoub is out with a broken hand.

Joyce has not wrestled this season after qualifying for NCAAs last year at 125 pounds, while Moore is 9-4 this season. A two-time NCAA qualifier for Missouri, Moore beat Botero narrowly 10-9 at National Duals.

If Van Dee wrestles like he has for 99 percent of the season, he’ll win both these matches fairly easily.

141 pounds

After going 2-2 at National Duals, Nebraska’s #3 Brock Hardy will look to get right in St. Charles. A three-time All-American, a Big Ten champion and an NCAA finalist, Hardy is 7-2 on the year and will be heavily favored in both matches.

Brown will have either Jacob Joyce or Ian Oswalt. Jacob Joyce is a sophomore who went 12-3 last season at 133 pounds, while Oswalt is 2-2 this season after going 18-10 last year — he’s started the past three years for Brown and has a 34-42 career record.

Missouri will have #21 Zeke Seltzer — a junior with a 9-3 record on the year. Seltzer went 21-9 last year at 149 and has a couple ranked wins this year over #22 Greyson Clark of Purdue and #27 Tyler Wells of Oklahoma. All three of his losses have come to guys ranked in the Top-15.

Hardy should cruise here.

149 pounds

Nebraska has #7 Chance Lamer here, but he’s ineligible until the second semester due to transfer rules, so true freshman Nikade Zinkin will again take the mat. A true freshman can compete in five “events” while keeping their redshirt — Zinkin has wrestled in three so far, making these duals his fourth.

A two-time state champ out of California, Zinkin is 3-5 this year, but that doesn’t tell the story of his season. He’s stepped up and competed against some of the best in the country and had his moments — dropping matches to #11 Casey Swiderski of Oklahoma State (7-6 decision), #3 Lachlan McNeil of Michigan (15-5 major) and #12 Ethan Stiles of Ohio State (pinfall) at National Duals. He has dual wins this year over Lehigh’s Anthony Evanitsky and Army’s Ryan Franco.

He’ll take on either Joey Iamunno or Eli Carr of Brown — Iamunno is a sophomore who’s 9-5 this year, while Carr is a true freshman with a 5-5 record. Missouri will have #16 Josh Edmond — a three-time NCAA qualifier at 141 who is 9-2 on the year up at 149.

Edmond went 2-2 at National Duals and has a 65-35 career record. This match represents another measuring-stick kind of outing for the highly-touted freshman Zinkin — it also does a lot to prepare him for next season when he’ll be in the lineup full-time.

157 pounds

Speaking of getting right, #5 Antrell Taylor went just 1-2 at National Duals, dropping a pair of matches via major decision to #4 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State and #12 Logan Rozynski of Lehigh. The returning NCAA Champion Taylor is now 6-2 on the year.

Against Brown, Taylor will face either Dom Frontino or Ethan Mojena — both juniors. Frontino is 9-5 this year while Mojena is 10-4. Both guys went 3-2 at the Princeton Open. Mojena got the start in Brown’s lone dual, so I expect to see him here. He won’t be a push-over, but Taylor will be heavily favored.

Against Missouri, Taylor will face #20 James Conway, a junior who is 4-3 on the year. Conway qualified for NCAAs last year with a 19-17 record — he fell to Taylor via 20-4 tech fall during the Husker’s sophomore title run.

If Taylor is right after injuring his knee in Tulsa, he should blow through both matches.

165 pounds

Another Husker on the mend, #13 LJ Araujo is 6-1 on the year with his lone loss a 10-1 major decision to Ohio State’s #12 Paddy Gallagher at National Duals — Araujo injured both hamstrings in that match.

Earlier in that tournament, Araujo knocked off then-#8 Max Brignola of Lehigh via pinfall. A redshirt freshman, Araujo was a prospect that the Husker coaching staff really liked from the 2024 recruiting class, and he’s so far lived up to expectations.

Against Brown, Araujo will likely take on freshman #28 Maximus Norman — he’s 9-2 this year. As for common opponents, Norman beat #29 Evan Maag of George Mason 15-9 this year, while Araujo beat Maag 6-5 at the Navy Classic. This may just be the match of the dual here with freshman phenom against freshman phenom.

Missouri will have Lincoln native #14 Maxx Mayfield — a Northwestern transfer who’s qualified for NCAAs three times. Mayfield is 6-2 this season and 65-49 for his career — he’s 0-2 for his career against Antrell Taylor but beat Christopher Minto 8-1 at Big Tens last season (although Minto had an injured ankle at that tournament).

Mayfield presents a legitimate challenge to Araujo. A win here would continue to build the young Husker’s impressive resume.

Don’t be surprised if you see Jagger Condomitti here at some point — the senior is 4-0 on the year.

174 pounds

Nebraska has #10 Christopher Minto at this weight class — he’s 6-2 on the year after going 2-2 at National Duals. Minto dropped matches to #6 Carson Kharchla of Ohio State (5-1) and #9 Alex Facundo of Oklahoma State (2-1).

An All-American last year at 165 as a redshirt freshman, Minto has scored 16 takedowns this year and given up just two.

Brown will have either Drew Clearie or Jonathan Conrad — both seniors. Clearie is 6-7 this season, while Conrad is 2-2 after missing last year. Don’t be surprised to see true freshman Ty Eise here — a highly regarded 2025 recruit who went 2-2 at the Navy Classic for his only action of the year.

This is another premier matchup in this dual as Minto takes on #11 Cam Steed. Steed was at 165 last year too, and he placed seventh with a 19-7 record. At National Duals, Steed went 3-2 and recorded a 5-3 win over #12 Beau Mantanona of Michigan. Minto beat Mantanona 4-1 in sudden victory in Tulsa. A junior, Steed has a 29-13 career record.

The Steed match is a must-win if Minto wants to move back up the Top 10 at 174.

184 pounds

Nebraska has #8 Silas Allred here — the senior is 7-2 on the year after finishing seventh at NCAAs as a junior last season. Allred dropped matches at National Duals to both #6 Dylan Fishback of Ohio State (8-1) and #7 Brock Mantanona of Michigan (10-8), but he did beat #9 Zack Ryder of Oklahoma State 5-2 in sudden victory.

Allred will first take on Brown’s Thomas Sandoval – a sophomore with an 8-6 record on the year.

Allred’s next match is by far the premier match of the day with Allred taking on #2 Aeoden Sinclair, a redshirt freshman with an 11-1 record on the year. A former U17 World Team member in freestyle for Team USA, Sinclair has already collected multiple impressive wins this year — a 21-4 tech over Mantanona and a 6-3 win over then-#1 Max McEnelly of Minnesota at National Duals. His only loss was a 3-2 decision on riding time in tiebreakers against #1 Angelo Ferrari.

Sinclair looks like an NCAA finalist-caliber guy, so I’m afraid this match could get away from Allred like many of his matches against top-shelf completion have gone — he’s lost and given up bonus points to guys like McEnelly (16-6 major last year), Carter Starocci (11-2 major), Trent Hidlay (11-3 major in 2024), Aaron Brooks (14-2 major), Jacob Cardenas (17-1 tech fall), and Tanner Sloan (12-1 major) in the past.

Don’t get me wrong, Allred is totally capable of winning this match. After all, he beat then-#4 Ryder (a Penn State transfer to Oklahoma State) at National Duals when Ryder was the talk of the wrestling world.

197 pounds

For the Huskers, they have #10 Camden McDanel here. The 8th-place finisher at NCAAs last year as a freshman, McDanel is 7-2 this season. McDanel went 3-1 at National Duals — most notably losing 2-1 in tiebreakers to Oklahoma State’s #9 Cody Merrill and beating Ohio State’s Seth Shumate 8-2 in Tulsa.

Against Brown, McDanel will take on #31 Andrew Reall, a sophomore with an 11-1 record on the year. Really went 12-16 last year as a freshman at 184 pounds. His only loss was an 8-3 decision to Oregon State’s #6 Justin Rademacher. For context, Rademacher has multiple wins over McDanel in freestyle at the U20 level and could be a legitimate NCAA title threat this year as a sophomore.

Against Missouri, McDanel will face #15 Evan Bates — a senior with an 11-3 record on the year. A Northwestern transfer, Bates is a two-time NCAA qualifier with a 58-48 career record. Last season, Bates fell to McDanel 5-2 at the Big Ten Championships.

Wins over both Reall and Bates would go a long way for McDanel when it comes to postseason seeding. Also, despite the rankings discrepancy, the bigger threat of the two to McDanel will likely be Reall.

285 pounds

Last but certainly not least, Nebraska has #3 AJ Ferrari at heavyweight — Ferrari is 4-1 on the year with his only loss a 5-4 decision to Ohio State’s #2 Nick Feldman at National Duals. Ferrari also beat #5 Taye Ghadiali 11-3 by major decision in Tulsa. Ferrari is now 54-3 for his college career.

Against Brown, Nebraska will take on Alex Semenenko — a senior with a perfect 8-0 record on the year. A fourth-year starter, Semenenko went 26-14 last season. This is a match where I think we could see true freshman Cade Ziola get his second “event” under his belt.

Missouri will have #23 Jarrett Stoner, a sophomore with a 7-4 record this season. Stoner went 20-7 a year ago and has only lost to ranked opponents this season — he fell to Ghadiali via 17-7 major decision at National Duals.

With Ferrari nursing some injuries, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ziola wrestle both of these matches — and I think he’s capable of winning both of them. After all, Ziola already beat #13 Koy Hopke of Minnesota 8-7 in his second collegiate match at the Bison Open in November.

An in-state high school legend, Ziola has incredible length and brings such a different skill set to the heavyweight class that a lot of these guys aren’t ready for — ankle picks, scrambles and cradles to name a few. He’s set to redshirt this season, but once he gets in the starting lineup, look out.

Would love to see him hit the mat today though.