Qualifications for this year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships were revealed tonight, with all 10 of Nebraska’s starters earning a spot in the Big Dance, with eight of them finishing in the top 13 of 33 wrestlers in each weight class.
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Here are Nebraska’s seeds in each weight class and their first-round opponents. I’ll break down the tournament in a preview early next week once I get a chance to get into the bracket.
As for the team tournament where the top four teams win the trophy, Nebraska is ranked fourth based on seeding. Last season, Nebraska entered the weekend in fourth place and a program-best second-place finish behind Penn State.
As expected, Penn State is the favorite to win the team title again this year, but the battle for second through fourth and the team trophy will be tight — Nebraska will compete with teams like Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Iowa State, Iowa State, Virginia Tech and Cornell for those spots.
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Initial thoughts and observations
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After overcoming difficulties and qualifying for the NCAA, No. 25 seed Kyle Lauridson The first round match was against No. 8 seed Dean Peterson of Iowa State, but the young Husker was defeated 4-3 in the Big Tens game. It wasn’t a bad first game for the No. 25 seed.
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Winner of four straight in first round against UNI’s No. 20 seed Julian Farber, No. 13 seed Jacob Vandy He will then face fourth seed Aaron Seidel in the second round. Seidel, one of 133’s elite freshmen, is 18-1 on the year, with his only loss coming to No. 1 seed and fellow freshman Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State. Seidel is an elite player and will be a tough choice, but Vandy was an All-American a year ago, so he’s going to be a tough choice for Seidel.
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At the age of 141, Third seed Brock Hardy His path to his second NCAA final was a tough one. He will likely face No. 14 seed Brayden Davis of Penn State in the second round – Davis defeated Hardy in doubles before being locked up. Hardy then had to defeat three consecutive opponents in Cornell’s sixth-seeded Vince Cornella, Oklahoma State’s second-seeded Sergio Vega and Ohio State’s first-seeded Jesse Mendez – who have a combined 60-1 record this season. Hardy has not faced Cornella in his career, but he is 1-6 against Mendes and 0-2 against Vega. Hardy has a tough road here.
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After needing to open bid to NCAA, Nebraska No. 20 seed chance Ramo Will fight it in this competition. After a tough first-round match against No. 13 seed Joseph Zalgo of Wisconsin (who just lost in the Big Ten), Larmer will face back-to-back games against No. 4 seed Collin Gaye of Virginia Tech and No. 5 seed Coy Busgens of NC State, before potentially facing No. 1 seed Shane Van Ness of Penn State in the semifinals – Larmer knocked out Van Ness for the first time in two matches.
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In the truly deep heavyweight division, starting at 157, the action is going to be intense. No. 2 seed Antrel Taylor is expected to repeat as NCAA champion this weekend and should easily advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face No. 7 seed Cannon Webster of Illinois — Taylor needed a late knockout to beat Webster in two games. Taylor will likely face third-seeded Meyer Shapiro of Cornell in the semifinals — a repeat of last year’s NCAA tournament, when Taylor won 7-2. In the finals, Taylor may have a chance to exact revenge on No. 1 seed Penn State’s P.J. Duke, who beat him via major decision in the Big Ten finals — Taylor beat Duke 2-1 in the tiebreaker, so this will be a rubber match.
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After his heavily favored debut, Nebraska No. 6 seed LJ Araujo If he wants to win the title, he’ll likely have to knock out all the wrestlers who have beaten him this season – No. 11 seed Ryder Downey of UNI in the second round, No. 3 seed Mitch Caliendo of Iowa in the quarters, No. 2 seed Joey Blades of Purdue in the semifinals, and No. 1 seed Mitchell Mason Brink of Penn State in the finals.
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In my opinion, Nebraska Third seed Christopher Minto He’s expected to reach the NCAA finals for the first time and face No. 1 seed Penn State’s Levi Haines. It would be his first epic win over Haynes after two very close fights.
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Nebraska’s No. 8 seed Silas Allred should advance to the quarterfinals, where he will meet No. 1 seed Rocco Welsh, who defeated him via major decision in doubles. Allred deserves a spot on the podium, but this is a tough weight class – he may need to work his way back up to the consolation bracket to do that.
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Nebraska weighs 197 pounds No. 11 seed Camden McDaniel is in the midst of a brutal Final Four — he will face No. 6 seed Justin Rademacher of Oregon State or No. 27 seed Gabe Arnold of Iowa in the second round. McDaniel has lost to Rademacher multiple times in freestyle, and Arnold has done well this year in Iowa wrestling from 174 to 197 and is a true versatile player.
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Nebraska’s Fourth seed AJ Ferrari Should advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face fifth-seeded Nick Feldman for the fourth time this season. After losing its first two games, Ferrari defeated Feldman in the Big Ten semifinals. After winning there, Ferrari will face top-seeded Yanel Bastida of Iowa State in the semifinals and then second-seeded Isaac Trumbull, formerly of Millard South at North Carolina State, in the finals. Facing two guys he hadn’t faced in Bastida and Trumbull, I really thought anything could happen for Ferrari.
