2023-2024 Nebraska Wrestling list of Champions

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How Did Nebraska’s Redshirts and Backups Do This Year?​

Wrestling: How Did Nebraska’s Redshirts and Backups Do This Year?

While competing mainly in open tournaments, the Huskers saw a number of impressive seasons from their youngsters that flew under the radar

www.cornnation.com

"Sporting one of the best starting lineups in the country, #3 Nebraska is actually a really young team overall. With two redshirt freshman and three sophomores in the starting lineup, the Huskers’ backups are predominantly underclassmen.
And that doesn’t take into consideration two of the best wrestlers in Nebraska’s huge 2023 class which included six of the top-100 overall prospects in the class. On top of the 15 true freshmen they brought in, the Huskers also have Kael Lauridsen and Camden McDanel taking grayshirts and delaying their eligibility until next year, meaning they could also redshirt the 2024-25 season if need be."

Camden McDanel​

McDanel, the #37 overall recruit in 2023, has had a monster 12 months. After winning an Ohio state title, a U20 freestyle national championship and earning a bronze medal at the 2023 U20 World Championships at 97 kg, he went 7-1 in college open tournaments this year. After winning the Rookie Open and the Younes Hospitality Open, McDanel took his only loss at the Reno Tournament of Champions, an 8-5 loss in sudden victory to #25 Justin Rademacher of Oregon State. Camden won Second place in the Last Chance Olympic Team Trials 7 Apr 2024.

Kael Lauridsen​

"Similar to McDanel, Lauridsen has had a really good year during his grayshirt. The former four-time Nebraska state champ from Bennington, Lauridsen was #64 on the 2023 Big Board.
In collegiate opens this year, Lauridsen put together an 8-2 record. After winning the Rookie Open and the Younes Hospitality Open, Lauridsen went 1-2 at the Reno TOC with losses to #16 Jore Volk (9-4 decision) of Wyoming and Conrad Hendriksen of Oklahoma (10-8 decision).

Just like McDanel, Lauridsen competed at the Henri Deglane. A 2022 U17 Pan-American gold medalist, Lauridsen went 0-2 in France but showed a lot of promise in those matches. In his first senior-level match, Lauridsen took on two-time NCAA Champion Roman Bravo-Young. In that match, Lauridsen even held a 4-4 lead at one point when he took down Bravo-Young and turned him with a gut wrench. He eventually dropped the match 14-4, but it was really encouraging. He then fell to Bulgaria’s Ivalyo Tisov in a high-scoring 14-11 match."
REDSHIRTS

Alan Koehler​

125 pounds​

The #47 overall wrestler on the 2023 Big Board, Koehler had a solid redshirt season. After dealing with an injury early in the season, he finished the year with a 7-1 record.

Drew Cooper​

133 pounds​

A former Nebraska state champion out of Omaha Skutt, Cooper went 4-4 this season in open tournaments.

Tanner Frothinger​

141 pounds​

A three-time state champion out of Idaho, Frothinger was also a Fargo All-American in high school. This season, he’s gone 13-5 in open tournaments.

Scott Robertson​

149 pounds​

A two-time state champion while at Millard South, Robertson took a two-year hiatus while completing his LDS mission after high school. He arrived in Lincoln this past fall and put together a 13-8 record in his redshirt season.

Ethan Stiles​

157 pounds​

Arguably it’s best redshirt this year, Stiles was also Nebraska’s highest-ranked recruit in 2023, coming in at #40 on the Big Board. This season, he has a 15-3 record with all three losses coming to D1 opponents.

Weston Dalton​

157 pounds​

A former Colorado state champ, Dalton was a prized recruit who came in at #51 on the 2023 Big Board.

This season, he went 4-1 but had his season derailed by injury.

Griffin Ray​

165 pounds​

A former state champ out of Missouri, Ray went 6-2 this season with four of his wins via pinfall.

Jake Licking​

165 pounds​

A former Nebraska state champ out of Norfolk, Licking went 4-5 this year with three bonus-point wins.

Christopher Minto​

174 pounds​

Another standout for the Huskers this year as a true freshman, Minto was a three-time state champion out of Cape Coral, Florida.

This season, Minto went 18-4 with an impressive 8-2 mark against DI competition.

Cooper French​

174 pounds​

Another guy who could go 165 or 174 next season, French was a three-time state champion in Arizona. This year, he went 6-5 and 1-2 against DI competition.

Ethan DeLeon​

184 pounds​

A two-time state finalist in Iowa, DeLeon went 17-6 this year while redshirting. He also went 6-2 against DI opponents. He won the Hastings Open and recorded five tech falls on the year.

Dominic Thebeau​

197 pounds​

The younger brother of sophomore Adam Thebeau, Dominic Thebeau went 4-5 this season but 0-2 against DI competition.

Matthew Moore​

285 pounds​

A state champion out of Colorado and an Ironman finalist, Moore was #96 on the 2023 Big Board. This season, he’s 5-2 in open tournaments and 1-2 against DI competition.

Hampton Kaye-Kuter​

285 pounds​

A two-time New England state champ, Kaye-Kuter joined the Husker roster for the second semester but didn’t see any action. He’s been wrestling with the team in the room though.

Non-Redshirt Backups​

Kyle Burwick (Jr.)​

133 pounds​

He’s 12-4 on the year, winning the Missouri Valley Open along the way.

Hayden Mills (R-Fr.)​

133 pounds​

A former Kansas state champion, Mills redshirted last year and is 18-8 this season.

Blake Cushing (So.)​

141/149 pounds​

One of the most valuable non-starters on the team, former Nebraska state champion for Grand Island Cushing bounced around from 141 to 149 as he served as the primary backup at both weights. He went 13-4 this year and 5-3 against DI competition.

Ismael Ayoub (R-Fr.)​

141 pounds​

After redshirting last season with a 4-2 record

Jagger Condomitti (So.)​

165 pounds​

A former Pennsylvania state champion, Condomitti was a prized recruit in 2021, coming in at #13 on the Big Board that year, two spots behind Lenny Pinto. He’s battled injuries since arriving in Nebraska, including concussions, but he seems to finally be healthy now.

He’s 9-0 on the year with titles at both the Missouri Valley Open and the Hastings Open.

DezMonde Gartrell (So.)​

165 pounds​

A late addition to the roster, Gartrell went 5-1 this season while competing at the Missouri Valley Open with his only loss that 4-0 decision to Condomitti.

Josh Licking (So.)​

165 pounds​

A former Nebraska state champ from Norfolk, Josh Licking went 2-2 this season while competing at the Grandview Open in November.

Elise Brown Ton (Jr.)​

174 pounds​

One of Nebraska’s most valued backups, Brown Ton started the year as the starter at 174 but later lost the spot to both Adam Thebeau and then Bubba Wilson. He went 22-7 this year and 7-6 against DI opponents.

Adam Thebeau (So.)​

174 pounds​

Briefly a starter this season, Adam Thebeau went 6-4 on the year.

Harley Andrews (R-Fr.)​

285 pounds​

For half of the season, Andrews was Nebraska’s heavyweight starter. After a 4-6 start to the year, Andrews went 6-3 the rest of the way (10-9 on the year).

Brandyn Van Tassell (Jr.)​

285 pounds​

A junior eligibility-wise, Van Tassell will not be taking his final year of eligibility and was honored on Senior Night. Wrestling at three weight classes during his career, Van Tassell has been a valuable backup for years. This season, he went 3-4 while wrestling up at heavyweight after starting his career at 184 and 197.

 

[Bean]

Lenny Pinto's Sophomore Surge Fueling Nebraska Wrestling's Postseason Hopes - FloWrestling

Lenny Pinto's superb sophomore season has helped Nebraska wrestling's strong dual season and put the Huskers in position to win a trophy in March.

www.flowrestling.org

 

[Bean]

Nebraska 2024 NCAA Div I All Americans:

Wrestling: Hardy Leads Huskers to 9th-Place Finish, Placing 3rd at 141 for Second AA Finish

Brock Hardy had himself a tournament, falling only to the NCAA champ on the way to a third-place finish, collecting his second All-American finish as a sophomore

www.cornnation.com

"Only in 2008 and 2022 has Nebraska had so many wrestlers finish on the podium. In the last three years, Nebraska has had 14 All-Americans, by far the best three-year stint under Manning."

125 pounds: 15-seed Caleb Smith; 6th​

"Smith finished his third NCAA tournament with a 3-3 record and 6th-place finish, his first career podium finish. Smith put together an impressive season (25-12 record) in a tough weight class in his first season at Nebraska. "

141 pounds: 9-seed Brock Hardy: 3rd​

"In a bit of a surprise coming into the tournament, the Huskers were led by the efforts of Hardy. After going 4-1 over the first two days, Hardy found himself in the consolation semifinal round."
Hardy turned in the best performance of all the Huskers.

"Hardy advanced via medical forfeit by North Carolina’s 6-seed Lachlan McNeil. In the 3rd-place match, Hardy took on familiar foe 3-seed Real Woods of Iowa in his final college match. Hardy was 0-5 against Woods going into the match."

149 pounds: #1-seed Ridge Lovett; 6th​

"With his somewhat disappointing 6th-place finish as the 1-seed, Lovett is now a two-time All-American after finishing second in 2022. He finished the season with a 27-4 record and will go into his senior year with a 73-19 career record."

157 pounds; 8-seed Peyton Robb; 7th​

"After going 3-2 in the first two days, Robb found himself wrestling his last college match against 10-seed Jared Franek of Iowa in the 7th-place match. Robb was 1-3 in his career against Franek going into this match, having lost the last three, including both matches this year.

Robb really flipped the script here though, collecting a takedown in each period on the way to the 11-2 major decision win, putting an exclamation point on his career."

"With the win, Robb finished his senior year with a 24-9 record and 7th-place finish, giving him his third All-American finish (4th in 2022, 6th in 2023). In his career, Robb is 102-35 (although 100-35 against DI opponents, with one of those wins a medical forfeit in 2020). Robb will go down as one of the best to ever take the mat for Nebraska. After what he’s gone through in his career, finishing on the podium is a tremendous accomplishment."

165 pounds; 8-seed Antrell Taylor; 7th​

"After going 3-2 on Day 1, Taylor wrestled 9-seed Peyton Hall in a rematch of the second round match that Taylor won."

"Taylor finished his redshirt freshman season impressively, securing an 8th-place finish. He’ll forever now be known as a freshman All-American. He put together an impressive 23-10 record up at 165 when he’s more naturally a 157-pounder."

We will miss Robb next year!

 

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Wrestling: Hardy Leads Huskers to 9th-Place Finish, Placing 3rd at 141 for Second AA Finish

Brock Hardy had himself a tournament, falling only to the NCAA champ on the way to a third-place finish, collecting his second All-American finish as a sophomore

www.cornnation.com

"Nebraska will return 53 of the 60.5 points it scored next season, making the Huskers one of the top preseason teams.

As for All-Americans, only one team had more this year than the Huskers. Penn State had eight All-Americans, while Nebraska’s five was the second most. Six teams had four All-Americans,

I think this was a good tournament from Nebraska with Hardy, Smith and Robb out-placing their seeds. It hurt Nebraska’s team hopes that Lovett fell to 6th place and that Pinto and Allred failed to place."
"I’ll get into it more in the future, but with Smith, Van Dee, Hardy and Lovett returning, along with Taylor moving down to 157, the first half of the lineup will be set for Nebraska next season. Pinto returns at 184 and Allred comes back at 197, as well as Andrews being the presumptive favorite to earn the 285-pound job (barring a big-time transfer). That leaves 165 and 174 to figure out. Bubba Wilson, who should have been wrestling this weekend at 174, will likely move down to compete with junior Jagger Condomitti for the open spot at 165.

That leaves 174 open where Nebraska will have a host of options, from senior-to-be Eise Brown Ton to true freshman LJ Araujo. A number of names will be in the mix there."

"With nine starters returning next season, Nebraska will be a top team this next fall. I’ve been saying this, but next year is really Nebraska’s best window to win a team trophy. Lovett will be a senior, while Hardy, Pinto and Allred will all be juniors and much improved. The Huskes will also return All-American Caleb Smith and Antrell Taylor on top of past NCAA qualifiers Jacob Van Dee and Bubba Wilson."

Nebraska has failed to have a NCAA national Champion since Burroughs in 2009 and 2011!!!

In 9 of the last 10 seasons we have:
Finished in the top-10
Finished with 3 or more All-Americans

 

[Froscht]

It was a great weekend in KC and watching the Huskers. Yes, some disappointment but that's the way the NCAA tourney goes. It's such a meat grinder. Looking forward to next year and Olympic trials coming up in a month.

 

[Bean]

In rare triple, Army, Navy and Air Force wrestlers all earn All-American honors

It's been two decades since wrestlers from all three military academies earned All-American honors at the same national championship meet.

taskandpurpose.com

"For the first time in two decades, all three military service academies had a wrestler earn collegiate All-American honors at the sport’s annual NCAA championship meet. The three wrestlers — one each from the U.S. Military, Naval and Air Force academies, all seniors — earned All-American honors by finishing in the top 8 spots in their weight classes at the season-ending national championship meet this past weekend in Kansas City.

"Wyatt Hendrickson of the Air Force Academy finished in third place as a heavyweight, while the U.S. Military Academy’s Ben Pasiuk and the Naval Academy’s David Key both finished 8th."

Hendrickson finished his career at Air Force as one of the best service academy wrestlers in history. Along with two straight third-place finishes at the NCAA tournament, Hendrickson recorded his third straight year of winning the most matches by pin of any wrestler in the country in any weight class. He also has been named the country’s ‘Most Dominant’ wrestler, an award computed on the number of pins, technical falls and lopsided scores against opponents through a season.

Army senior Ben Pasiuk took 8th place in the 175 lbs. bracket after coming into the championship tournament as the 18th-seeded wrestler. Though Pasiuk qualified for the national tournament in all four seasons as a wrestler at Army, this weekend marked his first finish in an All-American spot. The senior from Carrollton, Ohio clinched that honor with a 9-8 decision over Northern Iowa’s Jared Simma.

Pasiuk is the first All-American wrestler at Army since 2008, when Matt Kyler finished sixth, according to the school.

Navy senior David Key climbed even farther up his bracket at 184 lbs, starting the championship weekend as the 25 seed in the 33-wrestler tournament, but finishing 8th. Originally from Norcross, Georgia, Key won two state championships in high school and qualified for the NCAA tournament three times as a Midshipman."

 

[Bean]

Husker wrestlers in the Transfer Portal:

Tanner Frothinger​

Freshman​

141​

March 27​

Nebraska​

Griffin Ray​

Freshman​

165​

March 26​

TO: SIU Edwardsville​

Drew Cooper​

Freshman​

133​

March 26​

Nebraska​

Ethan Stiles

Freshman

157

April 10

Nebraska

2024 NCAA D1 Wrestling Off-Season Transfer Tracker - FloWrestling

Take a look at every NCAA D1 wrestler that has entered the portal since it opened back up on March 20th.

www.flowrestling.org

 

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Six Huskers Earn 2024 NWCA Scholar All-America Recognition

The Official Athletic Site of the University of Nebraska, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of the University of Nebraska on the web with rosters, schedules, scores, highlights, game recaps and more!

huskers.com

"The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) recognized six wrestlers, Kyle Burwick, Brock Hardy, Nash Hutmacher, Hayden Mills, Peyton Robb and Caleb Smith, as Division I Scholar All-Americans. "

 

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2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship Eligibility Tracker - FloWrestling

Tracking the eligibility for every qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships.

www.flowrestling.org

Possibility of Taylor moving down to 157. Wilson may go back down to 165 from 174 . Brown-Ton and Minto should vie for 174. Wilson is ranked #22 in last NCAA Div 1 rankings. He should have been invited to the NCAA Finals.

Final NCAA Div I rankings 3 Apr 2024:

125: #8 Caleb Smith
133: #11 Jacob Van Zee
141: #3 Brock Hardy
149: #6 Ridge Lovett
157: #6 Peyton Robb
165: #11 Antrell Taylor
177: #22 Bubba Wilson
184:: #7 Lenny Pinto
197: #10 Silas Allred
HWT: #29 Hutmacher

Husker Wrestling: Way-Too-Early Lineup Look For 2024-25

Nebraska returns eight of ten starters from a year ago but will have question marks at both 165 and 174 pounds

www.cornnation.com

 

[Bean]

Nebraska Wrestling 2024 Awards Banquet winners:

Lifter of the Year: Brandyn Van Tassell
Redshirt of the Year: Christopher Minto
11th Man Award: Blake Cushing
Most Improved: Antrell Taylor
Most Outstanding: Ridge Lovett and Brock Hardy
Most courageous: Caleb Smith and PRobb

 

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Wrestling: 11 Current and Future Huskers to Compete at U20 US Open

Last year’s U20 World Bronze Medalist Camden McDanel leads the Husker contingency as he looks for his second-straight title here at 97 kg

www.cornnation.com

11 Current and Future Huskers to Compete at U20 US Open​

"As for current Huskers, Alan Koehler is at 57 kg after redshirting this past year, while Hayden Mills is at 61 kg after redshirting. At 74 kg, there’s Jacob Licking, while Christopher Minto, Cooper French and Ethan DeLeon will all compete at 79 kg after redshirting last year. Dominic Thebeau also redshirted last year and will compete at 92 kg.

Both 2023 signees who took grayshirts to train at the Olympic Training Center, Kael Lauridsen and Camden McDanel will be competing. Lauridsen will be at 57 kg while McDanel will be at 97 kg. A pair of 2025 commits will be wrestling in Kody Routledge and Cade Ziola. Routledge is at 70 kg while Ziola is at 86 kg."

FLOARENA

arena.flowrestling.org

 

[Bean]

Wrestling: Camden McDanel Wins U20 US Open for Second-Straight Year

McDanel earns a bye into the World Team Trials final in June; Kody Routledge and Ethan DeLeon both placed and earned spots in the Trials challenge tournament

www.cornnation.com

Wrestling: Camden McDanel Wins U20 US Open for Second-Straight Year​

McDanel earns a bye into the World Team Trials final in June; Kody Routledge and Ethan DeLeon both placed and earned spots in the Trials challenge tournament:

U20 Division​

Camden McDanel​

4-0, 1st place​

97 kg​

"The returning World medalist, McDanel was dominant in winning his second-straight U20 US Open stop sign, outscoring his opponents 39-2.

In the smallest bracket of the tournament, McDanel only wrestled one match on Friday. After a bye in the Round of 32, McDanel made quick work of his opponent in the next round, winning quickly via 12-0 technical superiority.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal round, McDanel took on Max Ramberg and it was much of the same as he won via 11-0 tech. In the semis, McDanel beat SDSU’s Thomas Dineen via 11-1 tech.

In the finals, McDanel took on Cole Mirasola, a product of Askren Wrestling Academy (coached by Ben and Max Askren) who’s going to Penn State. The third-ranked heavyweight in the country in high school, Mirasola and McDanel were on a collision course for a matchup in the finals.

In that match, McDanel was dominant, pushing the future Nittany Lion around for a controlled 5-1 decision win."

Kody Routledge​

5-1, 2nd place​

70 kg​

"A former Fargo champion, Routledge turned some heads this weekend in getting to the US Open final. A junior in high school in Oklahoma, Routledge is a blue-chip recruit in Nebraska’s 2025 class.
Routhledge won his first three matches on Friday, putting him in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. He won his first two matches via tech (10-0 and 12-2) before beating Isaias Jimenez out of Valiant Prep, one of the top high school wrestling programs in the country, 10-5 in the Round of 16.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal round, Routledge took on Hofstra’s Noah Tapia, winning the match 7-2. In the semis, Routledge faced Iowa commit Kael Voinovich and put it on him in an 11-0 tech in under 90 seconds, sending Routledge to the final.

In the final, Routledge took on PJ Duke, the #1-ranked 157-pounder in the country in high school who is going to Penn State. Routledge is ranked #7 at 157. Routledge made some nice attempts but was unable to get past the strength of Duke in a 10-0 loss via tech.

With the runner-up finish, Routledge will likely be the 1-seed at the Trials challenge tournament in June."

Ethan DeLeon​

5-3, 6th place​

79 kg​

Sort of an unknown to Husker fans, DeLeon was a two-time Iowa state finalist. He made his name known on Friday when he rattled off four wins in a row to make it to the quarterfinal round. He won his first match via 10-0 tech before coming back in the second round for a 5-4 decision win. DeLeon then won a 15-5 tech before an 8-7 victory in the Round of 16.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal, DeLeon took on Nolan O’Boyle of North Carolina. Pulling off a comeback, DeLeon got the 10-6 win. In the semis, DeLeon took on Noah Mulvaney, an NCAA qualifier as a freshman at Bucknell. DeLeon lost to Mulvaney via 11-0 tech.

DeLeon then went on to fall in the consolation semis 11-0 and the 5th-place match 11-0.

Despite the semifinal slide, DeLeon firmly placed his name in the conversation at 174 pounds for this coming season with his 6th-place finish in Vegas."

Christopher Minto, 79KG ,3-2, Did not place​

This year’s Redshirt of the Year, Minto wrestled like it on Friday as he won three in a row to get into Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Minto won a 7-3 decision to start the tournament before winning via 12-0 tech in his second match.​

Alan Koehler, 5-2, Did not place, 57 kg​

On the first day of competition, Koehler won his first match 10-0 via tech before dropping his second match 12-4 to South Dakota State’s Daniel Guanajuato. Koehler went on to record three straight wins via tech in the consolations to close out the day — 11-0, 10-0 and 10-0. His final win of the day came against SDSU’s Brady Roark who beat Kael Lauridsen earlier in the tournament.

Dominic Thebeau, 4-2, Did not place, 79kg​

On Friday, Thebeau won his first match 6-0 before recording wins via tech in his next two matches — 10-0 and 14-3. Thebeau then fell to Ohio State freshman starter Ryder Rogotzke 10-0 in the Round of 16.

Cade Ziola, 2-2, Did not place, 86 kg​

A junior at Omaha Skutt who’s committed to Nebraska’s 2025 recruiting class, Ziola started his tournament with a bang. In his first match against Ben Peterson, Ziola trailed 9-0 just 50 seconds in but battled back, scoring 11 unanswered points on the way to the 19-14 win. Ziola then won his next match via 11-0 tech.

Kael Lauridsen, 2-2, Did not place, 57 kg​

A four-time Nebraska state champ that’s been training at the Olympic Training Center, Lauridsen started his tournament with a 10-0 tech for the win. In his second match, he held a 9-0 lead against Brady Roark before the Jackrabbit stormed back for the 10-9 win, dropping Lauridsen to the consolations.

Hayden Mills, 2-2, Did not place, 57 kg​

A 133-pounder for Nebraska, Mills dropped down to 57 kg (125 pounds) this weekend and did pretty well. Maybe this is a sign that he’ll drop to 125 pounds in college.

 

[Bean]

Andrews, Piper Take Top Honors at “A Night at the Lied”

The Official Athletic Site of the University of Nebraska, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of the University of Nebraska on the web with rosters, schedules, scores, highlights, game recaps and more!

huskers.com

Congrats to Taylor and Condomitti!
"Antrell Taylor (Wrestling) was tabbed as the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year after earning All-America honors in his first season of competition. The redshirt freshman from Millard, Neb., went 23-10 on the season at 165 pounds as Nebraska finished third at the Big Ten Championships and ninth at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Taylor placed eighth at the NCAA Championships, reaching the quarterfinals before battling back to earn All-America honors with an eighth-place finish. He finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships and went 11-3 during the dual meet season with one pin, two technical falls and five major decisions. In all, 10 of his 23 wins came against nationally ranked opponents. "

Jagger Condomitti, Wrestling one of 27 winners of the Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award!