A four-dual road stint to end the regular season proved to be little trouble for the 14th-ranked Nebraska wrestling squad.
The Huskers completed the stretch with a 23-14 victory against Stanford (7-5, 3-1) Friday night in California, winning six of the 10 matches.
After losing the first its four road duals to No. 4 Michigan, 24-10, on Feb. 2, Nebraska (10-4, 7-2) won the final three by a combined dual score of 82-30
The Huskers jumped out to an early lead in their matchup against the Cardinal as captains Colton McCrystal and Tyler Berger posted wins.
McCrystal, a senior, ranked No. 9 at 149 pounds by InterMat, wasted no time pinning Jake Barry of Stanford in just 41 seconds.
Berger, a junior, ranked No. 11 at 157 pounds for Nebraska, trailed after the first period, but edged Paul Fox, an All-American in 2017, by decision 3-2 with 1:10 of riding time.
Nebraska continued its quick start with a technical fall from sophomore No. 10 Isaiah White at 165 pounds. White scored six takedowns in the first period and two near falls to take an 18-5 lead.
He needed just 17 seconds in the second period to finish the dominant performance. White finished the dual season with 44 takedowns, while giving up just two.
Trailing 14-0, Stanford earned its first win at 174 pounds as ninth-ranked Keaton Subjeck scored his own technical fall against Nebraska’s Eric Engler, 18-3.
The Huskers stretched their lead to 15 points, the largest of the night, with back-to-back decisions at 184 and 197 pounds. However, the Cardinal would close the gap with three straight victories, starting at the heavyweight class.
Eighth-ranked Nathan Butler of Stanford picked up his 23rd win of the season with a 7-3 decision against David Jensen of Nebraska.
Flipping to the other end of the lineup, Gabriel Townsell of Stanford built onto his early first period lead to defeat Mitchell Maginnis of Nebraska 10-4.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came at 133 pounds as unranked Mason Pengilly, a junior who had wrestled just twice this season for Stanford, defeated No. 19 Jason Renteria of Nebraska in sudden victory, 7-1.
After the Cardinal rally, the Huskers lead was cut to six with one match remaining.
Redshirt freshman Chad Red Jr. of Nebraska, ranked No. 13 at 141 pounds, sealed the dual victory for the Huskers with a 7-2 decision against Isaiah Locsin.
With the conclusion of the dual season, Nebraska turns its focus to the postseason tournaments.
The Big Ten Championships will take place on March 3-4 in East Lansing, Michigan, followed by the NCAA Championships on March 15-17 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Match Results
149: #9 Colton McCrystal (NEB) pin Jake Barry (STAN), 0:41 (NEB 6, STAN 0)
157: #11 Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. Paul Fox (STAN), 3-2 (NEB 9, STAN 0)
165: #10 Isaiah White (NEB) tech. fall Jared Hill (STAN), 21-5 (NEB 14, STAN 0)
174: #9 Keaton Subjeck (STAN) tech. fall Eric Engler (NEB), 18-3 (NEB 14, STAN 5)
184: #7 Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. Austin Flores (STAN), 7-3 (NEB 17, STAN 5)
197: Eric Schultz (NEB) dec. Cole DePasquale (STAN), 9-4 (NEB 20, STAN 5)
HWT: #8 Nathan Butler (STAN) dec. David Jensen (NEB), 7-3 (NEB 20, STAN 8)
125: Gabriel Townsell (STAN) dec. Mitchell Maginnis (NEB), 10-4 (NEB 20, STAN 11)
133: Mason Pengilly (STAN) sv-1 #19 Jason Renteria (NEB), 7-1 (NEB 20, STAN 14)
141: #13 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) dec. Isaiah Locsin (STAN), 7-2 (NEB 23, STAN 14)
