Lincoln – No. 8 Nebraska wrestling used a pin and five wins by decision to defeat No. 14 South Dakota State, 21-17, at the Devaney Center in front of 2,401 fans on Saturday night.
In the first bout of the night, No. 8 Caleb Smith used a pair of reversals and two backpoints to secure a win at 125 over No. 18 Tanner Jordan. South Dakota State’s Jordan struck first with a takedown in the first period, but Smith answered with six straight points en route to the 6-4 victory.
At 133, Kyle Burwick fell to No. 13 Derrick Cardinal in a 6-1 decision. Cardinal managed a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second. In the third, Burwick scored a point off an escape, but Cardinal took the riding time point to put the Jackrabbits on the board.
No. 6 Brock Hardy (141) sparked the Huskers, defeating Caleb Gross with a dominant first-period pin in 2:06, and NU took the 9-3 overall lead with seven matches to go.
Top-ranked Ridge Lovett continued the momentum at 149 with a 5-1 decision over Alek Martin. Lovett went up 4-1 in the first period with a takedown and a stalling call on Martin. SDSU’s Martin notched an escape in the first for his only score of the bout before Lovett was awarded another point in the final period for Martin stalling.
At 157, No. 3 Peyton Robb struck first with a takedown over No. 16 Cael Swensen in the first period. Robb continued with an escape, a stall point and the riding time point while keeping Swensen scoreless, earning a 6-0 decision.
No. 24 Antrell Taylor (165) and No. 31 Tanner Cook went scoreless in the first period. Taylor jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the second with a takedown and escape. In the final two minutes, Cook managed an escape, but Taylor scored another takedown, good for the 7-1 decision
With the 18-3 team advantage, Bubba Wilson fell in a hard-fought matchup with fourth-ranked Cade DeVos at 174. In the first period, DeVos tallied three points with an escape and Wilson escaped for a point. DeVos added an escape in the second period, while Wilson had one in the third, closing the bout with a 4-2 decision.
At 184, No. 4 Lenny Pinto brought the offense in an 8-2 decision over No. 23 Bennett Berge. An escape and takedown earned Pinto the early 4-0 lead, but Berge stayed in it, answering with a pair of escapes. Pinto scored four more points with a takedown and the riding-time point in the final two minutes.
Brandyn Van Tassell dropped the 197 bout to No. 6 Tanner Sloan in a technical fall at 4:14.
In the final bout of the night, Silas Allred fell to No. 15 Luke Rasmussen due to a medical forfeit.
Up next, the Huskers host Wyoming and Northern Iowa for a triangular on Saturday, Jan. 6. Action will be streamed on Big Ten Plus and will begin with a neutral dual between Wyoming and Northern Iowa at 12 p.m. (CT) before the Huskers wrestle the Cowboys and the Panthers after, with rolling starts.
#8 Nebraska 21, #14 South Dakota State 17
125: #8 Caleb Smith dec. #18 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) 6-4 (NEB 3, SDSU 0)
133: #13 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) dec. Kyle Burwick 6-1 (NEB 3, SDSU 3)
141: #6 Brock Hardy pinned Caleb Gross (SDSU) (2:06) (NEB 9, SDSU 3)
149: #1 Ridge Lovett dec. Alek Martin (SDSU) 5-1 (NEB 12, SDSU 3)
157: #3 Peyton Robb dec. #16 Cael Swensen (SDSU) 6-0 (NEB 15, SDSU 3)
165: #24 Antrell Taylor dec. #31 Tanner Cook (SDSU) 7-1 (NEB 18, SDSU 3)
174: #4 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. Bubba Wilson 4-2 (NEB 18, SDSU 6)
184: #4 Lenny Pinto dec. #23 Bennett Berge (SDSU) 8-2 (NEB 21, SDSU 6)
197: #6 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) tech. fall Brandyn Van Tassell 17-0 (4:14) (NEB 21, SDSU 11)
HWT: #15 Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) medical forfeit Silas Allred (NEB 21, SDSU 17)
