LINCOLN — All it took was one mistake by Nebraska junior Josh Ihnen during a semifinal match at last weekend's tournament, and a familiar opponent made him pay. Again.
Ihnen has faced Wyoming 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc four times in his career — and lost every meeting. The most recent, a 7-5 decision in the Cliff Keen Invitational, came when Ihnen couldn't recover from the five points LeBlanc scored after Ihnen got himself stuck in a bad position.
But Ihnen has a chance to erase any lingering feelings of disappointment with a win Saturday, when No. 21 Nebraska (4-0) hosts the 14th-ranked Cowboys for a 7 p.m. dual meet at the NU Coliseum. He's set to again face LeBlanc, a senior who's ranked third in the 184-pound weight class.
"I know some of his tendencies and things, but every match is a different match," said Ihnen, who's ranked 10th. "Things are always going to be different, and that's what makes it fun."
The two wrestled twice during Ihnen's freshman year, the second time coming at the national meet.
They met again during a dual last season, which the Huskers won 20-12. LeBlanc got Ihnen with a takedown in extra time to earn a 5-3 victory.
"Against a guy who knows your style, you have to execute," Ihnen said. "You have to take your shot, even if he knows that you're going to take it."
It's certainly a challenge for Ihnen — and he's one of several Huskers who'll have a slim margin for error Saturday.
At 165 pounds, Nebraska's Robert Kokesh, ranked 10th, will face No. 3 Shane Onufer. NU junior and 18th-ranked Ridge Kiley will take on No. 16 Zach Zehner at the 133 pounds. Kiley dropped two matches to Zehner during last weekend's tournament in Las Vegas.
NU coach Mark Manning's team is the underdog Saturday, but he said his young group's grown significantly since the start of the season. The Huskers weren't perfect at the Vegas tournament, which featured a high level of competition — as tough as Manning can remember. But they responded well to adversity, Manning said.
Ihnen has seen the progress, too. Ihnen said he and the veterans aren't an overly vocal group, but they try to lead by example, which has been beneficial lately.
He's hoping to do more of that Saturday.
After he lost to LeBlanc in Vegas, Ihnen rebounded and won two more matches to earn a third-place finish at the tournament.
Ihnen wants that individual victory, but said the team win is most important.
"We have a bunch of new guys in the lineup, and anytime you have that, the team unity is going to keep evolving throughout the year," Ihnen said. "But I think we're getting to the spot where everyone's behind everyone else, where we all know that we've got to wrestle for each other."
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com, twitter.com/JonNyatawa
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