• Photo Showcase: Wrestling duals (Jan. 6)
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LINCOLN — Nebraska wrestler Jake Sueflohn swears he is working on correcting his habit of starting slowly. But as long as he doesn't alter his pattern of finishing, his coach won't complain too much.
The freshman, rated seventh at 141 pounds, gave up the first takedown of his match against No. 6 Hunter Stieber of Ohio State before exploding for a 10-2 major decision Friday night. The bonus-point win helped No. 12 Nebraska hold on for an 18-16 victory against the previously unbeaten No. 6 Buckeyes at the NU Coliseum.
A season-high crowd of 1,451 watched Nebraska claim the best start in school history by winning its 10th straight dual and pull out a victory in NU's first match in the Big Ten.
Few moments were louder than Sueflohn's sixth straight win in the night's only matchup of top-10 wrestlers.
“Most wrestling matches, if you look at the statistical breakdown, if you get the first takedown you win the match,” Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. “(Sueflohn) gets taken down right out of the gate a lot of times. Then his engine gets started. He's a late starter. He's spotted some guys four or five points — good guys — and come back and just changed the tide on them.
“He must have a big engine, because his motor doesn't get going right away. But once it does, he's bringing it.”
Sueflohn's latest comeback came against an unlikely foe. Earlier this season, Stieber upset defending national champion and top-ranked Kellen Russell of Michigan 6-5 at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. The Buckeye freshman was 15-2 coming into Friday's match.
“I've just got to keep on grinding,” Sueflohn said. “Sometimes I fall down 2-0 or 3-0. You just have to keep on grinding and wear out and come back in the end.”
Sueflohn's big win was one of three crucial four-point major decisions that helped Nebraska (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) hold off Ohio State (7-1, 1-1), despite each side winning five of 10 matches.
No. 3 Robert Kokesh (165) continued his hot start with a 9-1 win over OSU's Derek Garcia to move to 18-2. At 184 pounds, the Huskers' third-ranked Josh Ihnen shut out Craig Thomas 12-0 to give NU four more points.
Nebraska's other wins came at heavyweight, where No. 9 Tucker Lane beat Peter Capone 4-1, and from 157-pounder James Green, who defeated Josh Demas 7-4.
Manning said the win was another step forward for his young team, but cautioned the Huskers are still a long way from a finished product.
“Ten individuals make up our team, and it's all about getting those guys believing in themselves,” Manning said. “We've still got a lot of work to do as far as confidence and technique and things we've got to get better at.”
The Huskers will hope to take another great leap in a hurry. Nebraska is just a week away from its biggest test of the season so far when No. 1 Iowa comes to the Coliseum next Friday.
The perennially powerful Hawkeyes are again the favorites to take the Big Ten title, so none of the Huskers was ready to celebrate Friday's win for long.
“It's all about fighting,” Sueflohn said. “We're happy with this, but next week is a big dual and we're looking forward to better things. We'll take it for what it's worth.”
Individual results: 125 pounds: Johnni Dijulius, OSU, major dec. Shawn Nagel, 11-3. 133: Logan Stieber, OSU, dec. Ridge Kiley, 8-2. 141: Jake Sueflohn, NU, major dec. Hunter Stieber, 10-2. 149: Cam Tessari, OSU, dec. Brandon Wilbourn, 3-1 (OT). 157: James Green, NU, dec. Josh Demas, 7-4. 165: Robert Kokesh, NU, major dec. Derek Garcia, 9-1. 174: Nick Heflin, OSU, dec. Tyler Koehn, 6-2. 184: Josh Ihnen, NU, major dec. Craig Thomas, 12-0. 197: Andrew Campolattano, OSU, dec. James Nakashima, 5-3. Heavyweight: Tucker Lane, NU, dec. Peter Capone, 4-1.
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