Wrestling: Andrews’ Win Pushes Huskers Past Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minn. - In a back-and-forth top 10 showdown, heavyweight Harley Andrews secured an upset victory to help the No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team earn the 19-14 win over No. 9 Minnesota Friday evening. 

Action started at 125 as No. 7 Caleb Smith faced Minnesota’s No. 18 Patrick McKee in the dual’s first ranked bout of the night. McKee scored first with a takedown and a combined seven points of nearfall to take the 10-0 lead in the first period. Smith then scored a reversal in Period Two, but McKee held the momentum and Smith fell by tech fall, 18-2. 

At 133, Kyle Burwick made his Big Ten season debut as he wrestled No. 27 Tyler Wells to a scoreless first period. Burwick then got on the board first with an escape and held the 1-0 advantage with 2:00 to go. In Period Three, Burwick was awarded a stall point, Wells scored a takedown and Burwick earned the escape to tie the match and force overtime, 3-3. In sudden victory, Wells scored the takedown to win by decision, 6-3. 

With the Big Red trailing 8-0, No. 8 Brock Hardy worked to get them back on track against No. 19 Vance VomBaur at 141. Hardy was aggressive in Period One, but the two were scoreless with 5 minutes remaining. Hardy then recorded NU’s first takedown of the night in the second period and after a pair of VomBaur escapes, held the 3-2 lead to start the final period. Hardy got the quick escape, added another takedown and secured the riding time point in the final period to earn the 8-3 decision. 

Up next, No. 1 Ridge Lovett took on Minnesota’s No. 13 Drew Roberts at 149. Lovett scored first with a takedown and got the rideout to end the first period with 1:41 of riding time. Lovett earned an escape to start Period Two and finished the period with another takedown to lead 7-0 with two minutes remaining. Lovett then tallied his third takedown of the match and the riding time point to earn the 11-0 shutout major decision and improve to 16-0 on the season. 

In the dual’s first of two top 10 matchups, No. 3 Peyton Robb matched up with No. 10 Michael Blockhus at 157. Robb got in early and scored a quick takedown before Blockhus got the escape to hold the 3-1 advantage after three minutes. Robb then earned an escape in each of the final two periods, but it was not enough as Blockhus scored two takedowns and four nearfall to win by decision 12-6. 

After a brief intermission, No. 18 Antrell Taylor (165) faced Minnesota’s No. 30 Blaine Brenner with the Huskers trailing 11-7 overall. Taylor held the 3-1 lead to start the final period after he scored first with a takedown in the first period and Brenner got the escape in Period Two. In the final two minutes, Taylor scored the escape and added another takedown to secure the 8-2 victory. 

No. 29 Bubba Wilson then wrestled Sam Skillings at 174. After a scoreless first period, Wilson earned an escape in Period Two and Skillings tied the match with one off his own. Wilson then scored a takedown in the final period to secure the 4-2 decision and secure the Huskers’ first team lead of the night, 13-11. 

At 184, No. 3 Lenny Pinto met No. 10 Isaiah Salazar in the second Top 10 matchup between the teams. After a scoreless first period, Pinto scored the escape but Salazar tallied a takedown and an escape of his own to earn the 4-1 win. 

With two matches to go and NU trailing 14-13, No. 15 Silas Allred (197) faced No. 24 Garrett Joles. The bout featured another scoreless period before the two traded escapes and the match went into overtime. Allred then scored the takedown in sudden victory and secured the 4-1 decision. 

The match came down to heavyweight as NU was up 16-14 with Harley Andrews wrestling No. 28 Bennett Tabor. Andrews scored first with a takedown in the opening period and Tabor got an escape, but Andrews started Period Two with 1:28 of riding time. Tabor then recorded an escape and a takedown in the second period, but Andrews prevailed and scored two takedowns in the final period to secure the 10-7 upset win and the 19-14 team victory. 

Up next, the Huskers return home to host Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 21. Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. 

#6 Nebraska 19, #9 Minnesota 14

125: No. 18 Patrick McKee (MINN) tech. fall No. 7 Caleb Smith (NEB) 18-2 (5:24) (MINN 5, NEB 0) 

133: No. 27 Tyler Wells (MINN) dec. Kyle Burwick (NEB) 6-3 SV-1 (MINN 8, NEB 0)

141: No. 8 Brock Hardy (NEB) dec. No. 19 Vance VomBaur (MINN) 8-3 (MINN 8, NEB 3)

149: No. 1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) major dec. No. 13 Drew Roberts (MINN) 11-0 (MINN 8, NEB 7)

157: No. 10 Michael Blockhus (MINN) dec. No. 3 Peyton Robb (NEB) 12-6 (MINN 11, NEB 7)

165: No. 18 Antrell Taylor (NEB) dec. No. 30 Blaine Brenner (MINN) 8-2 (MINN 11, NEB 10)

174: No. 29 Bubba Wilson (NEB) dec. Sam Skillings (MINN) 4-2 (NEB 13, MINN 11)

184: No. 10 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. No. 3 Lenny Pinto (NEB) 4-1 (MINN 14, NEB 13)

197: No. 15 Silas Allred (NEB) dec. No. 24 Garrett Joles (MINN) 4-1 SV-1 (NEB 16, MINN 14)

HWT: Harley Andrews (NEB) dec. No. 28 Bennett Tabor (MINN) 10-7 (NEB 19, MINN 14)