The Huskers improve to 9-3 on the season by earning their third consecutive victory over a ranked conference opponent. Nebraska also took down No. 11 Michigan and No. 18 Northwestern on the road last weekend. The Fighting Illini suffer their first loss of the season after opening with five straight wins.
Junior Shawn Nagel (133) opened the dual with a back-and-forth battle against No. 11 Daryl Thomas of Illinois. Nagel, however, couldn't keep his momentum going from last weekend's success as he fell by a 10-8 decision. With the loss, he drops to 12-10 on the season and 6-6 in duals.
The Huskers won the next three matches by decision to build an early 9-3 lead against the Illini. No. 19 Ridge Kiley (141) earned the first win by a 4-0 margin over Logan Arlis. The senior from Eagle Grove, Iowa moves to 12-6 on the season and 7-2 in dual competition.
At 149 pounds, No. 12 Jake Sueflohn won an 8-1 decision over Illinois' Caleb Ervin. The victory marked the sophomore's 16th of the season as he goes to 7-2 in duals. Fellow sophomore James Green continued the NU momentum with his 9-4 decision over Matt Nora. Green, who is the No. 4 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds, improves to 8-0 in duals and 15-2 overall. He is 3-0 since returning from injury.
Senior Tyler Koehn earned the start at 165 pounds for the second time this season in duals. He lost a 10-4 decision to No. 8 Conrad Polz to cut the NU lead to 9-6. Koehn falls to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in duals.
No. 4 Robert Kokesh (174) and No. 8 Josh Ihnen (184) responded with wins in the next two weight classes to give the Huskers a 15-6 lead. Kokesh, a sophomore, won an 8-3 decision over No. 8 Jordan Blanton. The victory marks Kokesh's 20th straight of the season as he improves to 25-1 overall and 11-1 in duals. He also earned his sixth consecutive victory over a ranked opponent as he improves to 10-1 against ranked foes in 2012-13.
Ihnen, a senior, battled in a back-and-forth match against No. 18 Tony Dallago. Ihnen trailed 4-3 in the third period before a technical violation by Dallago followed by an escape that secured a 5-4 win. Ihnen earned his 91st collegiate victory on Friday night as he improves to 18-2 and 10-2 in duals.
At 197 pounds, the Illini bounced back as No. 11 Mario Gonzalez took down Nebraska's Caleb Kolb in a 4-3 decision. The match cut the Husker lead to 15-9 with two matches to go. Kolb trailed 3-0 in the first period, but a takedown in the second period and an escape in the third period kept him in the match before Gonzalez held on. Kolb drops to 9-13 on the season and 4-8 in duals.
Sophomore Spencer Johnson made his third appearance of the season at heavyweight following a 1-1 weekend against the Wolverines and Wildcats. The crowd of 1,365 roared as Johnson defeated Illinois' Chris Lopez, 3-1, to give the Huskers an 18-9 advantage heading into the final match.
At 125 pounds, freshman Eric Coufal was pinned by No. 5 Jesse Delgado of Illinois in 6:55, but it wasn't enough as Nebraska held on for an 18-15 victory.
The Huskers return to action on Sunday, Jan. 27 as they travel to University Park, Pa. to face No. 1 Penn State. The dual starts at 1 p.m. and will be available Big Ten Digital Network. The next home match for Nebraska is on Friday, Feb. 1 against Michigan State at the NU Coliseum. That match will also be on BTDN and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Results:
133: #11 Daryl Thomas (ILL) by dec. over Shawn Nagel (NEB), 10-8 (ILL 3, NEB 0)
141: #19 Ridge Kiley (NEB) by dec. over Logan Arlis (ILL), 4-0 (ILL 3, NEB 3)
149: #12 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) by dec. over Caleb Ervin (ILL), 8-1 (NEB 6, ILL 3)
157: #4 James Green (NEB) by dec. over Matt Nora (ILL), 9-4 (NEB 9, ILL 3)
165: #8 Conrad Polz (ILL) by dec. over Tyler Koehn (NEB), 10-4 (NEB 9, ILL 6)
174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #8 Jordan Blanton (ILL), 8-3 (NEB 12, ILL 6)
184: #8 Josh Ihnen (NEB) by dec. over #18 Tony Dallago (ILL), 5-4 (NEB 15, ILL 6)
197: #11 Mario Gonzalez (ILL) by dec. over Caleb Kolb (NEB), 4-3 (NEB 15, ILL 9)
HWT: Spencer Johnson (NEB) by dec. over Chris Lopez (ILL), 3-1 (NEB 18, ILL 9)
125: #5 Jesse Delgado (ILL) by fall over Eric Coufal (NEB), 6:55 (NEB 18, ILL 15)
Notes:
-Nebraska earned its first win over a top five opponent since Jan. 20, 2008 when the Huskers took down No. 2 Oklahoma State, 22-13.
-Nebraska tied the all-time series with Illinois, 3-3-0. The Huskers won the previous meeting between the two, 20-17, on Jan. 11, 2003.
-Head Coach Mark Manning is four wins shy of the 200th of his career as he won his 196th on Friday night. Manning is 173-68-3 at Nebraska.
-Sophomore Robert Kokesh picked up his 20th consecutive victory of the season and his 25th overall. His last loss came on Nov. 16 against No. 5 Logan Storley of Minnesota.
-Senior Josh Ihnen earned the 91st victory of his Husker career on Friday night and his 18th of the season.
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