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2009 Mar 12
WRESTLING: 7 to head to Nationals
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Nebraska 149-pounder Robert Sanders received a wild-card bid to the NCAA Championships Wednesday to join the six other Cornhuskers who had already automatically qualified. NU had been hoping 133-pounder Matt Vacanti would get a wild-card bid - he could have sown up a bid in the Big 12 Championships, but lost the third-place match - but he didn't receive one.
So, the maginificent 7, if you will, and three of them - 197-pounder Craig Brester, 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs and 174-pounder Brandon Browne - have as good a chance of winning the national title as any wrestler in their weight class. At 165 pounds, Stephen Dwyer will have to survive a gulag of studs, but could, while at heavyweight Tucker Lane can feel comfortable knowing he's beaten the No. 3 and No. 1 wrestlers in the nation.
Should be a wild one in St Louis! Iowa State, by the way, placed all ten wrestlers in the NCAA Championships. Iowa placed nine. Those are the two teams Nebraska has to most contend with down there. ISU was the only team to place all ten wrestlers. The Cyclones have also shown a proclivity for choking in big matches, too.
So you'll enjoy all the sour grapes ISU's coaches displayed in this recent article after the Big 12 Championships.
Now, for a moment, we must appreciate that Cys coach, Cael Sanderson, is generally considered the greatest collegiate wrestler in history, and one of greatest collegiate athletes, period. He's up there in Lew Alcindor/Oscar Robertson/Tiger Woods/Dave Winfield/Robin Ventura/Cheryl Miller territory, understand. He never lost in more than 100 matches.Nobody before Sanderson achieved that feat - legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable lost just once - and it could be a century before anybody does it again. So, admittedly, the guy's standards are high.
But we anticipate ISU's general arrogance - and the fact that lot of their wrestlers score very little on the mat - will keep Nebraska fans a little peeved for years to come.
Note: Brester is the new No. 1, according to the NWCA, after beating Iowa State No. 1 Jake Varner at the Big 12 Championships.
So, the maginificent 7, if you will, and three of them - 197-pounder Craig Brester, 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs and 174-pounder Brandon Browne - have as good a chance of winning the national title as any wrestler in their weight class. At 165 pounds, Stephen Dwyer will have to survive a gulag of studs, but could, while at heavyweight Tucker Lane can feel comfortable knowing he's beaten the No. 3 and No. 1 wrestlers in the nation.
Should be a wild one in St Louis! Iowa State, by the way, placed all ten wrestlers in the NCAA Championships. Iowa placed nine. Those are the two teams Nebraska has to most contend with down there. ISU was the only team to place all ten wrestlers. The Cyclones have also shown a proclivity for choking in big matches, too.
So you'll enjoy all the sour grapes ISU's coaches displayed in this recent article after the Big 12 Championships.
Now, for a moment, we must appreciate that Cys coach, Cael Sanderson, is generally considered the greatest collegiate wrestler in history, and one of greatest collegiate athletes, period. He's up there in Lew Alcindor/Oscar Robertson/Tiger Woods/Dave Winfield/Robin Ventura/Cheryl Miller territory, understand. He never lost in more than 100 matches.Nobody before Sanderson achieved that feat - legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable lost just once - and it could be a century before anybody does it again. So, admittedly, the guy's standards are high.
But we anticipate ISU's general arrogance - and the fact that lot of their wrestlers score very little on the mat - will keep Nebraska fans a little peeved for years to come.
Note: Brester is the new No. 1, according to the NWCA, after beating Iowa State No. 1 Jake Varner at the Big 12 Championships.
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Tags: wrestling, robert sanders, craig brester, jordan burroughs, stephen dwyer, tucker lane, brandon browne
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