There probably weren’t a lot of people outside of the Nebraska program that had Christopher Minto going into Big Tens with an 18-2 record on their bingo card to start the season.

But that’s exactly what the young Husker from Florida has done after forcing his way into the Nebraska lineup at 165 pounds in January. Nebraska’s Redshirt of the Year last season, Minto sits at #13 in our latest DI rankings.

The redshirt freshman, who goes by the nickname “Tophy”, started the season sitting behind senior Bubba Wilson after losing a wrestle-off to him in overtime in November. Minto built up a 12-0 record in open tournaments in the first semester – the two Huskers each made it to the final of the Navy Classic but weren’t able to wrestle due to an injury to Wilson, resulting in a no-contest. Minto beat #18 Tyler Lillard 12-1 by major on the way to the final.

“We had thought that Bubba had earned the spot early on — he had beat (Minto) in a wrestle-off in November,” Nebraska coach Mark Manning said on Tuesday. “He wrestled the Navy Classic, but him and Bubba just weren’t able to hit because Bubba got banged up in his semifinal match, so really things played out later, but that might have helped Christopher in the long run from the development standpoint. He could figure it out for a couple more months until we actually had wrestle-offs.”

The battle between Minto and Wilson was just that — a battle. After losing to him in November, Minto prevailed the second time in January.

“It was tight, so I think that we just had two good guys there, and it’s a shame we couldn’t use both of them,” Manning said. “Christopher really rose up to the challenge of being challenged and having to go through basically an All-American-caliber type of guy to make the team — that’s impressive in itself, so I think he proved a lot to himself.”

Wilson has since moved on to the next chapter in his career — he’s signed to fight in May at Dynasty Combat Sports’ Spring Brawl 2025 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.

After Wilson suffered a knee injury in late December that kept him out for a few weeks, Minto got his first shot in the starting lineup. Things started a bit shaky with a 4-1 sudden-victory loss to #19 Jack Thomsen of UNI, but he’s now 6-1 in Big Ten duals since with his only loss a 5-1 decision to #2 Michael Caliendo in Carver. Caliendo is 7-1 in Big Ten duals this year with his six other conference wins coming with bonus points — five being technical falls.

According to both Manning and Minto, there was a lot to learn from that match as they gear up for a possible rematch in the Big Ten semifinal – it’s all but certain that Caliendo gets the 2-seed and Minto the 3-seed at Big Tens.

“He wrestled a good match, but there were a couple opportunities that he could have really taken advantage of — just quicker recognition,” Manning said. “He could have put Caliendo in danger, but it didn’t happen, and it’s one of those things you learn from. I thought he did a good job of managing the match from an emotional and anxiety standpoint. He was really calm and wrestled well in front of a hostile environment. I think our whole team did. Nobody freaked out. I think that shows the resilience of our team, and I think Christopher saw his teammates take that attitude and he took that attitude.”

Now that Minto has felt Caliendo, he’s confident he can improve in the necessary areas after not fully trusting things in the first match — as Manning said, “just quicker recognition.”

“A lot of those positions I was in in that match I’ve felt in practice, and I believe in them more when I’m in practice,” Minto said. “I know that as I believe in it in practice, I can really get the job done when I wrestle him again.”

A three-time NHSCA state champion for Mariner High School, Minto wasn’t heavily recruited. He chose Nebraska over Virginia coming out in 2023. However, his development since getting on campus has been rapid, according to Manning.

“I’ve just seen a lot of growth over the spring and summer last year, so I’m not surprised where he is. He’s a really hard worker and his development is through the roof,” Manning said. “He just picked up by being around other good guys. He’s really benefited from a lot of good people that have been around him and took advantage in the spring and summer. He put in a lot of hours. He immersed himself in our culture. Sometimes freshmen are just trying to figure things out, but he jumped in with both feet.”

Talking to Minto, he seems about as coachable as they come. He’s just trying to soak in everything he can from this Husker coaching staff.

“I think my belief has grown a lot this season, and I believe in my coaches a lot, too,” he said. “I think I just keep listening to them every day, and I think that’s where I’ve really grown the most is just listening to them and just trusting their process.”

In Big Ten duals, Minto has a number of ranked wins already — 7-2 over #14 Beau Mantanona, 5-4 over #15 Andrew Sparks, two majors over Lillard (12-1 and 10-0). Looking at his season, it’s obvious that Minto’s been developing rapidly. He went from losing his first dual to winning his next three matches by decision. His last three wins have come with bonus points attached, including a 17-1 tech over Purdue’s Stoney Buell last time out. On the season, Minto has 13 bonus-point wins with eight of them techs.

The two main factors in his rapid rise have been the quality of his training partners and his love for the sport, according to Manning.

“Development is so big, and it’s so underrated,” Manning said. “Some people are like, ‘Oh, he didn’t win eight state titles.’ Some guys lose their love for it, but his love for it is just going up.”

“Everyone in the room wants to get better,” Minto said. “In high school, a lot of the kids are there just to have something to do, but everyone here wants to get better. I think I kind of fed off that. I’m a pretty competitive person already, so having them to push me really helps a lot.”

Throw in some heightened self-belief, and you have a recipe for success.

“(The coaches) kept preaching that you’re never too young to win,” Minto said. “Coming in as a freshman, you don’t know what you’re coming into, but also there are other kids at other Big Ten schools that are winning at this high level.”

Going into his first postseason, Minto seems hungry and ready to make his mark.

“I’m just ready to fight these dudes, to be honest,” Minto said. “This is the closest I’ve ever been to my dreams, so I’m really excited to just show the world.”

Huskers Healthy Going Into Postseason

In a season that has seen multiple teams marred by injury, the Huskers have been one of the healthiest out there with all 10 starters seemingly healthy going into the postseason. None have missed much time due to injury all season.

According to Manning, a lot of it comes down to what you focus on as a coaching staff.

“I think it’s emphasized from the standpoint that you can’t be your best team if you got guys banged up, and you get them banged up when you don’t take care of the little things,” Manning said. “You don’t care in your stretching, you don’t care who you’re gonna go with that day, coaches aren’t engaged knowing that ‘Whoa, that guy just rolled, and his leg looks in danger.’ Stop it. You’re not gonna win a national title in there, and ripping his knee out doesn’t do you any good there and doesn’t do our team any good.”

However, he’s not letting the entire cat out of the bag here.

“I think it’s all about managing. The last couple years, I’ve told my staff that the number one thing that can beat us is if our guys are all banged up,” Manning said. “I ain’t gonna give away every secret — I don’t want to tell the whole damn wrestling world.”

Peaking At The Right Time

Since losing to #1 Penn State 31-7 in January, the Huskers have won five of six duals. Their lone loss came in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where they led the Hawkeyes the entire dual, only to fall 19-16 in the end.

In those five wins, Nebraska has not allowed more than seven dual points and hasn’t scored less than 35, turning up the emphasis on going for bonus points.

“(We’re) just really amping up the intensity of what we do, trying to take that to another level and amping up the intensity and amping up the competitor within,” Manning said. “If you’re a competitor, you’re going to rise up to the challenge. If you’re not a competitor, you’re going to bow down to the competitors. Therein itself already gets the excitement going. You don’t have to add to it any more. Staying calm, doing your thing, staying focused on what you need to do is more important than ‘Oh, it’s the Big Ten, it’s different than what we just went through and it’s different than Vegas.’ It’s the same damn thing — there’s a wrestling match and a ref and seven minutes. If you overthink it, you don't have the performance that you want.”