For a team that just had its best season in program history, how does one build on that and keep the momentum going?

For second-ranked Nebraska and its senior leader — second-ranked 141-pounder Brock Hardy — it’s about proving last year wasn’t a one-off when the National Duals Invitational begins this weekend.  

“I think there’s a general excitement that we have for this moment,” Hardy, the NCAA runner-up last year at 141 pounds, said of the Huskers, who finished second in March at the national tournament. “We’re excited to prove that NCAAs was not a fluke, and we’re still putting something together that’s pretty special here at Nebraska.”

One of the main benefits to competing in a tournament like this in November, according to Husker coach Mark Manning, is that they get a really good early look at their team against the best in the country.

“We want to test ourselves to see where we’re at and see what we’re all about. We know quite a bit about our team, but can you do it two days in a row? Can you do it every match?” Manning said. “I like where we’re at and our preparation is really good and our health is good, so you got to get out there and do it for seven minutes.”

Obviously, the dual format of this tournament is different from most wrestling tournaments, but Manning loves combining the two. He’s been an advocate for a national dual tournament for years. 

“I think it’s tremendous for our sport,” Manning said of the National Duals event. “It’s a way for us to grow wrestling, and we need this competition to be able to bring more fans to our sport and gain a better understanding of how much excitement and appreciation they can have for wrestling.”

Manning is fiercely passionate about growing the sport of wrestling. He sees this weekend as both the start of something big and an opportunity to draw in casual college fans who maybe follow sports like football and basketball but not necessarily their wrestling team.

“The common wrestling fan that’s going to the NCAA tournament is always going to support this, but we need to build the brand of college wrestling — this is an epic move for us,” Manning said. “Is it at the greatest time of the year? No, but it’s a start and a way for us to be able to really highlight our sport. We’re on ESPN2 (for the final), but we need to be on ESPN1 on primetime.”

According to Manning, it’s easier for a fan base to get behind a team than it is to follow individuals in weight class brackets. 

“More fans from big fan bases are going to follow teams than, ‘Hey, I know Jesse Mendez from Ohio State,’ and every Buckeye fan will follow him, or every Nebraska fan is going to follow Brock Hardy,” Manning said. “Now they’re going to follow Nebraska wrestling. They're going to follow Husker wrestling. I think that’s where our growth can really take off.”

When it comes to Manning’s quest to grow the sport, he does take issue with the top team in the country Penn State being the only team to decline its invitation to compete at National Duals — a sentiment that was also expressed by Ohio State coach Tom Ryan during the National Duals Invitational Press Conference on Tuesday.

“It seems like these other teams want to help wrestling grow, and that’s why we’re doing this,” Manning said. “It will help our sport grow, but the team that’s won whatever 12 out of the last 14 national titles is not there? That’s what the whole wrestling world is wondering about in America — why aren’t you helping? Are you just worried about your team, or are you worried about the sport? You can tell me you’re worried about the sport, but you’re not showing it.”

Admittedly, Manning doesn’t have any inside information as to Penn State’s reasons for not competing.

“I don’t know their opinion — I don’t sit down and have tea with them,” Manning said. “Why wouldn’t you want to come to the National Duals? Why wouldn’t you want to try and build the sport? If you're trying to grow the sport, you’re not helping us.”

Hardy vs. Mendez Part 5?

Back to Hardy, who could potentially face Ohio State’s #1 Jesse Mendez in the semifinal round on Sunday morning in one of the most anticipated possible matchups of the tournament. This could be the first of four potential matches between these two this season.

Hardy has already wrestled Mendez four times in college with Mendez holding the 3-1 advantage, including a 12-9 decision in last year’s 141-pound NCAA final. Hardy’s win was a 9-8 decision in the 2025 Big Ten semifinal before going on to win the conference title.

“Jesse Mendez has to wrestle Brock Hardy four times, too — that’s how I look at it,” Manning said. “Brock’s ready for it, and I have all the faith in him. He’s ready for the battles and he’s got his eyes set on high goals. (Mendez) is a great competitor, obviously, but that was in the past. We’ll see what this year is all about.”

According to Hardy, he sees every chance to wrestle someone as good as Mendez as another opportunity to push himself and get better.

“He’s a two-time national champion, so wrestling a guy like that is going to bring the best out of me every time I compete against him,” Hardy said. “Four times to wrestle him means I’ll have four chances to get better. Every single time I have to, in a way, stretch myself beyond my means and find my limit is good. There’s few guys in the country that do that quite like Jesse Mendez.”

Asked last week if Hardy is an option at 149 pounds — where Nebraska has #7 Chance Lamer but he’s not eligible until the second semester — Manning said they “have options”. 

When the question was posed to Hardy, he quickly said “No.” 

He then chuckled and said, “If it came down to it, I would do it. If it gives our team an advantage, I’m willing to wrestle King Kong if I need to.”

Husker Freshmen Impressing

Nebraska brought in the #8 recruiting class in 2025, and the group is already paying dividends. Nikade Zinkin just won his home debut in sudden victory with a super duck and will be Nebraska’s first option at National Duals at 149 pounds.

Both Manning and Hardy talked about Zinkin’s ability to flip a switch when the rubber meets the road and the pressure is on.

“His practice habits are starting to catch up to his competitive juices come gameday,” Manning said. “He’s starting to practice with more intention, but he’s got an extra switch in him when it comes to competition, and he knows how to turn on the lights.”

“I’ve known that he’s really good and he’s really dangerous,” Hardy said of Zinkin. “He’s a freshman, so I think a lot of times he kind of lets the upperclassmen push him around in the practice room, but I’ve seen him when he competes and he’s a different animal.”

Also making a splash as a true freshman for the Huskers this past weekend was Cade Ziola at heavyweight. At the Bison Open, Ziola beat #18 Koy Hopke 8-7 with a late takedown before falling to Hopke’s Minnesota teammate Bennett Tabor 6-2 in the final on a late takedown in a match that was tied 2-2.

Joining Zinkin and Ziola on the trip to Tulsa this weekend will be Ty Eise at 174 pounds. The freshman went 2-2 at the Navy Classic with an 8-5 win over #29 Carter Baer – his losses came to #17 Jasiah Queen (4-2) and #18 Nick Hamilton (5-2). He also wrestled his teammate #4 Christopher Minto to a 4-2 decision in their wrestle off.

“We got what we inspected, and they’re all competitors and guys that are a great fit for us,” Manning said. “We’re just pouring a lot of hours of development into them now, and they’re going to just keep getting better. We’re really excited about them.”

“These guys have a lot of potential to be great,” Hardy said of the true freshmen. “I feel like being able to be around them and get in their ear now to let them know that they are the future and they need to take things seriously and put in the work.

“Everything you did in high school doesn't matter anymore. The animal that you were then doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to be an animal now.”