Things didn’t go as planned for Nebraska in Tulsa at the National Duals Invitational sponsored by Paycom, and the Huskers realize that. 

After beating Lehigh (35-7) and Michigan (24-14) on the first day of competition, Nebraska was beaten badly by both Ohio State (33-3) and Oklahoma State (33-6). 

“That’s four tough teams we wrestled, so there’s no easy out,” Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. “We weren’t 100 percent the last couple, but that’s how it goes. Ohio State did a great job, and Oklahoma State did a great job. Obviously, we weren’t satisfied with where we finished, but at the end of the day, we’re going to learn from it.”

Nebraska suffered a number of injuries throughout the tournament, but that’s no excuse to Manning, who is in his 25th season as the head man with the Huskers.

“This shows where we’re at as a team — just shows the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Manning said. “A lot of good things we did, but we have a lot of areas where we can just grow as a team and grow individually.”

Nebraska’s injured wrestlers include: Kael Lauridsen at 125 (knee), #10 Jacob Van Dee at 133 (shoulder), Omar Ayoub at 133 (hand), #5 Antrell Taylor at 157 (knee), and #14 LJ Araujo at 165 (hamstrings). That doesn’t even include #3 AJ Ferrari at heavyweight, who was in a walking boot a week before the season started. He then suffered a head injury in a 5-4 loss to #2 Nick Feldman at National Duals but rebounded to beat #8 Konner Doucet 2-1.

“We were really banged up,” Manning said. “I had six minutes between when we wrestled Oklahoma State and Ohio State, and I found out my backup 133-pounder broke his hand, and Antrell couldn’t go because he had a bad knee bruise, and LJ Araujo, both of his hamstrings were shot. All that hits, and it’s pretty tough.

“Could Jacob Van Dee have wrestled? Absolutely. Would it have been a bonehead decision? Absolutely, because we don’t need him in November. Could Antrell go if he has to go? Well, yeah, he could if it’s the last tournament of the year, but it’s not smart.”

Again, that doesn’t discount what the Buckeyes and Cowboys were able to do in those duals, but the Huskers see a lot of room to grow after those setbacks — both individually and as a team.

“It’s about learning and growing from that experience, so that’s what (returning to practice) was about — watching some film, seeing what we can do better, seeing how we can develop our skill set,” Manning said. “Just doing a lot better job than we did that weekend up and down the lineup. Obviously, our team is made up of different guys. What Brock (Hardy) has to work on is different than Antrell or Silas (Allred) or Cam (McDanel) or (Christopher) Minto. 

“There’s a lot of ways to skin a cat, but it’s about going and getting some takedowns and putting points on the board, and that’s what we’re emphasizing.”

A few of the more notable upsets the Huskers took in Tulsa came from returning NCAA champion Taylor and NCAA finalist Brock Hardy. 

Taylor fell to #13 Logan Rozynski of Lehigh (then #23) and #4 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State (then #9) in a pair of major decision defeats. Hardy dropped a tight 4-1 decision to #1 Jesse Mendez on a takedown in the final 10 seconds before losing to Oklahoma State’s #2 Sergio Vega (previously unranked) 13-2 by major decision.

In some of those losses by those two Husker leaders, they were beaten at their own game.  Hardy was out-scrambled by Vega, and Taylor fell behind Rozynski in an upper-body exchange in the first period.

“Brock Hardy and Antrell Taylor had some tough losses — now it’s go time,” Manning said. “You got beat in some positions where you thought you were better, and what do you do? You pick yourself up and be better this next time.”

However, it wasn’t all bad for the Huskers. Nebraska saw some real bright spots along the way – Araujo beat #8 Max Brignola of Lehigh via pinfall, #9 Christopher Minto beat #11 Beau Mantanona of Michigan 4-1 in sudden victory, Ferrari beat #5 Taye Ghadiali of Michigan via 11-3 major, and #8 Silas Allred beat #9 Zack Ryder of Oklahoma State 5-2 in sudden victory.

“You manage prosperity, and you manage adversity — our team is built for that,” Manning said.

Likely Fill-In Options

Never one to divulge too much information about his team’s lineup or his wrestlers’ injury statuses, Manning said his team should be back to full strength sooner rather than later, especially with a much-needed three-week break from competition before returning to take on Missouri and Brown Dec. 5 at the Hustle in the Heartland.

“We’ll just play it by ear and see where we need to fill in, but that’s why you take 16 guys to National Duals — everyone needs to be ready to go,” Manning said.

If necessary, Nebraska could send out guys like Jagger Condomitti at 165, Dez Gartrell at 157, Alan Koehler at 125, and Hayden Mills at 133.

Gartrell traveled to National Duals and wrestled matches at both 157 and 165 pounds. He fell to #15 Dylan Gilcher at 165 (11-1 major) and #2 Landon Robideau at 157 (21-6 technical fall). Koehler went 0-3 at National Duals, but he wrestled #5 Sheldon Seymour tough in a 4-3 loss. Mills is a junior with a 2-1 record on the year and third on the depth chart behind Van Dee and Ayoub.

If Araujo misses time, expect to see the senior Condomitti. A former Big Boarder (#13 in 2021), Condomitti just got his first action of the season at the Younes Hospitality Open this past weekend, where he won a title at 165 pounds. In the final, Condomitti beat two-time NCAA qualifier Jack Thomsen of UNI 16-7 by major. 

“We believe in Jagger — he’s really good and he’s really developed his mindset and his competitive juices,” Manning said. “He’s fired up and he’s really good in the room. We weren’t surprised how he did this weekend.”

Lamer Looking Impressive

Flying under the national radar at 149 pounds so far this season, #8 Chance Lamer is doing work on the open tournament circuit. He’s captured titles at both the Princeton Open and the Roadrunner Open. He’s now 10-0 on the year with an 8-0 record against D1 opponents.

A Cal Poly transfer, the three-time NCAA qualifier Lamer isn’t eligible to compete for the Huskers until the second semester. On the season, he’s scored 35 takedowns and 14 near-fall points in 10 matches and given up none.

“We’re super excited and can’t wait to get him in our lineup,” Manning said. “Chance is a great competitor. He’s got his goals set on winning a national title, and can he do it? Absolutely. He scores a lot of points — he’s a goer. Chance has been around, and he’s been to the NCAA tournament. He has a sour taste in his mouth about that. He’s gunning for the top, and we’re very confident he can wrestle with anyone at that weight class.”

Huskers Ink 2026 Class

Nebraska likely finalized its 2026 class this week when it secured a commitment from Elijah Collick out of Maryland, giving the Huskers nine signees in this class.

As for Big Boarders, Nebraska is bringing in #73 Jason Singer out of Faith Christian Academy in Pennsylvania, #79 Noah Bull out of Utah, and #80 Collick. In addition to those guys, Nebraska really likes the crop of guys it’s bringing in next season.

Wrestling for the second-ranked high school team nationally, Singer competes at 215 pounds because Faith Christian has the top-ranked wrestlers at both 175 and 190. According to Manning, Singer will be at 184 or 197 but likely projects as a 184-pounder in Lincoln.

“He’s more like 184, I think,” Manning said. “Jason’s really tough, and I think he’s going to really improve in our room right away. We’re excited about him. We need more upper-weight guys there.”

Nebraska also went heavy in the middle weights with four wrestlers projected to land between 149 and 165 — Bull, Mason Petersen, Davis Parrow and Nolan Fellers all project within that range. Bull is a 2024 Fargo champion, Petersen has placed at both Fargo and Super 32, Parrow is a double Fargo All-American, and Fellers has placed third at the state tournament in Iowa three times.

“Parrow is more of a 149-pounder. Noah Bull is more of 157, but I think Mason Petersen will end up being bigger — probably at 165,” Manning said. “Nolan Fellers is really tough. I think he’s a diamond in the rough. He’s got the ability to really grow in his wrestling and grow in his confidence.”

In addition to Collick, who projects at 133 pounds, Nebraska also signed in-state stud Zaiyahn Ornelas, who also projects at 133. A three-time undefeated state champion for Wilber-Clatonia, Ornelas has transferred to Creighton Prep for his senior season where he will wrestle a much tougher schedule. 

Manning is excited to add a guy from in-state who’s placed at Fargo in both freestyle and Greco-Roman, placed third at the U17 US Open, and nearly made the podium at Super 32.

“Zaiyahn is another kid that we really like — we've had our eye on him for a number of years,” Manning said. “The coach at Wilber did an amazing job with him, and he’s going to wrestle his last year at Creighton Prep, another great coaching staff that does a really good job. Zaiyahn is a special kid. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid and he really fits our culture.”

For a coaching staff that’s recently turned guys like Minto (unranked in 2023) and Van Dee (#93 in 2022) into All-Americans as underclassmen, this class adds a lot of promise and potential.