Wrestling in place of Craig Brester, who underwent surgery Friday, the sophomore 197-pounder earned a major decision to start a three-match winning streak.
KARL VOGEL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, November 16, 2007 6:00 pm
Barely more than 24 hours after he learned he’d be wrestling in Friday night’s dual, Husker sophomore Levi Wofford got the biggest win of his college career.
With fourth-ranked sophomore Craig Brester on crutches following minor knee surgery early Friday, Wofford stepped in at 197 pounds and earned a major decision over Lehigh’s Alex Iacocca. The victory turned the tide in what had become a shockingly uncomfortable dual with the Mountain Hawks, starting a three-match winning streak to end the dual and carry Nebraska to a 28-13 win.
Wofford wrestled at 184 last year in place of 2006 NCAA qualifier Vince Jones, who was taking a redshirt season, and until Thursday, he wasn’t expecting to see any action before today’s Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha.
“I was cutting (weight) pretty hard to make it to 184, but I felt really really good tonight,” said Wofford. “Hopefully, I can dominate tomorrow.”
Wofford’s domination of Friday’s match helped the Huskers breathe a little bit easier after a shocking upset midway through the dual put Lehigh back in the game.
Sophomore Stephen Dwyer, ranked No. 11 at 165, was thrown to his back by Lehigh’s Mike Galante just 85 seconds into the match. Galante scored a pin just 16 seconds later, cutting the Huskers’ lead to 12-10.
NU’s Brandon Browne, a Plattsmouth native, picked up an 11-5 decision over Alex Caruso at 174.
But No. 11 David Craig, Lehigh’s only ranked wrestler, scored a pair of takedowns in the final period at 184 to hold off Husker freshman Andy Johnson 9-4, keeping Lehigh down only two points with three matches to go.
That put the spotlight squarely on Wofford.
“I’ve wrestled for 18 years of my life, I thrive on pressure,” Wofford said. “The more people we can get in the crowd the better. I just like to put on a show for them and have some fun.”
Heavyweight Jon May, in his first home match in nearly two seasons, beat Lehigh’s Justin Allen 7-3 to give Nebraska an insurmountable 22-13 advantage, then national champion Paul Donahoe pinned Mitch Berger in 1 minute, 29 seconds.
Husker coach Mark Manning said the performances of Wofford and Johnson, even in a loss, were key for his team after Dwyer’s loss.
“I don’t think (Dwyer’s loss) altered our confidence. I think it’s more everyone felt bad for Stephen because he works hard,” Manning said. “It’s going to happen in this sport. It was a nice move, but it’s like blowing coverage in football, sometimes the best defense can get beat.”
Briefly
Manning said Brester had arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair some injured cartilage and could be back as soon as two weeks.