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What we learned from Nebraska wrestling’s Senior Day shutout vs. Northwestern

by: Bobby Schneider02/08/26bschneider33

No. 6 Nebraska wrestling (10-6, 3-3) shut out Northwestern (3-7, 1-6) in its final home dual of the season. The 47-0 win marked the first time since 2021 that NU handed its opponent a zero on the scoreboard.

Despite three straight losses and it being Super Bowl Sunday, Husker Nation roared at the Bob Devaney Sports Center to witness the Big Red seniors one final time on the black mat with the red N. Unfortunately, the Wildcats forfeited their matchups at 157 and 165, but that still didn’t stop the fitting celebration for Nebraska’s senior send-off.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the dual…

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Seniors stamp their mark with force

Each of Nebraska’s three seniors in action won their final home bout in technical fall fashion.

No. 4 Brock Hardy (141) started with a commanding win over No. 31 Billy Dekraker. The three-time NU All-American jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first period — nearly pinning Dekraker from his cradle lock. In the second frame, Hardy’s grip was too much for the Northwestern freshman as the NU senior capped off his final bout inside Devaney with an 18-2 tech fall.

No. 19 Chance Lamer (149) followed Hardy, cruising by August Hibler. In fact, Lamer had a whopping seven takedowns in the first period to build a commanding 19-5 lead before sealing the 22-6 victory with 1:36 left in the second.

Meanwhile, head coach Mark Manning deployed senior Jagger Condomitti at 165 in place of No. 7 LJ Araujo, who went down to Brazil this weekend to qualify for Team Brazil next summer. Sadly, Northwestern’s forfeit at 165 took away the opportunity for Condomitti to wrestle one final time at home.

To close out the seniors on the mat, No. 6 Silas Allred (184) picked up his 13th win of the season over JD Perez. Allred tied Lamer for a team-high seven takedowns to cap off the final bout of the graduating group in his 24-8 win. The senior dominance felt fitting.

“That just shows how much this program means to them,” Manning said of each senior’s tech fall victory post-dual.

Lauridsen seizes the opportunity

Kael Lauridsen was plugged into the lineup in place of Alan Koehler at 125 against No. 24 Dedrick Navarro. The NU redshirt freshman came to battle. In fact, Lauridsen jumped out of the gate quickly, delivering a takedown and a 3-point near fall within the first 90 seconds, along with two-plus minutes of riding time in the first period alone.

Navarro responded with two takedowns to cut Lauridsen’s lead to one in the final minute of the third period. But Nebraska’s 125 held firm by escaping and landing a takedown at the buzzer to pick up a ranked 11-6 decision — it marked Lauridsen’s first ranked win since Dec. 7, when he took down No. 24 at the time (Mack Mauger) 4-1 in sudden victory.

It will be interesting to see if Manning deploys Lauridsen over Koehler next week against No. 17 Spencer Moore.

Van Dee snaps losing skid, Minto avoids upset

After three straight losses against No. 9 Drake Ayala (12-6), No. 2 Ben Davino (7-2) and No. 4 Marcus Blaze (5-1), No. 10 Jacob Van Dee bounced back against Luis Bazan. Like the seniors, the Nebraska 133-pounder crushed his opponent in a 20-4 tech fall.

Disappointingly, Northwestern’s highest-ranked grappler, No. 22 Sean Spidle, didn’t go. It would have been the only bout of the day that featured a previous meeting. The two met at last year’s NCAA Championships, in which Van Dee defeated Spidle 9-3.

While Van Dee didn’t get the opportunity to take on a ranked foe, the junior still found his groove at a much-needed time. He’ll likely battle Illinois No. 1 Lucas Byrd, who’s 14-0 on the season, next Friday.

Meanwhile, No. 30 Eddie Enright tested No. 4 Christopher Minto at 174. Enright landed an early takedown in the first frame and held the lead entering the final period. However, that adversity didn’t faze the sophomore All-American.

Trailing 3-2, Minto escaped Enright to even it up at three apiece and then sealed the 6-3 decision by landing a takedown with 28 seconds remaining to notch his 15th win of the season. Overcoming small adversities like what Minto faced today will only benefit him come March.

“That’s what makes him a special guy. That’s why he can be on the top of the podium,” the NU head coach said. “He finds a way to win.”

Other Results

***Northwestern’s forfeit at 157 gave No. 3 Antrell Taylor his 10th straight win. The 2025 NCAA Champion hasn’t lost a match since November.

***Sophomore No. 9 Camden McDanel (197) cruised by freshman Alex Smith with a 22-5 technical fall. McDanel had over two minutes of riding time and landed the dagger takedown with 1.9 seconds remaining in the second period.

***If it was No. 4 AJ Ferrari’s final bout inside Devaney, the Husker heavyweight closed out the dual with a 17-4 major decision over Dirk Morley. NU will apply for Ferrari’s waiver after the season.

Nebraska returns to the mat on Friday, Feb. 10, at No. 10 Illinois (10-4, 3-2). First bout starts at 7 p.m. CT and can be seen on B1G+.

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