LINCOLN — It's one thing to label the Nebraska wrestling team's Big Ten debut on Friday night historic, but don't call the Huskers' matchup with No. 6 Ohio State (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) a litmus test.
NU's first dual as a member of the Big Ten won't be the definitive statement on where Nebraska (9-0) ranks in the pecking order of the country's best wrestling conference, but it will be another chance for the Huskers to showcase a young lineup that has improved by leaps and bounds seemingly every week recently.
"We've had a number of measuring sticks already," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. "Our Vegas tournament. Wyoming (who Nebraska beat Dec. 10) just beat Oklahoma, so I think they're a good team. For us, the ceiling is pretty high. We're going to keep getting better. It's just another match."
And it's another chance for the Huskers, which can become the first team in school history to win its first 10 duals, to continue its surprising success with four freshmen in its 10-man lineup.
Redshirt freshman Robert Kokesh, ranked No. 3 at 165 pounds, has gotten a lot of attention after a 17-2 start, which includes nine straight wins. But Manning pointed out that the emergence of first-year starters Jake Sueflohn (141), Brandon Wilbourn (149) and James Green (157) has brought stability to classes that were question marks heading into the season.
Sueflohn, a Watertown, Wis., native, has won seven of eight matches with his only loss in the stretch coming to then top-ranked Kellen Russell of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Green is 19-3 and ranked No. 10 in the country after piling up seven straight wins, and Wilbourn rebounded from dropping his first two matches of the season to unranked opponents to win five straight.
"Our freshmen figured it out, figured college wrestling out," Manning said. "Figured out how to win some close matches."
The young Huskers aren't getting by just on talent, Manning said. They've raised eyebrows with their work in the practice room where they've learned the work ethic needed to compete at the Big Ten level — a level, more often than not, where a top-20 ranked opponent awaits each night.
"Guys like Jake Sueflohn and Robert Kokesh aren't God-given unbelievable talents, but they have the heart of a lion," Manning said. "James Green is a great competitor. When you get them having some success and believing in themselves great things can happen.
"One thing you can't judge sometimes is confidence and ability to listen and learn. You don't judge those when you recruit. A guy can tell you he wants to be great or he wants to be a national champion, but it's one thing saying it and another thing showing the actions."
Two upperclassmen have also made great strides to solidify NU's slots at 174 and 197 pounds. At 197, senior James Nakashima has won four straight matches, including three by major decision. Nakashima won a junior college national championship at Lincoln (Ill.) College in 2009, but struggled to a 6-17 record in his first year at Nebraska two seasons ago. Following a redshirt season last year where he collected 28 wins, Nakashima is 12-4 this season.
Tyler Koehn has gone 13-4 filling in for Caleb Kolb, last year's starter at 174 who had a procedure to remove an infected bursa sac in his knee. Kolb is ready to return to competition but now must earn his starting spot back. Manning said a series of wrestle-offs could be held next week to determine the starter at 174 through the rest of the season.
"We've got two pretty good guys," Manning said. "It's a good problem there."
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