- 11" Al Schab«n/Dally Nsbraskan
Nebraska’s Jason Kelber grimaces in pain while competing against Oklahoma State’s Kendall Cross at the Big Eight championships. Cross deleated Kelber 14-7
to claim the conference’s 126-pound crown.
Neumann: Top four finish won’t be easy
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter___
Finishing 17th at last year’s NCAA
wrestling championships didn’t sit well
with Comhuskcr coach Tim Neumann.
It would sit even worse this year,
tc said.
Neumann, finishing his fifth sea
son as Nebraska’s coach, has set the
pal of having his No. 4-rankcd team
Inish among the nation’s top four at
he NCAA Wrestling Championships
>n Friday through Sunday in College
>ark. Md.
But, he said, it won’t be easy.
“We arc going to have to wrestle
extremely well to be in the top four,
but we’ve been there all season long,”
Neumann said.
“Obviously, we’re looking to fin
ish higher, because we’ve pushed
ourselves all season long against the
best teams in the country and have
done very well.”
Nebraska has been ranked fourth
in the Amateur Wrestling News and
National Wrestling Coaches’ Asso
ciation polls since early December.
Neumann hopes to maintain that
ranking past this weekend’s competi
tion.
“But,” he said, “being ranked
fourth was a dual ranking. When you
gel to the national tournament, you
have to look at getting people into the
finals. If we’re going to finish that
high, we have to get at least two
people into the finals and gel great
performances from the others if we’re
going to make any kind of serious
run/’
The Huskers made a serious run at
the Big Eight championship March
11. But Oklahoma State, ranked No.
1 for much of the season, won the
conference title for the fourth con
secutive year. The Cowboys topped
Nebraska 80.25-70.50.
Oklahoma finished third (67.50),
Iowa State fourth (57.75) and Mis
souri iilth(lX.5U).
The second-place finish was Ne
braska’s best since 1950, and the
runner-up status broke a string of six
consecutive fourth-place finishes in
the conference.
Neumannsaid thcBigEightcham
pionship meet showed how far Ne
braska’s program has advanced in the
last few years.
“I think by placing second in the
Big Eight and being as close to Okla
homa State as we were shows how
close we arc to reaching our potential
as a team and with the program,” he
said.
But, Neumann said, the Huskcrs’
periormancc couiu nave uccn ucuci.
Wc had a couple of letdowns that
hurt us in the conference meet that wc
need to remedy if wc are going to
make a serious run at the champion
ship,” he said. “That’s what we were
doing all season long.”
One of the letdowns came in the
126-pound championship, in which
Nebraska’s Jason Kclbcr lost 14-7 to
Oklahoma State’s Kendall Cross.
Kclbcr had beaten Cross three times
earlier this season.
Kclbcr, who was slowed by a knee
injury during the conference touma
~See HIGH HOPES on 17
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II
MNN
BUXTOW
WEIGHT
m
NCAA WEEDS
DUAL RMCODD
15+2
I— -1
DV.
DUAL HKCORD
fl-ff-2
dual meow
19-5
DUAL WICOW
Tf-6
WKIQNT
167
MCM HUM
S
DUU RECORD
15-2
ill 7
DUAL MOOND
77-5
—?
DUAL meODD
3P?
3
DUAL MCODD
21-1-2
_ -
Source Nebraska Sports Information Office.