New skills make Dwyer dangerous at Big 12 Championships
At first glance, Stephen Dwyer looks much like the same wrestler who qualified for the NCAA Championships last year.
Nebraska coach Mark Manning, however, knows even a well-trained observer would have to look very closely to see the changes.
“He’s still got a very rough style,” Manning said. “He hates to lose and he’s going to go harder when he’s behind. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Last year, when Dwyer was a true freshman, Manning described him as “a grinder — not the most skilled wrestler, but one that keeps getting better as he learns from his mistakes. It seems he just wills himself to win sometimes.”
But now a year older and a year wiser, Dwyer claims a new weapon in his arsenal that has turned him into one of the nation’s top competitors at 165 pounds heading into the Big 12 Championships today in Stillwater, Okla.
“One of the biggest things is my strategy in matches,” Dwyer said. “Instead of just going out and wrestling hard all the time, I’ve found ways to make wrestling hard pay off on the scoreboard.
“It’s just a little bit of a change, but that’s a big change. It’s made a big difference.”
The results are obvious when you look at the statistics.
A year ago, Dwyer posted a 19-13 record as a true freshman, going 1-8 against ranked opponents and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. At the Big 12 meet, Dwyer finished third but nearly posted a shocking first-round upset of Oklahoma State’s Johny Hendricks, a two-time national champion who hadn’t lost in nearly two years.
Dwyer said he couldn’t put a value on that experience.
“Confidence is a big thing,” Dwyer said. “Having wrestled last year (instead of redshirting) was an advantage for me. I got to wrestle a lot of guys in their senior year, like Hendricks. I could see successes against the best guys out there, and that motivates you more.”
This year, Dwyer is ranked seventh in Division I with a 28-6 record, and his only losses in the last three months have come in overtime against No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State and No. 2 Nick Marable of Missouri.
Two weeks ago, in NU’s disappointing dual loss to Iowa State, Dwyer was one of the bright spots, showing yet another side by scoring three reversals in a 6-5 upset of the Cyclones’ Jon Reader.
“I wasn’t good at that last year, but I’ve been working on that. Now when I’m put in a situation to score on the bottom, most of the time I’m able to do that,” Dwyer said.
Manning said Dwyer’s changes and a never-say-die attitude are also seen through most of the fourth-ranked Huskers’ lineup. It’s a trait Manning said can pay dividends today.
“We have a number of guys — Paul Donahoe, Jordan Burroughs, Brandon Brown, Craig Brester — who show that when their back is against the wall, they can respond just like Stephen did,” Manning said.
“This season is all about individuals right now. If our 10 individuals take care of what they need to do, we should be able to get the hardware at the end.”
But even that will be tricky, with all five of the Big 12 wrestling programs ranked 14th or higher. Still, the Huskers expect to get three top seeds — Donahoe (125), Burroughs (149) and Browne (174).
Again, the road will be tough for Dwyer. He enters the conference championships as the third seed and likely as the wrestler nobody else wants to face.
Still, he puts little pressure on himself.
“I know I’m going to have good competition at 165,” Dwyer said. But if I wrestle the best I can no matter what happens, what can you ask out of yourself more than that.
“I’m going to leave it all out on the mat.”
Briefly
* Streaming video of today’s Big 12 Championships will be available at Big12Sports.com, and a tape-delayed broadcast of the championship matches will air on Fox Sports Midwest (Time Warner Channel 37) at 12:30 p.m. on March 16.
* Seven Huskers are looking to earn return trips to the NCAA meet: Donahoe (national champ last year at 125), Burroughs, Chris Oliver (157), Dwyer, Vince Jones (184), Brester and Jon May (285).
* Browne, a Plattsmouth native, is 29-2 this season with a .935 winning percentage, tied for 10th-best in NU history.
Reach Karl Vogel at 473-7432 or kvogel@journalstar.com.
Nebraska coach Mark Manning, however, knows even a well-trained observer would have to look very closely to see the changes.
“He’s still got a very rough style,” Manning said. “He hates to lose and he’s going to go harder when he’s behind. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Last year, when Dwyer was a true freshman, Manning described him as “a grinder — not the most skilled wrestler, but one that keeps getting better as he learns from his mistakes. It seems he just wills himself to win sometimes.”
But now a year older and a year wiser, Dwyer claims a new weapon in his arsenal that has turned him into one of the nation’s top competitors at 165 pounds heading into the Big 12 Championships today in Stillwater, Okla.
“One of the biggest things is my strategy in matches,” Dwyer said. “Instead of just going out and wrestling hard all the time, I’ve found ways to make wrestling hard pay off on the scoreboard.
“It’s just a little bit of a change, but that’s a big change. It’s made a big difference.”
The results are obvious when you look at the statistics.
A year ago, Dwyer posted a 19-13 record as a true freshman, going 1-8 against ranked opponents and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. At the Big 12 meet, Dwyer finished third but nearly posted a shocking first-round upset of Oklahoma State’s Johny Hendricks, a two-time national champion who hadn’t lost in nearly two years.
Dwyer said he couldn’t put a value on that experience.
“Confidence is a big thing,” Dwyer said. “Having wrestled last year (instead of redshirting) was an advantage for me. I got to wrestle a lot of guys in their senior year, like Hendricks. I could see successes against the best guys out there, and that motivates you more.”
This year, Dwyer is ranked seventh in Division I with a 28-6 record, and his only losses in the last three months have come in overtime against No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State and No. 2 Nick Marable of Missouri.
Two weeks ago, in NU’s disappointing dual loss to Iowa State, Dwyer was one of the bright spots, showing yet another side by scoring three reversals in a 6-5 upset of the Cyclones’ Jon Reader.
“I wasn’t good at that last year, but I’ve been working on that. Now when I’m put in a situation to score on the bottom, most of the time I’m able to do that,” Dwyer said.
Manning said Dwyer’s changes and a never-say-die attitude are also seen through most of the fourth-ranked Huskers’ lineup. It’s a trait Manning said can pay dividends today.
“We have a number of guys — Paul Donahoe, Jordan Burroughs, Brandon Brown, Craig Brester — who show that when their back is against the wall, they can respond just like Stephen did,” Manning said.
“This season is all about individuals right now. If our 10 individuals take care of what they need to do, we should be able to get the hardware at the end.”
But even that will be tricky, with all five of the Big 12 wrestling programs ranked 14th or higher. Still, the Huskers expect to get three top seeds — Donahoe (125), Burroughs (149) and Browne (174).
Again, the road will be tough for Dwyer. He enters the conference championships as the third seed and likely as the wrestler nobody else wants to face.
Still, he puts little pressure on himself.
“I know I’m going to have good competition at 165,” Dwyer said. But if I wrestle the best I can no matter what happens, what can you ask out of yourself more than that.
“I’m going to leave it all out on the mat.”
Briefly
* Streaming video of today’s Big 12 Championships will be available at Big12Sports.com, and a tape-delayed broadcast of the championship matches will air on Fox Sports Midwest (Time Warner Channel 37) at 12:30 p.m. on March 16.
* Seven Huskers are looking to earn return trips to the NCAA meet: Donahoe (national champ last year at 125), Burroughs, Chris Oliver (157), Dwyer, Vince Jones (184), Brester and Jon May (285).
* Browne, a Plattsmouth native, is 29-2 this season with a .935 winning percentage, tied for 10th-best in NU history.
Reach Karl Vogel at 473-7432 or kvogel@journalstar.com.
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