The second semester at Nebraska doesn’t start until Monday, but the Husker wrestling team is already preparing for a major mid-term exam.

The 10th-ranked Huskers are among the 15 ranked NCAA Division I programs (including 11 of the top 12) that will take part in this weekend’s NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, wrestling’s annual event that separates the national title contenders from pretenders.

It’s an opportunity for many of the young Huskers to prove themselves worthy of their lofty national rankings.

One of them, 174-pound junior Brandon Browne, said he sees this meet as a proving ground.

“I want to see all the top guys in the country at my weight before nationals,” said Browne, a native of Plattsmouth who is ranked fifth in the latest NWCA rankings. “So I’m glad that I get to see a couple of guys out there who are ranked ahead of me so I can see where I’m at.”

Right now, Browne is one of the hottest wrestlers in the country, with a 20-1 record and 13 bonus-point wins — seven major decisions, four technical falls and two pins — after not wrestling any varsity matches last season.

Upon his return to the varsity this year, Browne set about crafting an impressive resume.

After losing in the early rounds of the Las Vegas Invitational, Browne rebounded to finish third.

Less than a week later, he earned a 5-2 decision against Minnesota’s 10th-ranked Gabe Dretsch.

Last week, in road duals against Northern Colorado and defending Pac-10 champion Oregon State, Browne needed only 4 minutes, 30 seconds to record a pair of pins.

Husker coach Mark Manning said the year away from the varsity squad helped Browne become a team leader.

“Sitting out last year really drove him to accomplish a lot of things, and he’s really matured from a negative situation,” Manning said. “(He) realizes that he has only two shots — this year and next year — to accomplish his goals.

“He’s made himself into a tremendous competitor.”

As have the rest of the Huskers, who, combined, have a 55-11 record in dual meet matches. It’s something that might bode well this weekend.

The Huskers open the tournament against No. 9 Northwestern, which finished fourth at last year’s NCAA Championships. NU could face top-ranked Penn State in a second-round matchup and No. 6 Minnesota, again, in the semifinal round.

Manning said the Huskers have been a different team since pushing the Gophers to the limit on Dec. 6, especially after returning from the holiday break to win both duals last week by a combined 79-9 score.

“We wrestled real aggressive. Since we’ve come back Dec. 27, we’ve gotten better,” Manning said. “Good focus by our guys and good attitude, but there’s plenty of room to keep improving.

“This weekend is a great test, starting with Northwestern. They match up pretty good with us. We’ll have to wrestle well the whole weekend. But I think this team’s ready.”

Briefly

n The dual vs. Northwestern will feature three matchups of wrestlers ranked in the top six of their weight classes: 125 — NU’s No. 1 Paul Donahoe (8-0) vs. No. 4 Brandon Precin (20-1); 149 — NU’s No. 6 Jordan Burroughs (19-3) vs. No. 5 Ryan Lang (4-0); 197 — NU’s No. 4 Craig Brester  (10-0) vs. No. 3 Mike Tamillow (15-1).

* Sunday’s action will be taped and shown on CSTV (cable 305) on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. Iowa Public Television will televise the Sunday matches. On the Internet, livesportsvideo.com will offer streaming video of all dual matches to those who register for free site memberships.

* There will be six other divisions contested — NCAA Divisions II and II, NAIA, junior college, club teams and women’s teams. Nebraska will have four other schools participating. Nebraska-Kearney and Nebraska-Omaha are the top two seeds, respectively, in the Division II bracket, which also includes unseeded Chadron State. Dana is the No. 6 seed in the NAIA competition.

Reach Karl Vogel at 473-7432 or kvogel@journalstar.com.