Wrestling Weight-Class Breakdown for Nebraska: 141 Pounds (2024)

We are moving on in our series of deep-dives into each and every weight class, and we’re now at 141 pounds. We’re moving weight-by-weight with each preview coming out each Wednesday. You’ll get a detailed summary and outlook of the roster going into the 2024-25 season, see what the weight class looks like nationally, look ahead to who could be next in line, and look back at who has excelled and earned All-American honors at the weight in the past for the Huskers.

Previous Weight Class Previews

125 pounds

133 pounds

Everything you’ll need to know to get ready for this coming season (which will be here before we know it) at 141 pounds is right here. Check back each Wednesday for the next preview, with the 149-pound weight class coming next week.

Roster Outlook for 2024-25

This may very well be Nebraska’s best weight with arguably its best wrestler in #4 Brock Hardy and its best backup. A two-time All-American already going into his junior season, Hardy has had his ups and downs but continues to show up for the Huskers when it matters most.

The trouble is that 141 pounds may be the toughest weight class in the country this year because both of the last two NCAA champs are in the field. But we’ll get into that down below.

It’s been well-documented, but Hardy’s path to this point has been an unconventional one. Coming out of high school in 2018, Hardy the Fargo champ was one of the best recruits in the country, ranked #9 on the Big Board that year. He then went on a two-year LDS mission in Rio De Janeiro before joining the Nebraska squad in 2020 right after the pandemic hit.

As a true freshman during the shortened free-eligibility year of 2021, Hardy was the team’s starter at 149 pounds to start the season and went 3-3 in duals and 5-3 overall. He eventually was overtaken by Ridge Lovett in the starting lineup at 149. Of note, his first career match was a 9-2 win over Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus, both an All-American and a current fighter for Bellator MMA.

Hardy then redshirted in 2021-22, going 5-0 with a title at the Missouri Valley Open with all five wins coming with bonus points.

As a redshirt freshman in 2021-22, Hardy burst onto the scene when he won a title at the Cliff Keen Invitational, beating UNI’s Cael Happel 6-1 in the final. Hardy made it to the Big Ten final that year, losing a narrow 2-1 decision to Iowa’s Real Woods. He went on to NCAAs where he again met Woods in the semifinal round. He suffered a rib injury in that match early and fell via 11-1 major decision as a result (see that match below). He tried to gut out his next match in the consolation semifinal round, but he ended up injury defaulting in the 5th-place match. Hardy finished his redshirt freshman year with a 30-8 record and a 6th-place finish at nationals for All-American honors.

During the summer of 2023, Hardy not only won a U23 national title in freestyle, he went on to earn a bronze medal at the U23 World Championships at 65 kg.

Hardy then had a shaky start to the season last year, dropping three straight matches at CKLV. However, he saved his best for last when he finished third at NCAAs in a stacked bracket. With his only loss to eventual champion Jesse Mendez, Hardy recorded a 7-3 win over 11-seed Josh Koderhandt, a pinfall over 4-seed Ryan Jack of NC State, and a 7-6 win over Woods in his final career match (watch below).

On his career, Hardy currently holds a 59-20 record and looks destined to eventually place very high on the career wins list for Nebraska with the potential to be just its fourth four-time All-American.

Behind Hardy, Nebraska is incredibly deep, beginning with junior Blake Cushing. A Grand Island native, Cushing has been one of the most important Huskers who doesn’t get a spotlight.

I’m giving him the spotlight here though, so I hope he reads this and basks in it.

The most valuable backup on the team this past season, Cushing has covered for starters at both 141 and 149 pounds over the past two seasons. As a redshirt freshman, Cushing was 14-5 with a 1-1 dual record at 149. This past season, he went 13-4 combined at both weights, going 2-2 in dual matches.

Overall in his career, Cushing is 21-6 at 141 pounds and 6-3 at 149. With starter Ridge Lovett set to graduate after this season and no clear replacement, Hardy could conceivably move up to 149 for his senior season next year, leaving 141 open. Cushing the senior could get his chance in the starting lineup then. If Hardy doesn’t move up, I expect Cushing to throw his hat in the ring at 149 in 2025-26. Regardless, Cushing could be in a position to start as a senior at either 141 or 149.

Next up would be Ismael Ayoub, a sophom*ore who didn’t compete as a redshirt freshman but has a lot of talent. A Junior Fargo finalist in 2022, Ayoub recently went 2-2 at 65 kg at the U23 World Team Trials this summer. Without competing last season, it’s unclear what we can expect to see from Ayoub in folkstyle.

The little brother to Ismael is incoming freshman Omar Ayoub, a two-time Ohio state champion. Ranked #80 on the 2024 Big Board, Ayoub was an Ironman finalist, falling to top-rated 2026 recruit Bo Bassett 5-1.

The Ayoub brothers have a lot of potential and promise. They’re both listed at 141 right now, but I imagine they’ll be at 141 and 149 this season. Who lands where is unclear. It’s possible the Huskers plan to redshirt Omar this year at 149 and let him take over for Lovett. Ismael would then likely serve as a backup at 141 and 149.

The 2024-25 NCAA Field

The field at 141 pounds this year is absurd. The undefeated 2023 NCAA Champion Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado, fresh off an Olympic redshirt, returns. The defending 2024 NCAA champ Jesse Mendez of Ohio State returns as well, setting up a probable NCAA final between past champs.

Photo by Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Photo by Evert Nelson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Behind the two most recent champs, there’s #3 Beau Bartlettt of Penn State. An NCAA finalist this past season, Bartlett also finished third in 2023. With a career record of 74-18, Bartlett is 1-1 against Hardy with Hardy winning in the dual and losing at Big Tens.

Behind Hardy are guys like #5 Ryan Jack of NC State who finished seventh at NCAAs, #6 Cael Happel of UNI who fell in the blood round, and #8 Vance Vombaur of Minnesota who finished eighth.

With there a clear Tier 1 with Alirez and Mendez and a clear Tier 2 with Bartlett and Hardy, the 2025 NCAA semifinal round could be a great one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Alirez-Mendez final and a Bartlett-Hardy match for third this year.

Future Starter/Recruiting Target

It all depends which weight class Omar Ayoub ends up at and whether Hardy moves up to 149 as a senior, but Nebraska could either be set here for the future or could be in urgent need of a replacement soon.

At the moment, Nebraska could be looking at both Antonio Mills out of Georgia and Zaiyahn Ornelas out of Nebraska. Mills is ranked by both MatScouts (#5 at 126) and FloWrestling (#20 at 120), but he was linked to Nebraska by MatScouts as a projected first-call when recruiting opened for the 2026 class. A junior-to-be out of Wilber-Clatonia, Ornelas just made the 16U Fargo final in Greco-Roman. He’s a two-time undefeated state champion in Class C. He’s a guy to keep an eye on from in the state.

If Nebraska sees Omar Ayoub as a 149-pounder (as I see it due to his frame), it could target some top-shelf prospects at this weight for 2025 and 2026. If he’s seen as a 141-pounder, the Huskers will likely seek a blue-chip prospect at 149 as soon as possible.

Husker All-Americans since 1998-99

The modern-day weight classes first started in 1998-99. That coincides almost exactly with Mark Manning’s start as Nebraska’s head coach, his first year at the helm being the 1999-2000 season. So, we’re going back 26 years here to show you Nebraska’s All-Americans at 141 pounds.

1999- Jose DeAnda (8th)

2004- Matt Murray (2nd)

2018- Chad Red Jr. (7th)

2019- Chad Red Jr. (8th)

2021- Chad Red Jr. (6th)

2023- Brock Hardy (6th)

2024- Brock Hardy (3rd)

Up until Chad Red Jr. took over in 2017-18, Nebraska hadn’t had a great run at 141 pounds. Red finished in the round of 12 at NCAAs as a senior in 2022, one win shy of earning his fourth podium finish. Since then, Hardy has reached the podium twice in two trips to nationals. Had it not been for his rib injury at NCAAs in 2023, Hardy would have placed much higher.

I’m excited to see what Hardy has in store this year as he continues to improve and rack up accolades.