Nebraska wrestlers reflect on 'getting to the top of the mountain' at NCAA wrestling championship

The Nebraska Cornhusker wrestling team experienced success this past season rarely seen before in Lincoln.

Sophomore Antrell Taylor and Senior Ridge Lovett both won individual NCAA championships, the first ones since 2011, when Jordan Burroughs earned his second NCAA title.

Lovett took home the trophy at 149 pounds and Taylor triumphed at 157 pounds.

NU also finished as national runner-up at this year’s NCAA Championships. That’s the best team finish in program history.

“It's like a dream come true. A lot of people dream to go to their home state school and accomplish the biggest goals. And I'm sitting here doing that exactly. I've dreamed about being a national champ since I started wrestling honestly,” said Taylor, who graduated from Millard South High School in Omaha. “I started to truly believe it last year, once I got into the lineup. I finally accomplished my goal my sophomore year, and then I have two more years to go.”

Wrestling at 165 pounds as a freshman, Taylor finished the regular season 23-10. He earned fifth place at the Big Ten Championships and landed eighth overall at the NCAAs.

Coming into the 2024-25 school year, head coach Mark Manning, his staff and Taylor knew that he would drop down to 157 pounds. Senior Peyton Robb had just graduated after ending the regular season 28-4 and finishing seventh at nationals.

Taylor had wrestled at 157 pounds during a redshirt season, so he was comfortable dropping back down.

“Right after that first or second tournament, I was good,” he said.

Taylor’s accomplishments are impressive, especially given his tragic set of life circumstances.

When he was just 7 years old, his father was shot and killed. Shortly after he enrolled at Nebraska, his brother also was killed. Both homicides remain unsolved. Taylor’s dad wanted him to try out for wrestling when he was little, emphasizing that he could become a champion someday.

“They were — my dad and my brother — the first thing I thought about when I stepped off that mat… I finally did it for them, because that's who I do it for, for the people that can't do the things that they would like to do, and they're not here anymore," Taylor said. “So, yeah, it meant everything. I know my pops is up there smiling big, my pops and brother.”

Winning an NCAA championship brought tears to his mom’s eyes, too.

“I just know how much we’ve put into this sport and how much she’s sacrificed for me,” Taylor said. “So I know it meant the world to her, for sure, because it’s a life-changing moment.”

He hopes his perseverance can be a good example for younger people.

“If the goal ever crosses your mind, just go all-in and go for it. Because if it crossed your mind, it’s a do-able thing,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s teammate and Husker wrestling veteran, Ridge Lovett, is a senior from Post Falls, Idaho. Lovett finished as the national runner-up in 2022.

This season, Lovett upset No. 1 seed Caleb Henson to capture the title. The Virginia Tech junior entered the match 22-0 on the year, and was the defending champion at 149 pounds. He also held a 2-1 advantage against Lovett in their careers.

“Getting to the top of that mountain felt really good,” Lovett said.

Now that his sixth year at Nebraska is over, Lovett has time to reflect on his time as a Husker.

“I'm truly blessed for this opportunity and the guys that I've been able to be around. It's funny. I was talking with some of the guys today. We were talking about music and when it was released. (Someone) said ‘Yeah, this was my favorite song when this dropped in 7th grade.’ I was like ‘Dang, seventh grade? This song came out when I was in college,’” Lovett said. “It's been an awesome experience getting to spend the time I have here in Nebraska.”

Many teammates have come and gone during his six years at NU, Lovett said.

“From the stuff that I’ve learned and experienced in my time at Nebraska, being able to pass some of that on to the younger guys, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes or figure it out the hard way,” Lovett said. “Sometimes they need to learn the hard way anyway, they don’t want to listen to what I’m saying. But, just being able to impact a lot of people in my time here.”

As a kid, Lovett got a head start on the competition. His dad wrestled in junior college and coached him through their church’s youth wrestling program.

“Team Real Life, we wrestled out of our church. It was an outreach ministry. It took off. And we had a lot of success and I started wrestling there when I was 2, 3 years old,” Lovett said. “That was where I learned to love the sport of wrestling and started developing those basic skills and a competitiveness that has really driven me and pushed me a long way. My dad put me around the right people, got me in the right rooms, got the right coaches out here around me, helped me make my decisions when it came to college and all that stuff. And it all worked out.”

This summer, Lovett plans to host youth wrestling camps back in Post Falls. He also wants to volunteer at a camp in New Jersey with Burroughs, who grew up there.

With the season over, both Lovett and Taylor are looking to compete for a spot at the World Wrestling Championships with trials starting May 30.