Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning confirmed to me tonight that 2022 National Runner-Up Ridge Lovett will use his redshirt year for the 2022-2023 season. Lovett hopped into the 133 pound slot as a true freshman before storming through the NCAA Tournament at 149 pounds last season as a sophomore. He will have two more seasons of eligibility after his redshirt this season.
"Obviously, last year he bumps up two weight classes. You don't see that often in college wrestling, so obviously had a great year, finished national runner-up" Manning said. "We want to give him this year to be able to develop and keep developing better skills. Ridge can make a big jump and then he'd have two years of eligibility left to see where his ceiling is."
Most of the skepticism from this decision deprives from Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis who's still at 149. Diakomihalis is the one who beat Lovett in last year's national title bout. Asked point blank if this decision was to avoid him, Manning said that isn't the case.
"If you redshirt you're not going to face him, so unless Ridge goes to open tournaments where Yianni is. I don't think Ridge is afraid of Yianni," Manning said. "It's more for Ridge Lovett to develop and become the best that he can become. It's going to give Ridge a chance to really develop rather than just compete and there's a difference. When you give time off to not just focus on competition each and every week, it gives you time to develop more of a skill set...That's going to give Ridge Lovett the best opportunity to be a two-time national champion."