It’s been a long and winding road for Nebraska’s seventh-year senior Liam Cronin. Ranked #3 at 125 pounds this season, Cronin has never looked better as he sets his sights on the postseason.

“He always knew all along that he had it in him, but this year it’s all come together for him,” said Husker head coach Mark Manning. “I think it just boils down to one word and that’s just belief – his belief in himself. And he just takes that attitude to the mat. He just believes in his technique and his training and he’s a super-disciplined young man.”

When talking to Cronin, his belief in himself was the first thing he mentioned when talking about this season. He’s 18-3 with five wins over Top-10 opponents. 

“For me, it’s really been a belief in myself. It’s been a big mental shift for me,” Cronin said. “The biggest thing for me was the self-confidence and the belief in myself and not making wrestling more than it is.”

For Cronin, it wasn’t just belief, it was also a newfound perspective he’s been able to put wrestling in. Cronin started his career at Indiana in the 2016-17 season. He spent four years, including a redshirt season in 2017-18, with the Hoosiers. Then Covid cut the 2020 season short when Cronin had just qualified for his first national tournament. It allowed him to do some soul-searching and he decided to enter the transfer portal, landing in Lincoln.

At Nebraska, Cronin started the shortened 2021 season with a 7-1 Big Ten dual record with his only loss to Spencer Lee. But he fell short of expectations in the postseason, failing to place at NCAAs and taking ninth at Big Tens as the #2 seed. 

“In the postseason, I think it’s easy for a lot of wrestlers to make it this big, huge thing. I had a great Big Ten season my first year at Nebraska, and falling short at the Big Tens and national tournament, I think I added some pressure to myself that was unneeded,” Cronin said. “This year, I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

What really put things into perspective for Cronin was last season when he got a medical redshirt after injuring his hand, missing the season. Instead of focusing on results this year, Cronin is just trying to soak it all in and have fun while he’s able to compete because he now knows what it’s like to not be out there.

“I want to be grateful for every opportunity because last year I had to sit out and that was hard for me. That’s the first time that I’ve had to deal with an injury like that where I wasn’t able to compete,” Cronin said. “It refreshed my mindset and gave me a new perspective of the sport. Yeah, I have the goal of being a Big Ten champion and a national champion, and we have big team goals, but I think what comes first for me is just enjoying it and having fun, having a smile on my face and giving my best effort and attitude each match. The results are going to come if I continue to wrestle like that.”

According to Cronin, this Husker staff has been preaching to “enjoy the moment” and that “pressure is a privilege.” With Cronin’s schedule this season, he’s had a lot of moments and plenty of pressure. He’s faced six of the current Top-10 wrestlers at 125 pounds, going 5-1 with his only loss, a 38-second pin at the hands of Lee, a three-time NCAA champ. 

As for his big wins against #5 Eric Barnett, #6 Patrick McKee, #7 Brandon Courtney, #9 Michael DeAugustino and #10 Malik Heinselman, those were just opportunities in Cronin’s eyes.

“It gives me a lot of confidence. It just shows me where I’m at as a wrestler. Being able to get great wins over great wrestlers, that just adds to the confidence,” Cronin said. “This year, I think I did a good job of taking it one match and one dual at a time and not looking down the road. Just not creating that added pressure and kind of making it more simple. It’s just another opponent, no matter what they’re ranked.”

As for the loss to Lee, Cronin admits to making a fatal mistake against an elite wrestler, one he expects to see again this March.

“I expect to wrestle him again, and the last match was pretty short, right?” Cronin said of his loss to Lee. “I was able to take a few things away from it. I didn’t beat myself up. I made a mistake – I rolled through on a guy who’s that high level at wrestling. You can’t make mistakes, he’s a great wrestler.”

As for what Cronin’s return has done for this Husker team that’s surging going into the postseason, Manning likes who he has setting the table for his team in dual and tournament action. 

“That just shows what type of mentality we think Liam has. We trust in him big time and we want to start our duals like we start our tournaments. Liam’s going to get us going and he just brings great courage and great energy to the mat,” Manning said. “He’s strong and he’s physical and he’s going to wrestle seven minutes. He’s a problem for people.”

Husker Outlook Going into Big Tens

Nebraska finished its dual season with a 12-3 record while also winning a third-straight Cliff Keen Invitational title. The Huskers have six ranked wrestlers with five of them in the Top 10.

In fact, for the first time since 1961 the Huskers have a pair of undefeated wrestlers going into the postseason in #1 Peyton Robb (157 pounds) and #2 Mikey Labriola (174). Robb is 23-0 while Labriola is 24-0.

“I’ve never had a team where we had two undefeated wrestlers. Peyton Robb and Mikey Labriola go through the whole season being undefeated, it’s very impressive. That just shows that we have some firepower,” Manning said. “They’re looking forward to the postseason. They’ve done a lot for our team. It’s a tough burden to hold when you’re always counted on in the limelight and pressured to perform at your best for your team. That just shows the leadership they have and what they bring to our team and our program.”

Then Nebraska has its trio of redshirt freshmen who have been getting better and better. Silas Allred is ranked #10 at 197 with a 23-5 record, while #14 Lenny Pinto is 19-7 at 184. Brock Hardy is ranked #6 at 141.

In the beginning of the season, Manning said these guys just needed some matches under their belts and they’d improve rapidly. Allred and Pinto have each won six straight, while Hardy is 24-4 on the year. 

“I’m really proud of our freshmen,” Manning said. “Brock Hardy, Lenny Pinto and Silas Allred – how they’ve continued to develop and they’re just different guys than they were in November.”

With Allred, Manning said he wasn’t even aware that he had as many matches on the season as he had. 

“I’m glad he’s got that many (matches) because he just needed seasoning. Now he’s a seasoned vet I feel like. There’s nothing that’s going to surprise him,” Manning said. “Silas is an offensive guy. He wants to score points and he’s good in all three positions. He’s definitely gotten a lot better on bottom. We knew he was a hammer coming out of high school on top, but he’s learned how to ride and control people even better.”

As for Pinto, the freshman has been must-watch all season. His high-flying and action-packed style has led to some memorable exchanges, none more so than in his match this past weekend against Arizona State’s #20 Anthony Montalvo. After whipping Montalvo over on his back, Montalvo reversed Pinto and put him on his back. After nearly getting pinned, Pinto reversed Montalvo, putting him on his back for the stick. 

“It’s funny because (assistant coach Robert) Kokesh and I were talking about it. Like, we’ve seen him do that in practice, so it wasn’t like ‘Wow, we’ve never seen this.’ He didn’t panic,” Manning said of the exchange. “He’s got an uncanny ability and has really good body control. He’s explosive, and I’m glad he’s on our team. He really provides a great spark and he’s never out of the match.”

Then at 165 pounds, Nebraska has Bubba Wilson (13-10) who has come on lately with four wins in a row to end the dual season. At 133 pounds, the Huskers will be deciding between Boo Dryden and Kyle Burwick. Dryden is 6-6 on the year while Burwick is now 13-7 after taking second at the Last Chance Open. 

At heavyweight, Nebraska will likely go with senior Cale Davidson, who is 9-15 on the year but missed the season-ending dual against Arizona State. Rounding out the starting lineup is Dayne Morton at 149 with his record of 5-12 on the year.

As for the upcoming Big Ten Championships, Manning likes the look of his squad going in.

“We’re really excited about it. We’re fairly healthy and that’s huge. We don’t have a lot of guys in braces or knees, elbows and shoulders taped. That’s really a blessing right now,” Manning said. “You have to be smart with how you get guys ready to go, but you have to have them ready to go seven hard minutes and go to overtime and win tight matches. We’ll go hard some (in practice), but we’ll taper them down and make sure their legs are fresh and they’re ready to hit the mat hard that Saturday.”