Ridge Lovett put an exclamation point on his Nebraska wrestling career this spring as he and teammate Antrell Taylor captured Nebraska’s first individual national championships since Husker legend Jordan Burroughs in 2011.
Lovett claimed the 149-pound national title, helping the Huskers earn runner-up at the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, the best finish in program history.
Lovett could have entered the transfer portal and demanded a high price on the market after an All-American season in 2023-24, but he chose to finish out his college career with the Huskers. He said that since he began at Nebraska, he wanted to see it through.
“I wouldn’t want to do my senior year anywhere else … I’ve been here for five years; I wanted to finish it here,” Lovett told Hail Varsity. “Doing my senior year speech at a different school, at the banquet, it just wouldn’t have felt right. That was a big part of why I wanted to stay. I felt that I was a big part of what we had built here, and I wanted to finish it out with my guys.”
Lovett grew up in Post Falls, Idaho, and said that he started wrestling at a very young age.
“I started wrestling when I was 2, but I was too small to wrestle with the other kids, so I would do the moves on a teddy bear. I would just practice, learn how to do it. Once I was 3, I was almost 4, they were like ‘Yeah, you can wrestle; it’ll be fine.’ So I went and wrestled at this freestyle tournament and got my butt kicked.”
Lovett credits his dad for his love of the sport. He said that his dad helped him get his start.
“He was coaching before I was even born,” Lovett said. “Once I was in the practice room, walking around and stuff, I was like ‘Yeah, I want to do this.’”
He continued wrestling in high school and had a lot of success. The Ohio native said that they set multiple records during his high school career.
“My freshman, sophomore, junior year we were ranked in the top 50 in the country,” Lovett said. “We won three state titles when I was in high school. We set the all-time state scoring record my junior year. My team was real, real good.”
While at Nebraska, Lovett earned numerous accolades. This included the 149-pound national championship in 2025; the Big Ten championship in 2025; NCAA All-America honors in 2022, 2024, and 2025 and qualifying for four NCAA Tournaments to name a few.
During his senior season, Lovett had an overall record of 16-2, a 12-1 dual record, four technical falls, one major decision, five pins and a second-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning credits Lovett for helping the team earn its best finish in program history in 2025. He said that Lovett has been a huge part of the team’s success, and that he has seen a lot of growth from Lovett throughout his time at Nebraska.
“I knew that he was a leader of men,” Manning told Hail Varsity. “He just possesses those traits that inspire other people around him. His work ethic, his determination and just how he carries himself, that confidence just permeates to other guys on the team, and it really did this season, and it has his whole career, really. It was a culmination of all that hard work Ridge put in … and what a ride it was.”
Lovett had high praise for Manning as well. He said that he was a great coach and that he really enjoyed his time working with Manning.
“He’s super personable,” Lovett said. “He’s just easy going, but he’s also a good coach. He knows when to pick it up a notch, but outside of the room he’s not on you the whole time. He can be your friend. He’s not a coach that is always going to be on top of you. Sometimes we go over there for dinner, we’re just talking, chopping it up. Everyone else goes home and we’ll be sitting there on the couch watching TV, just talking for two hours. He’s someone that you can talk to.”
Although Lovett’s time wrestling for the Huskers has come to an end, he said that he is not planning on leaving Lincoln just yet.
“It’s a cool spot,” said Lovett. “It’s definitely like my home away from home now. Even when I go back home, it almost feels like I need to be back in Lincoln. It’s also weird because when I go places in Lincoln, people recognize me, but if I go out when I’m at home, unless I went to high school with them, nobody cares …
“A couple weeks ago I was out to eat with my girlfriend, and like 10 kids came up to the table and were like, ‘Can we take a picture?’ I’ve got barbecue sauce all over my face and I’m like ‘Yeah, give me a second, bro.’ It’s different.”
Throughout his time at Nebraska, Lovett did a lot of great things. He said that he’s made it far in his journey.
“I accomplished a bunch of those goals,” Lovett said. “I’m happy with where I got.”
As for the legacy Lovett wants to leave, he said he thinks Nebraska wrestling is in a good place.
“I’m happy with how I left this place,” said Lovett. “I think it’s better than the way I found it … I helped boost the culture, helped build up my teammates, and kind of helped change Nebraska from where it was to where we are now.”
