Takedown Report

Freshman LJ Araujo Making Early Impact For Nebraska Wrestling

LJ Araujo’s top-position prowess has helped the Nebraska freshman get off to a fast start for the Huskers.
He’s largely flown under the radar at 165 pounds so far this season, but Nebraska’s #13 LJ Araujo has put together an impressive freshman season so far.
After redshirting at 174 pounds a year ago, Araujo is down at 165 as a redshirt freshman and has an 8-1 record. Seven of his wins have come against wrestlers who are either ranked now or were ranked at the time, highlighted by a pin over #8 Max Brignola of Lehigh, a 4-3 win over #14 Maxx Mayfield of Missouri, and a 5-3 decision over #22 Gunner Filipowicz of Army.
Araujo’s lone loss was a 10-1 major decision loss to #12 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State at National Duals — a match where Araujo suffered a second hamstring injury that weekend.
According to Nebraska associate head coach Bryan Snyder, Araujo is now at his ideal weight class, although he may still grow into 174. Araujo dropped to 165 this year, while last year’s 165-pound All-American #8 Christopher Minto moved up to 174. According to Snyder, Minto arrived on campus smaller but has gotten much bigger while they anticipated Araujo getting bigger based on the size of his dad, yet that hasn’t materialized to this point. “(Araujo) is now in the right weight class. He can still probably grow into 65 a little bit,” Snyder said. “We kind of saw the writing on the wall a little bit, and those guys did too. It was a good move for the program and for (Minto) and LJ.”
“It was perfect — I was too small at ‘74,” Araujo said. “I still don’t have to cut much. All the guys give me crap on the team like ‘You’re not even cutting that much weight and you went down a weight class.’ I just planned on being a ‘74-pounder when I got to college, … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14926580-freshman-lj-araujo-making-early-impact-for-nebraska-wrestling

December 16, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized