nebraska
Ranking in 2023: Fifth
2024 pre-season rankings: Fifth
Inside the gym Prospects: The storied Husker program has been knocking on the door of a comeback over the past several seasons. Arguably no one is more hungry to get back to the top than Nebraska, whose last national title came in 1994. And at the rate the Huskers are adding top talent, a return to those glory days may not be that far-fetched.
Coach Chuck Chmilka’s opinion…
Main athletes: “naturally, Taylor Christopoulos. He made the national team and had a great summer. He is definitely our leader. Sam Phillips Gorgeous and dynamic. We have guys in the areas coming up who can really do well or not, but those are our two leaders, who we will look to to carry the load when needed.
Secret weapon: “Asher Cohen. He had a great New Year, a great summer, and he’s doing very well now. Toby Liang Killing her now too. We have two sophomores. You get these kids in August, you get them through that first year, and then you really get to know them and find out what they’ve got over the summer. These two are our future leaders, without a doubt.
2024 goals: “We’re not holding anything back. We want to win the national championship, be Big Ten champions. We have more talent than I’ve seen on a Nebraska team since the 1970s. I like where we are right now, and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it. I really think we’re pretty good, and if If we don’t show that, I’ll be disappointed in the work I’ve done. If I’m just an average coach, we should be doing well. We’re constantly building. We’re constantly addressing our weaknesses, what we need to do to win. Are we there? Honestly, maybe No, but I like direction. Someone has to win, that’s why we’re all competing. The goal is always to be the best when it matters most, and our direction toward that is positive.
About Defending Nebraska’s Heritage: “Honestly, these kids weren’t even born when we were doing those things. For me and Coach Jim (Hartung), who was a part of it, it matters a lot, but some athletes ask me if I do gymnastics. They don’t even know because I don’t talk about it A lot. Getting back to that place where we were competitive was a process that took longer than I would have liked, but I finally like where we’ve gotten. It’s been a battle, but it’s been a good battle. There’s a lot of good athletes, a lot of good teams. Getting there Top four is a huge accomplishment, let alone winning. You have to do a lot of things right to excel enough to win any title. For many years, we didn’t even qualify for the finals, so getting there is a milestone. So, it was the first step “It is to reach the finals, and now the second step is to bring the cup, and the third step is to win everything.”