Kearney, Neb. - Starting in May 2014, a new feature called "Loper Reconnection" will profile former UNK student-athletes. Student Andrew Hanson asks the chosen Loper a series of questions.

The eighth subject is former wrestler Bryce Abbey. Wrestler Brian Hagan, Darcie Berry (softball), Justin Coleman (football), Jenni Luke (volleyball), Diane Davidson Rouzee (softball & volleyball), Nick Svehla (men's basketball) and Jade Meads (women's basketball) were previously profiled.

Abbey ranks second all-time on the Loper wins list with 134. Competing between 2002-05 at 125 lbs., he is one of just four UNK wrestlers to be a four-time All-American. Abbey was a key part of the start of Kearney's dominance on the mat, helping the 2003 squad finish as national runner up, the program's highest finish at the time.


Name: Bryce Abbey
Hometown/High School: Goodland, Kans./Goodland H.S.
Years: 2002-05
Sports: Wrestling
Current Residence: Kearney


Bryce Abbey almost didn't become a Loper.

Had it not been for a former University of Nebraska at Kearney wrestler, the 125-pound lightweight would not have come here.

Prior to UNK, Abbey wrestled at Goodland High in Kansas. That was when he met former Loper All-American Chris Guillot.

"I didn't really know much about UNK when I was going through high school, but my junior and senior year I got a new wrestling coach, Chris Guillot, and he wrestled at UNK," Abbey recalled. "He said that I should go look at UNK."

Before that moment, the school wasn't on Abbey's radar. He had looked at North Dakota State and South Dakota State, Division II members at the time, and then was introduced to UNK.

Abbey gave the Lopers a chance, and he took an on-campus recruiting visit. After the visit, Abbey saw a familiar face in his hometown. "Coach (Marc) Bauer stopped in my hometown of Goodland on his way to a family vacation." Abbey said. "Everything just felt right."

Guillot's connection to UNK wasn't the only way he'd be able to help Abbey out.

"My high school coach wasn't far out of college so our high school practices were pretty similar to the college practices," Abbey explained.

Abbey initially planned on redshirting, but those plans changed quickly. "The main varsity guy left, and I was beating the guy that they thought would be second string," he said.

From there it clicked for the true freshman.

The motivation to earn more scholarship dollars helped, too. "One of the things Coach Bauer told me was I could give you X amount of dollars for scholarship," said Abbey. A conversation ensued about how he could get more.

Bauer told Abbey, "You make the varsity team I'll give you a little bit more. You qualify for nationals I'll give you a little bit more. You become an All-American I'll see if I can get you a little bit more."

"That's what I did," Abbey said with a smile.

While he never won an individual national championship for the Lopers, Abbey did finish his career as a four-time All-American, coming in fourth, third, third and fifth respectively from 2002-05 during each year of school.

In the early 2000's, UNK was still working to cement itself as a Division II power in wrestling. The program had a couple of top 10 finishes at the national meet. Then, in 2003, Abbey was one of six Loper All-Americans and helped UNK finish as national runner-up at the NCAA Championships in West Virginia.

"Coming out of high school we weren't the highest recruits," Abbey said. "We weren't a group of guys that were real decorated. We were in doing extra workouts in the morning. We just worked hard, and you could feel that change. It was an awesome experience."

Since then, Abbey has been able to watch the UNK wrestling program go to new heights and win three national championships as an alum of the program and a fan. "It's like your little brother coming up, and you want to see him do well," he said. "Just seeing it continue has been awesome."

Helping the program grow as a wrestler also led Abbey into one of his new passions in wrestling – officiating. "For UNK wrestling, our fundraisers were little kids wrestling programs," Abbey explained. "At that time for the little kids wrestling tournaments we all officiated them, that was our job.

"I've been doing it since I graduated from UNK, and I've been fortunate enough that now I'm officiating at the state wrestling tournament for Nebraska and am starting to do some of the NCAA open tournaments."

Wrestling has continued to have an impact in Abbey's life; it led him to his career where he is currently UNK's Employee Health and Wellness Director as well as an Assistant Professor in the Kinesiology and Sport sciences Department.

"I came to UNK as a wildlife biology major and took a nutrition class early on," he recalled. "When I took that nutrition class it just clicked so much for what I was doing wrestling-wise, and I decided to look more in that and the human exercise side of things."