The win gives UNO NCAA II wrestling titles in 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. The Mavericks also won the 1970 NAIA tournament championship.

The Mavericks finished with a total of 146.5 points, shattering their previous high of 117 points set in 2006. UNO nearly doubled second place Newberry who finished with 80.5 points.

Head coach Mike Denney was named the Coach of the Year, while Cody Garcia picked up the award for Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time. Garcia finished with four pins in 11:16. His fastest pin was in 45 seconds.

The Mavericks set a school record with nine wrestlers earning All-Americans honors, breaking the previous mark of eight set in the 2000 season.

Final Team Scores
1. Nebraska-Omaha – 146.5
2. Newberry – 80.5
3. Minnesota State, Mankato – 71.5
4. Nebraska-Kearney – 65.0
5. Adams State – 62.0

FULL STORY

–Courtesy UNO Athletics

In Swimming and Diving, defending men’s champion Drury joins 21 other teams to compete for this year’s title as the defending women’s champ, Truman State, has to battle it out with 23 other teams to repeat.

Defending track champions, St. Augustine’s (men) & Adams State (women), will join a field of to vie to the national title, while defending wrestling champion, Nebraska-Kearney will seek to repeat as champion.

NCAA FESTIVAL BLOG

The top four finishers in each weight class qualified for the 2009 NCAA-II Championships, March 13-14 in Houston, Texas.

Grant Baker (133) was the top Mules finisher, taking second. Cory Bloodgood (141), William Forrest (149), and Travis Barbarick (184) each finished third. Denis Ryzhov (157) and Cody Beck (285) finished fourth.

Top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha took the region title with 162.5 points, while UCM tied with No. 7 Central Oklahoma for second, finishing ahead of No. 8 Wisconsin-Parkside in fourth with 86.5 points.

For his efforts, Mules head coach Robin Ersland was named Co-Region 2 Coach of the Year, along with UNO head coach Mike Denny.

ALL QUALIFIERS

–Courtesy UCM Athletics

Dlagnev becomes the inaugural winner of the award, sponsored by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches’ Association and voted on by eight regional representatives from around the country. Each of the four regions nominated a candidate, with West Region nominee Dlagnev receiving seven first-place votes and finishing with 31 points to beat runner-up Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma and the Midwest Region. Minnesota State-Mankato’s Jason Rhoten was the North Region representative and Dan Scanlan of Limestone the East nominee.

Dlagnev, a native of Arlington, Texas, went a perfect 38-0 this season with 16 falls, six major decisions and five technical falls. He captured his second straight national championship with a 4-1 finals win over Central Oklahoma’s Dustin Finn that enabled UNK to edge MSU-Mankato by a mere half-point for the team crown.

A four-time West Region champion, Dlagnev finished with a school-record 167 wins. He put together a phenomenal 167-19 career record that included 55 falls, 38 major decisions and 10 technical falls and he was 87-1 his last two years. Dlagnev became just the fourth four-time All-American in UNK history with national tournament finishes of sixth-second-first-first. Also a four-time Wrestling Coaches All-Academic pick, Dlagnev was selected for the 2008 NWCA All-Star Classic and will continue his wrestling career on the international level.

He was a fourth-place finisher in the Senior Men’s Freestyle Division at the U.S. National Championships in 2007 and won the prestigious Sunkist Kids International Open last fall. Dlagnev will be heading to Las Vegas on April 23-26 ( ASICS U.S. National Champions) and then again on June 12-15 (Olympic Team Trials).

STORY

D2 Women’s Elite Eight: Wingate, Northern Kentucky, Franklin Pierce, Alaska-Anchorage, Delta State, California (PA), South Dakota and Washburn

–Courtesy UNK Athletics

This is UNK’s first-ever team national title at the NCAA Division II level; softball won a pair of national titles (1987 and 1990) at the NAIA level. The Lopers, who came into the meet with three national runner up finishes in the last five years, entered the finals with a half point lead over Minnesota State.

UNK got a huge assist from, ironically, Nebraska-Omaha as Cody Garcia won the 125 lbs. national title over Mankato’s Nick Smith, 8-2. In 2004, the Lopers’ Jeff Sylvester helped UNO claim a team national title, by just points over North Dakota State, when he won the 197 lbs. class.

Keeping the Lopers national title hopes alive, senior Brett Allgood won his second national title at 133 lbs. with a 5-3 decision over Shane Perkey of Indianapolis.

However, MSU’s Jason Rhoten (157 lbs.) and Andy Pickar (165 lbs.) won their weight classes to give MSU a brief lead in the overall team race. In Pickar’s 8-2 win, he almost got bonus points late in the third period but the clock thankfully ran out.

Dlagnev finished his career on a 70-match win streak by getting by Central Oklahoma’s Dustin Finn. After a scoreless first period, Finn escaped to take a 1-0 lead in the second. Not forcing any action, Finn was called twice for stalling later in the second, giving Dlagnev a point. The Texan took the lead for good by easily escaping to start the third, then recorded a late takedown to secure the win and team trophy.

UNK head coach Marc Bauer, a Kearney native and the architect behind the Lopers national rise the last decade, was named the Division II Coach of the Year. He also won the award in 2003.

Allgood and Dlagnev join the legendary Ali Elias (1990 & 1991) as the only Lopers to win two national titles. Dlagnev also joins Elias, Sylvester and Bryce Abbey as the only UNK wrestlers to be four-time All-Americans.

UNK needed every win on Saturday as the team started the day almost 10 points behind the MSU Mavericks. The Lopers went 2-2 in the semifinal round but took a big step toward first place when four wrestlers finished third in the afternoon session.

–Excerpt courtesy UNK