It’s UNO’s fifth title in the last seven years. The win gives UNO NCAA II wrestling titles in 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. The Mavericks also won the 1970 NAIA tournament championship.

Elijah Madison became UNO’s second freshman to win a national title in school history. The second-ranked Madison battled top-ranked Brady Wilson in the final match of the evening, and it was a good one. Wilson, who had beat Madison twice this season by one point, was also looking to become a first-time national champion. The two heavyweights went scoreless in the first period. The second period proved to be the deciding factor for the redshirt freshman, as he was able to get on top and ride Wilson for most of the second period to build up his riding time advantage to nearly two minutes after two periods of action. The two stayed at the neutral position for most of the third period until Wilson nearly scored a takedown with a minute left in the match, but Madison was able to push him off before he earned his two points. Madison’s riding time gave him the only point scored in the match to earn the 1-0 win and claim UNO’s only individual national title of the tournament. Les Sigman, also a 285-pounder, is the only other UNO freshman to win a national title.

Cody Garcia started the night for UNO, squaring off against top-ranked Shane Valko of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, looking to cap off an undefeated senior season. Garcia scored the first points of the match, scoring a takedown as time expired in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Valko escaped at 1:21 in the second period, followed by a takedown and nearfall to go up 5-2 heading into the third period. Garcia managed an escape in the third, but Valko was able to ride Garcia for most of the third period to compile over a minute of riding time for an extra point to win the match 6-3. Garcia finishes the season with a 48-1 record, which is the second most wins in school history in a single season by a UNO wrestler. The four-time All-American ends his career at UNO with a 147-18 record, good enough for fourth on UNO’s all-time career wins list.

At 141, Mario Morgan was looking for his first individual national crown of his career against Augustana’s Jay Sherer. The two were locked at 1-1 when the clock hit zero in the third period. Both men battled hard in the extra period, but Sherer scored a takedown as time expired to earn the 3-1 win in sudden victory. The loss snapped Morgan’s 29 match wining streak – he hadn’t lost since Dec. 5, 2009. Morgan caps off a great season, finishing with a 40-4 record and his second All-American accolades.

Esai Dominguez battled top-ranked Craig Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside at 149. Becker scored on two takedowns to earn the 4-3 victory. Dominguez has now placed third and runnerup in his two National Tournament appearances, and finished the season with a 31-12 record

Redshirt freshman George Ivanov faced Jonathan Jackson of Anderson University in the 157 pound bout. Jackson collected the 3-1 win by decision. Ivanov finished the season with a 36-11 record while earning All-American status in his first season.

UNO ends the 2010 season winning two straight NCAA Division II and Super Region 2 titles. The Mavs posted a 13-1 dual meet record. Eight Mavericks earned All-Americans honors.

The dual was a rematch of last year’s finals match where UNO edged Newberry, 23-19.

The dual started with redshirt freshman Terrell McKinney upsetting third-ranked Matt Oliver in the 125-pound match. McKinney scored a take down with seven seconds left in the match to earn the 8-6 win. The Omaha native finished the weekend with a 4-0 record in his first National Duals.

Senior Cody Garcia defeated Sheridan Moran 7-2 at 133. The second-ranked Garcia finished the weekend 4-0 and improved to 28-0 on the year overall.

Junior and sixth-ranked Mario Morgan collected a 6-2 win over Deral Brown in the 141-pound match. The Chicago native went 4-0 on the weekend.

In the 149-pound match Tait Weatherbee met Dale DeBacco. Weatherbee scored a take down and near fall late in the third period and held on for the 5-4 win to put the Mavs up 12-0 in the dual. Weatherbee finished the weekend with a 2-2 record.

Redshirt freshman George Ivanov finished his impressive weekend with a 4-1 win over Latra Collick in the 157-pound match. Ivanov finished the weekend 4-0 in his first National Duals.

Fifth-ranked Ryan Pankoke collected a 12-2 major decision over Sean Byrnes at 165 to put UNO up 19-0 in the dual. Pankoke finished the weekend 3-1.

Curtis Chenoweth earned Newberry its first points of the dual with a 8-4 win over sophomore Brett Rosedale in the 174-pound match and put the score at 19-3 in favor of the Mavs. Rosedale finished the weekend 2-1.

Newberry’s top-ranked Bryant Blanton defeated redshirt freshman Mitch Brown 3-1 in the 184-pound match and gave Newberry three more points.

The 197-pound showdown saw fourth-ranked senior Jacob Marrs battle Newberry’s top-ranked Keeno Griffin. Marrs came away with a late take down to give seal an 8-6 win over Griffin. The two All-Americans squared off at last year’s National Tournament in the finals with Griffin winning that match. Marrs went 4-0 on the weekend.

Third-ranked 285-pounder Elijah Madison defeated Jake Elkins, 8-4. Madison finished the weekend with a 3-1 record.

The Mavericks will host two events next week. On Jan. 15, Lindenwood (4-1) visits for UNO’s first home dual of the 2009-10 season. The dual match is slated for a 7 p.m. start in Sapp Fieldhouse. The 2010 Brand Open will follow on Jan. 16. Wrestling will get underway at 9 a.m.

Newberry (NEW) 6 vs. Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) 25
125 – Terrell McKinney (UNO) WBD Matt Oliver (NEW) D 8-6
133 – Cody Garcia (UNO) WBD Sheridan Moran (NEW) D 8-2
141 – Mario Morgan (UNO) WBD Deral Brown (NEW) D 6-2
149 – Taiten Weatherbee (UNO) WBD Dale DeBacco (NEW) D 5-4
157 – George Ivanov (UNO) WBD Latra Collick (NEW) D 4-1
165 – Ryan Pankoke (UNO) WBD Sean Byrnes (NEW) M 12-2
174 – Curtis Chenoweth (NEW) WBD Brett Rosedale (UNO) D 8-4
184 – Byrant Blanton (NEW) WBD Mitch Brown (UNO) D 3-1
197 – Jacob Marrs (UNO) WBD Keeno Griffin (NEW) D 8-6
285 – Elijah Madison (UNO) WBD Jake Elkin (NEW) D 8-4

Maverick Wrestling Notes:
* The Mavericks have now won titles at the National duals five times (2010, 2009, 2007, 2006 and 1997).
* UNO is 2-0 against nationally ranked teams on this season (Defeated No. 9 St. Cloud State and No. 2 Newberry).
* Mavericks wrestlers competed in 40 matches at the 2010 National Duals, winning 32 of them.
* The Mavericks have won 17 dual contests in a row
* Head coach Mike Denny’s dual record at UNO improved to 293-109-5.
* Redshirt freshmen Terrell McKinney and George Ivanov both went 4-0 competing in their first NWCA National Duals. McKinney defeated Matt Oliver of Newberry (ranked third at 125) and Andy Forstner (ranked fourth at 125) of Minnesota State. Ivanov defeated Andy Lamancusa (ranked first at 157) of Mercyhurst and John Sundgren (ranked fifth at 157) of St. Cloud State.

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

That Bearcat Tradition

It will be a tough task to unseat defending champion and three-time consecutive national runner-up, Northwest Missouri State University. Even though the Mavericks defeated the Bearcats early last season, NWMSU will still be favored to compete for the conference title. The Bearcats will have to overcome several losses of personnel including offensive superstar All-American Xavier Omon. The will be led on offense by returning All-American Reid Kirby and All-MIAA selections Kendall Wright (WR) and Jeremy Davis (RG). Leading the defense will be by All-MIAA safety Miles Burnsides.

NWMSU opens the season hosting Abilene Christian from the LSC and a playoff selection last season. The will also play two other 2007 playoff teams (UNO and Washburn) on the road and will have tough battles at Central Missouri and with archrival Pittsburg State at Arrowhead Stadium.

New Team on the Block

Of course, it makes sense that the reigning champion of the defunct North Central Conference will also make a run for the title in their new conference. Nebraska-Omaha was top-seeded in the D2 Northwest Regional last year, yet lost in the second round after a bye. They return Harlon Hill Trophy regional finalist tailback Brian McNeill and All-NCC quarterback Zach Miller. The season will feature renewed series between the Mavs and three former conference foes Emporia State, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State. UNO plays two playoff teams from last season as they host NWMSU for the second straight season and travel to Washburn.

Others Will Fight

Several other schools that will strongly contend for the title will be Pittsburg State, Missouri Western, Central Missouri, and Washburn. The Gorillas will be led by senior All-MIAA selections Mark Smith at quarterback and Caleb Farabi at running back. PSU plays RMAC and SW Region top seed Chadron State during the second week of the season. They also play three other 2007 playoff teams but host all of them with the exception being the Fall Classic at Arrowhead with Northwest Missouri.

Washburn went down in the first round of the playoffs last season and lost their starting quarterback to graduation. The Ichabods return All-MIAA Zach Watkins (LB) to lead the defense and All-MIAA second team selection Brandon Walker (RB) to lead the offense. Missouri Western will be led by All-MIAA offensive linemen Roger Allen and will face two OOC opponents including Minnesota-Duluth, a new member of the NSIC. Central Missouri will be led by All-MIAA defensive linemen John Wood along with second team selections Glenn Milner (RB), Craig Harrison (OL), Randy Shepherd (DB) and Matt Frankel (P). The Mules play two out-of-conference games with one coming against Arkansas Tech of the Gulf South Conference.

The Maverick wrestling team finished second at the national tournament to earn 90 Directors’ Cup points. The MSU men’s indoor track & field team finished seventh to rack up 72 points, the women’s track team was eighth for 70.5 points, the MSU women’s swim team tallied 51 points with its 22nd-place finish and the men’s swim team was 14th, which gave the Mavericks 48 points. Women’s basketball was credited with 64 points after making it to the regional championship game and the men’s basketball team, which lost in a first-round NCAA contest, tallied 25 points with its 33rd-place finish.

Grand Valley State, which tallied 315 points during the winter season, is in first place of the 2007-08 Director’s Cup standings with 719.25 total points. The Mavericks, who scored more points then any other department in the country during the winter with 420.50 points, is in second with 584.50 total points. Tampa is third with 502.00 points and Adams State is fourth with 447.50 points. There are a total of 290 schools that compete at the NCAA Division II level.

1 Grand Valley State 719.25
2 Minnesota State 584.50
3 Tampa 505.00
4 Adams State 447.50
5 Nebraska-Omaha 429.00
6 South Dakota 407.00
7 California (Pa.) 401.00
8 UC San Diego 390.00
9 Abilene Christian 379.50
10 Seattle Pacific 356.00

FULL STORY

–Excerpt courtesy MSU Athletics

The Bulldogs, who saw their string of six straight national titles get halted by Drury last season, got a second place finish from Molly Polette in the 1,650-yard freestyle to start the night and ended it with a strong second place finish behind Nebraska-Omaha in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, to wrap up its seventh national championship in the last eight years.

Kristen Frost of Southern Connecticut State, who beat Polette in the 1,650, completed a dominating individual performance at this year’s national meet by breaking her third meet record in the event by posting a time of 16:17.66 to break a 21-year-old meet record.

The win was Frost’s fourth in as many events, as she had recorded victories in the 200-, 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events during the week. She broke national records in three of her victories and was named as the swimmer of the meet.

The University of North Dakota, competing in its last NCAA Division II meet before reclassifying next season, picked up a national championship on the final night as Carissa Gormall edged Indianapolis’ Isabela Tafur to win the 100-yard freestyle in 50.01 seconds, 0.29 ahead of Tafur. The win by Gormall helped lead UND to a third place effort in the team standings.

Sarah Watson of Ouachita Baptist won the title in the 200-yard backstroke with the only sub-two minute time in the finals, finishing in 1:59.39. UC San Diego’s Kendall Bohn won the final individual event of the night for the women by beating Brooke Heath in a close race in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17.71.

UC San Diego finished fourth as a team and Nebraska-Omaha, the fifth place team, closed the meet with the relay victory as the team of Jessica Hessel, Kristy Gmeiner, Megan Guthmiller and Cait Hopkins posted a winning time of 3:25.52.

–Courtesy Missouri S&T

CONDOLENCES FOR D2 FOOTBALL PLAYERS: Sadly this week, Division II lost two football players to accidents. Virginia State University kicker, Justin M. Buxton, was a 19 year old sophomore. From Portsmouth [VA], he was named to the CIAA All-Rookie team last year after hitting 16 of 17 field goals and was third on the Trojan squad with 25 points. Pittsburg State University defensive lineman, Sean Kyle, was a standout football player and wrestler at Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High School. A member of the Gorillas’ 2006 recruiting class, he was redshirted last season. Our prayers go out to family, friends, teammates and schools.