Mavericks Maintain Top Spot in Wrestling
Feb 4, 2009 | General
EDMOND, Okla. – The University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team maintained its No. 1 ranking in the latest NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, released today. UNO has nine wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes, including six ranked in the top two.
The Mavericks earned 160 points and received all eight first-place votes to claim the top spot. Newberry College, who UNO defeated 23-19 in the championship round of the NWCA National Duals earlier this year, remains in second-place.
Senior Todd Meneely remains the top wrestler at 157 pounds. The senior from Skutt Catholic High School improved to 17-0 this season, recording a pin and a technical fall in last week's wins over Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney.
Cody Garcia, Mario Morgan, Aaron Denson, Ross Taplin and Brent Pankoke are each ranked second in their weight classes. Garcia, a two-time National Champion at 125 pounds, remains ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds. The junior from Hutchinson, Kan. is 22-8 this season, including an 8-0 mark in duals.
Morgan jumped up two spots to claim the No. 2 ranking at 141 pounds. Morgan defeated UCO's No. 3 Colby Robinson, 6-3, and followed that up with an 18-6 major decision against the Lopers' Tyler Baker. The Chicago, Ill. native is 22-11 this season.
Denson and Taplin each dropped out of the top spot in their respective weight classes. Denson is currently 20-7 in his sophomore campaign and is No. 2 at 165. Taplin, who leads UNO with 30 wins, is the second-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds.
Pankoke, who was unranked in the last poll, comes in at second at 184 pounds. Pankoke is 5-1 in his senior year.
Tony Lewis jumped up a spot to No. 3 at 285 pounds and won both his matches over the weekend, highlighted by a pin in just 1:30 of UCO's Dustin Finn, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at the time. Lewis, an All-American last year, is 16-7 during his senior campaign.
Redshirt freshman Esai Dominguez also moved up a spot to No. 3 at 149 pounds. The Creighton Prep product is 27-7 this year and has a mark of 7-1 in duals.
Jacob Marrs is ranked No. 5 at 197 pounds. Marrs recorded one of the Mavericks' five pins in the win over UCO and followed that up with a 10-6 decision in the win over UNK to improve to 21-7 this season.
The Mavericks are currently 8-0 in duals this season, with seven of the eight victories coming against nationally-ranked Division II schools.
The UNO wrestling team returns to action tomorrow with a dual at 7 p.m. scheduled against No. 13 Augustana College. The dual will feature a live webcast as well as live stats.
