Mavs Send Four to Finals, Maintain Commanding Lead
Mar 14, 2009 | General
Session III Bracket
Bout-by-Bout Results
Team Standings
HOUSTON – The University of Nebraska at Omaha advanced four wrestlers into the championship round of the 2009 NCAA Division II National Tournament Saturday. Todd Meneely, Aaron Denson, Brent Pankoke and Jacob Marrs each advance to the championship, while Cody Garcia, Mario Morgan, Esai Dominguez and Ross Taplin claimed third place finishes and heavyweight Tony Lewis finished in seventh.
Meneely advanced to the title bout at 157 pounds, battling through a late injury to hang on for an 8-4 decision against third-ranked Danny Grater (Fort Hays State). The two-time national champion will wrestle Upper Iowa's Travis Eggers tonight for the 157-pound crown. Eggers is ranked No. 8 in the nation and has a record of 22-9.
Denson punched his ticket to the title bout in dramatic fashion. The fifth-ranked 165-pound sophomore upended No. 3 Taylor May of Nebraska-Kearney, pinning the interstate rival with just two seconds remaining in the match at 6:58. Denson will wrestle top-ranked Josh Shields (Mercyhurst) tonight.
The match at 184 pounds put the top two wrestlers on the mat. No. 1 Pankoke blanked St. Cloud State's second-ranked Brad Padgett, 4-0. The senior advances to wrestle Kyle Sand (Adams State) for the championship.
Marrs advanced to the title match scoring the Mavericks' second major decision of the afternoon, 15-7, against New Mexico Highlands' 197-pounder Luke McPeek. Marrs, who improves to 25-5 this season, will wrestle No. 4 Keeno Griffin (Newberry) tonight.
After dropping a tough 2-0 decision to nemesis Kamarudeen Usman of Nebraska-Kearney, Taplin wasted little time to advance to the third place match, pinning Jesse Feinsod (New Mexico Highlands) in just 23 seconds. This was Taplin's second shortest pin of the tournament. He also scored a fall against Limestone's Joeseph Shrekhise in only 12 seconds last night. In the third place match, the senior recorded a 5-2 decision over Central Oklahoma's Tommy McCarty. Taplin finishes his outstanding Maverick career with a mark of 142-41.
After suffering a tough 2-0 loss to West Liberty State's third-ranked Doug Surra in the semifinals at 141 pounds, Morgan won a pair of bouts to come away with a third place finish. The two-time national qualifier blanked Ben Lockett (San Francisco State), 2-0, then scored a 4-2 decision against Minnesota State-Moorhead's John Putman for third.
Two-time National Champion Cody Garcia pinned his way to a third place finish. He opened the day by recording a fall against Nebraska-Kearney's Joseph Morrison in 4:38 and followed that up with a pin of Naveed Bagheri (San Francisco State) in the second period. The junior ended the day with a third place finish by pinning Western State's Marques Bravo in 2:34.
After losing his first round bout yesterday, third-ranked Esai Dominguez won his final five matches en route to a third place finish at 149 pounds. Dominguez battled Wisconsin-Parkside's Chris Becker in the third place match. The redshirt freshman scored a takedown in overtime to come away with a 6-4 decision.
For the second straight season No. 4 Lewis came away with a seventh place finish at Nationals, defeating Travis Clark of Findlay, 5-3.
The championship matches will begin at 6:00 p.m. Follow all the action on Omavs.com with a free webcast and live audio.
Maverick Results
133 Pounds
Cody Garcia (UNO) WBF Joseph Morrison (Nebraska-Kearney) F 4:38
Cody Garcia (UNO) WBF Naveed Bagheri (San Francisco State) F 3:19
Third Place Match: Cody Garcia (UNO) WBF Bravo (Western State) F 2:34
141 Pounds
Doug Surra (Western Liberty State) WBD Mario Morgan (UNO) D 2-0
Mario Morgan (UNO) WBD Ben Lockett (San Francisco State) D 2-0
Third Place Match: Mario Morgan (UNO) WBD John Putman (Minnesota State-Moorhead) D 4-2
149 Pounds
Esai Dominguez (UNO) WBD Ryan Etherton (Nebraska-Kearney) M 17-3
Esai Dominguez (UNO) WBD Kevin McElehaney (Gannon) D 14-8
Third Place Match: Esai Dominguez (UNO) WBD Chris Becker (Wisconsin-Parkside) D 6-4
157 Pounds
Todd Meneely (UNO) WBD Danny Grater (Fort Hays State) D 8-4
165 Pounds
Aaron Denson (UNO) WBF Taylor May (Nebraska-Kearney) F 6:58
174 Pounds
Kamarudeen Usman (Nebraska-Kearney) WBD Ross Taplin (UNO) D 2-0
Ross Taplin (UNO) WBF Jesse Feinsod (New Mexico Highlands) F :23
Third Place Match: Ross Taplin (UNO) WBD Tommy McCarty (Central Oklahoma) D 5-2
184 Pounds
Brent Pankoke (UNO) WBD Brad Padgett (St. Cloud State) D 4-0
197 Pounds
Jacob Marrs (UNO) WBD Luke McPeek (New Mexico Highlands) M 15-7
285 Pounds
Steve Franklin (San Francisco State) WBD Tony Lewis (UNO) D 7-5
Seventh Place Match: Tony Lewis (UNO) WBD Travis Clark (Findlay) D 5-3
