Mavs Send Three to Saturday Night's Finals
MANKATO, Minn.- Three Mavs will battle for national championships Saturday night in the NCAA II national tournament. Les Sigman, Dustin Tovar and Patrick Allibone all advanced to the finals to give second-place UNO a chance to overcome leader North Dakota State. The Mavs are down by 3.5 points after the third session. NDSU has two wrestlers in the finals while third-place Central Oklahoma, UNO and fourth-place Western State have three each.
Defending heavyweight champ and top-ranked Sigman will face No. 4 Andrew Ubben of Fort Hays State. Sigman, a sophomore, picked up his second technical fall of the tournament by topping Willie McCowan of Central Missouri State 15-0 in the final seconds.
At 125 lbs. Tovar, a junior, advanced to the finals in his first tournament appearance with an 11-2 major decision over Andy Uhl of Findlay. No. 6 Tovar will face top-ranked Jared Haberman of Western State in the finals.
No. 7 Allibone advanced to the 149 lb. finals with a 6-4 win over South Dakota State's Jeremy Roe. Allibone, a freshman, will face fourth-ranked Adrian Jiron of Western State for the championship.
The Mavs also had three wrestlers going in the consolation brackets:
Eli Dominguez (141) breezed through the consolation round and picked up a third-place finish with a 9-7 decision over Jason Rhoten of Minnesota State, Mankato.
J.D. Naig came back from a 1-0 deficit at 165 to claim third-place over NDSU's Mike Fielder. Naig scored an escape and a takedown in the final period and gathered a riding time point to win the match.
After losing in the 133 lb. consolation quarterfinals, Mitch Waite battled back to finish seventh with a 5-2 decision over Jamie Andersh of Northern State and claim his second straight All-American honor.
The finals are set for about 7:15 Saturday night.
Team Standings
after third session
1. NDSU 95.0
2. UNO 91.5
3. Central Oklahoma 78.5
4. Pitt-Johnstown 69.0
5. Western State 68.0
8. Nebraska-Kearney 47.0
Check back here for results and team standings during the finals.
Defending heavyweight champ and top-ranked Sigman will face No. 4 Andrew Ubben of Fort Hays State. Sigman, a sophomore, picked up his second technical fall of the tournament by topping Willie McCowan of Central Missouri State 15-0 in the final seconds.
At 125 lbs. Tovar, a junior, advanced to the finals in his first tournament appearance with an 11-2 major decision over Andy Uhl of Findlay. No. 6 Tovar will face top-ranked Jared Haberman of Western State in the finals.
No. 7 Allibone advanced to the 149 lb. finals with a 6-4 win over South Dakota State's Jeremy Roe. Allibone, a freshman, will face fourth-ranked Adrian Jiron of Western State for the championship.
The Mavs also had three wrestlers going in the consolation brackets:
Eli Dominguez (141) breezed through the consolation round and picked up a third-place finish with a 9-7 decision over Jason Rhoten of Minnesota State, Mankato.
J.D. Naig came back from a 1-0 deficit at 165 to claim third-place over NDSU's Mike Fielder. Naig scored an escape and a takedown in the final period and gathered a riding time point to win the match.
After losing in the 133 lb. consolation quarterfinals, Mitch Waite battled back to finish seventh with a 5-2 decision over Jamie Andersh of Northern State and claim his second straight All-American honor.
The finals are set for about 7:15 Saturday night.
Team Standings
after third session
1. NDSU 95.0
2. UNO 91.5
3. Central Oklahoma 78.5
4. Pitt-Johnstown 69.0
5. Western State 68.0
8. Nebraska-Kearney 47.0
Check back here for results and team standings during the finals.
