Mavericks Finish First at Regionals, Five Wrestler
Final Brackets
Final Team Standings
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The No.1 ranked University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team crowned five individual champions en route to a first place finish at the 2009 NCAA II Regional Tournament Sunday night at Pershing Arena on the campus of Truman State University. All 10 Maverick wrestlers finished in the top four of their respective weight class to advance to the National Championship meet.
Senior #Todd Meneely# was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the regional, scoring two pins and a technical fall victory as he came away with the title at 157 pounds, while redshirt freshman #Esai Dominguez# earned Freshman of the Year honors, finishing runner-up at 149 pounds. Along with Meneely’s and Dominguez’ accolades, head coach #Mike Denney# earned Coach of the Year honors.
#Cody Garcia#, #Mario Morgan#, Meneely, #Ross Taplin# and #Brent Pankoke# each finished with championship wins, while Dominguez, #Jacob Marrs# and #Tony Lewis# came away with a runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes.
Garcia (133 pounds) and Meneely (157 pounds) will be seeking their third national titles after dominating performances in the regional. Garcia won his first two matches with pins in 1:32 and 3:32 before winning the championship bout with an 8-4 decision against second-seeded Grant Baker of Central Missouri. Meneely also scored pins in his first two matches, tallying falls at :51 and 1:52, respectively. In the title match, the senior from Skutt Catholic improved to 23-0 with a technical fall victory (22-7;3:42) over Indianapolis’ Cory Fornal.
Taplin earned his fourth trip to Nationals with a first place finish at 174 pounds. The senior from Abilene, Kan. scored a 16-1 technical fall and a 9-0 major decision prior to winning the weight class by forfeit in the title bout against second-ranked Tommy McCarty (Central Oklahoma).
Lewis and Marrs will each be making their third trip to the National Tournament. Lewis, a 285-pound senior, came away with the runner-up finish at heavyweight against No. 4 Dustin Finn, 4-3. It was the second meeting of the year between the two. Lewis pinned then No. 1-ranked Finn in 1:30 in a dual earlier this year with Central Oklahoma at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
Marrs finished runner-up at 197 pounds. The junior recorded a pin in 6:41 and tallied an 8-6 decision before top-seeded Josh Ohl pinned Denson in 6:01.
Morgan came away with the title at 141 pounds, scoring a 12-2 major decision against Matt Irwin (Indianapolis). The sophomore from Chicago, Ill. recorded a 10-5 decision and a pin in only 41 seconds prior to tallying the major decision in the title bout. This will be Morgan’s second trip to the National Tournament.
Denson earned his second trip to Nationals with a third place finish at 165 pounds. After winning his first match by technical fall (15-0; 4:53), the sophomore was upset by Justin Shannon (Findlay), 9-4. The Millard South product finished strong, shutting out Anthony Bradberry (Ashland),12-0, and pinning Central Missouri's Andrew Hicklin in 1:48 for a third place finish.
Three Maverick wrestlers will be making their first trip to Nationals this year. Pankoke claimed the title at 184 pounds by pinning Lucas Haag in 6:15. Dominguez finished runner-up at 149 pounds, dropping a 1-0 decision to the top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds, Craig Becker (Wisconsin-Parkside). Rein, a 125 pound sophomore, finished in third-place edging Ashland’s Daniel Mandana, 11-9.
UNO will look to win its sixth national championship in school history when the wrestling team travels to the NCAA II Nationals in Houston, Texas March 13-14. The Mavericks won team titles in 1970, 1991, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Awards:
Freshman of the Year: Esai Dominguez
Co-Outstanding Wrestler’s the Year: Craig Becker
Co-Outstanding Wrestler’s of the Year: Todd Meneely
Co-Coach of the Year: Robin Ersland
Co-Coach of the Year: Mike Denney
Mavericks advancing to the NCAA II National Championships include:
125 Pounds: Matt Rein (3rd Place)
Rein WBD Daniel Mandara (Ashland) D 8-5
No. 7 Cody Zimmerman (Wisconsin-Parkside) WBD Rein D 7-0
Rein WBF Nickolaas Weisjahn (Indianapolis) F 2:04
Third Place Match: Rein WBD Mandara (Ashland) D 11-9
133 Pounds: No. 2 Cody Garcia (1st Place)
Garcia WBF Michael Peraino (Findlay) F 1:32
Garcia WBF Scott Berens (Central Oklahoma) F 3:32
Championship Match: Garcia WBD No. 7 Grant Baker (Central Missouri) D 8-4
141 Pounds: No. 3 Mario Morgan (1st Place)
Morgan WBD Mike Migawa (Wisconsin-Parkside) D 10-5
Morgan WBF James Fox (Newman) F :41
Championship Match: Morgan WBD No. 6 Matt Irwin (Indianapolis) M 12-2
149 Pounds: No. 3 Esai Dominguez (2nd Place)
Dominguez WBF Vince Vitatoe (Truman State) F 2:12
Dominguez WBD No. 6 Luke Elmore (Central Oklahoma) D 14-8
Championship Match: No. 1 Craig Becker (Wisconsin-Parkside) WBD Dominguez D 1-0
157 Pounds: No. 1 Todd Meneely (1st Place)
Meneely WBF Steve Kueny (Truman State) F :51
Meneely WBF Denis Ryzhov (Central Missouri) F 1:52
Championship Match: Meneely tech fall Cory Fornal (Indianapolis) 22-7; 3:42
165 Pounds: No. 2 Aaron Denson (3rd Place)
Denson tech fall Jacob Blackwell (Indianapolis) 15-0; 4:53
Justin Shannon (Findlay) WBD Denson D 9-4
Denson WBD Anthony Bradberry (Ashland) M 12-0
Third Place Match: Denson WBF Andrew Hicklin (Central Missouri) F 1:48
174 Pounds: No. 1 Ross Taplin (1st Place)
Taplin tech fall Braden Ewertt (Newman) 16-1
Taplin WBD Luke Rynish (Wisconsin-Parkside) M 9-0
Championship Match: Taplin won by forfeit No. 2 Tommy McCarty (Central Oklahoma)
184 Pounds: No. 1 Brent Pankoke (1st Place)
Pankoke WBD Thomas Kerrigan (Ashland) M 11-2
Pankoke WBD Daniel Morrison (Central Oklahoma) M 12-2
Championship Match: Pankoke WBF No. 4 Lucas Haag (Wisconsin-Parkside) F 6:15
197 Pounds: No. 5 Jacob Marrs (2nd Place)
Marrs WBF Matt Craig (Truman State) F 6:41
Marrs WBD Malcolm Briggs (Wisconsin-Parkside) D 8-6
Championship Match: No. 3 Josh Ohl (Ashland) WBF Marrs F 6:01
285 Pounds: No. 3 Tony Lewis (2nd Place)
Lewis WBD Jacob Southwick (Ashland) D 3-2
Lewis WBD Travis Clark (Findlay) D 4-2
Championship Match: No. 4 Dustin Finn (Central Oklahoma) WBD Lewis D 4-3
