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UNO lived up to preseason pick with Div. II title
OMAHA, Neb. — They were the team that was supposed to win it this year; the team with everybody back from the 2004 national championship; the team with a home-mat advantage as the host of the 2005 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
The Mavericks of the University of Nebraska at Omaha came through to repeat as national champions as Patrick Allibone (157) and J.D. Naig (165) captured their first individual titles and Les Sigman (heavyweight) earned his third before 3,500 fans, March 12, at UNO’s Sapp Fieldhouse.
“This is very, very special,” Mavericks’ coach Mike Denney said. “Winning national titles never gets old because it is very difficult to do this. Our kids turned in an outstanding performance.”
Second-ranked UNO clinched the title in the second-to-last match when No. 8 Corey Jacoby of Shippensburg edged No. 2 Tim Boldt of Augustana, 5-3, in the 197-pound final. The Mavs won the title last year when Sigman won in the tournament’s last match.
The No. 2 Mavericks recorded their second straight superb Saturday performance at nationals to overtake No. 1 Augustana. The University of Nebraska at Omaha finished with 109.5 points, 8.5 ahead of the Vikings.
“UNO wrestled really well,” Augustana coach Jason Reitmeier said. “They wrestled with a lot of heart. It’s hard to cheer against a team that wrestles like that.”The Mavericks, who also received a second-place finish from senior Eli Dominquez at 141 pounds, won their fourth national team title overall and third championship under Denney, who also guided UNO to championships in 1991 and 2004. The Mavs also won nationals in 1970.
“One of the toughest things to ever do is defend your title,” Nebraska-Omaha Athletic Director David Herbster said. “We were a little behind in the team race after the first day, but we showed great poise to come back. And Mike Denney is just unbelievable. What a great teacher.”
UNO led by 4.5 points entering the finals, but Augustana cut the lead to half a point when Aaron Graumann (125) won his first national title. After Dominguez’s setback, the Mavs responded with back-to-back wins by Allibone and Naig to build the lead to 8.5.
Augustana cut the lead to 3.5 when Tom Meester (184) won by major decision in the finals, but Boldt fell short and UNO clinched the title.
Nebraska-Omaha overcame its share of adversity in an injury-filled season where it lost a late-season dual to Augustana and placed second to the Vikings at regionals.
Key contributions in the wrestlebacks by senior Dustin Tovar (125) and sophomore Steve Conlin (174) also boosted the Mavs. Tovar finished third and Conlin placed seventh.
The No. 4 Allibone, a sophomore who was second at nationals last year at 149, was locked in a 2-2 tie with Findlay’s second-ranked Angelo Vettese before riding him the entire third period to earn the title. Allibone cranked Vettese to his back in the closing seconds for a three-point near fall to win 6-2.
“I can’t even explain how this feels,” said Allibone, a Sioux City, Iowa, native, who never won a state title for Heelan High School. “It is the sweetest thing ever.”
The No. 1 Naig, a sophomore who was third at nationals as a freshman, neutralized the athletic Dwayne Coward of North Carolina-Pembroke, 10-5, in the finals.
“Winning this hasn’t sunk in yet,” Naig said. “Our crowd was just awesome. They provided us a huge boost.”
The No. 1 Sigman, a junior, downed No. 6 Chris Tuscherer of Minnesota State-Moorhead by an 18-4 major decision in the final round.
“I knew I had to come out aggressively,” Sigman said. “It’s definitely great to do it again.”
The No. 4 Dominguez was thrown to his back early when No. 5 Thad Benton of Pitt-Johnstown executed a five-point move in the first period. Dominguez closed to within 6-4 in the third period, but could not draw any closer.
“I got off to a great start and that obviously made a huge difference,” Benton said. “He tried to throw me and I just tried to hold my position and was able to catch him off balance.”
Benton, a junior, capped a superb final day when he knocked off No. 1 Donald Lockett of San Francisco State, 11-4, in the semis.
Graumann and Meester, a pair of seniors, capped their Augustana careers with titles.
The No. 1 Graumann rallied in the third period to down junior Ryon Mazzocco of Pitt-Johnstown 4-3 in the finals.
“I knew I had to give it my all. I wanted it so badly,” Graumann said. “There was no way I was going to lose this match. It was a matter of will.”
“This is a feeling I will never forget,” said Meester, winning a second title. “It was a great way to go out.”
Jacoby, a junior, received extra support in his match as Nebraska-Omaha fans cheered for him in the match with Boldt, knowing a Jacoby win would clinch the title for the Mavericks. The UNO crowd chanted “Corey, Corey” in support of the Shippensburg competitor.
“Every time I went out of bounds, I heard the fans yelling my name,” Jacoby said. “This felt like a home match to me. It felt really great that I could help Omaha out like that. I appreciated their support, it was awesome.”
Findlay’s Andy Uhl, a sophomore who is ranked second at 133, used a third-period headlock from his knees to catch and pin No. 1 Curry Pickard of UNC-Pembroke in the finals. The match was tied 4-4 when Uhl executed his clutch move.
“He hung his head and gave me a chance,” Uhl said of the headlock. “You’ve got to dig deep in matches like this. I didn’t always know if winning this would be a reality, but I never doubted myself.”
Anderson College (S.C.) junior Careef Robertson (174) won his school’s first national title when he edged Travis Krinke of Minnesota State-Mankato, 6-4 in overtime.
“I am not sure how the school is going to react to this,” Robertson said. “But I think the school is going to explode when I get back. I am just ecstatic about this. It feels real good to do something like this for my school.”
San Francisco State junior Pacifico Garcia (149) pulled out a 2-1 finals win over Minnesota State’s Jason Rhoten.
“I really had something to prove,” Garcia said. “I didn’t wrestle well my last trip to nationals and I wanted to redeem myself.”
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