By Craig Sesker, W.I.N.’s Div. II Writer

It wouldn’t be the finals of the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals in Division II without a dramatic finish.

            Long-time conference rivals Minnesota State-Mankato and Nebraska-Omaha matched up in the battle of the Mavericks and provided another memorable finals dual, Jan. 13, in Cedar Falls, Iowa

            In the end, Minnesota State-Mankato’s Brady Wilson delivered the decisive win at heavyweight to lift his fourth-ranked team to a 19-17 victory over No. 2 Nebraska-Omaha before 7,715 fans at the UNI-Dome.

            It was the first National Duals title for Mankato, which lost to Nebraska-Omaha in the 2006 finals of this event. Each team won five matches, but Mankato won the battle of bonus points 5-2.

            “This is a huge win for us,” Mankato coach Jim Makovsky said. “To win a national championship like this is great for our program. We’ve been working for this and we’re excited to be able to do it.”

            The second-ranked Wilson scored a takedown in overtime to beat No. 7 Tony Lewis of UNO, 3-1, in the final match at heavyweight. Nebraska-Omaha had taken a 17-16 lead when Jacob Marrs won by major decision at 197.

            “We’re a team that’s been knocking on the door and to come through and win this is just awesome,” Wilson said. “We’ve come a long way and our work ethic has really improved.”

            Mankato’s seventh-ranked Travis Elg turned in another big win when he pinned fifth-ranked Yasiim Bribieseca in the second period at 141. Elg came out on top in a scramble near the edge of the mat and stepped over Bribieseca to record the fall.

            “Elg really came through,” Makovsky said. “He had an injury to his collarbone and we weren’t sure he was going to wrestle. Elg’s a pinner; he went after it and came through.”

            Mankato also received a major from John Putman at 133 along with decisions from All-Americans Nick Smith (125) and Jason Rhoten (157).

            Mankato prevailed in the finals despite a few anxious moments in the last two matches.

            The third-ranked Marrs cranked Tom Block to his back and nearly recorded a fall late in the third period before time ran out. Marrs won by a 12-1 major decision.

            Lewis nearly scored the winning takedown at heavyweight when he shot in on a low-level leg attack at the end of regulation. Wilson fell to his backside near the edge of the mat as Lewis wrapped his arms around Wilson’s legs. Lewis drug his toes near the edge to try and stay in bounds, but referee Rick Stahl ruled Lewis’ one foot had hit the out-of-bounds line in the process.

            Wilson then regrouped to gain the winning takedown in overtime to beat Lewis.                  The wrestlers were involved in another scramble near the edge of the mat before Wilson was able to trip Lewis to the mat for the winning takedown with 20 seconds left in the period.

            “It was pretty nerve-wracking from 174 through heavyweight,” Makovsky said. “There were a few anxious moments, but our guys were able to come through.”

            The win set off a wild scene as the Mankato wrestlers celebrated their historic win.

            “It came down to the last match, but I have to give all the other guys on my team credit. They scored the big bonus points we needed,” Wilson said.

            “I was supposed to win. I should beat that kid every time. I wrestled a bad match, but I was able to find a way to get it done.”

            Nebraska-Omaha earned a key win at 165 when freshman Aaron Denson, ranked seventh, notched a 6-5 win over NCAA runner-up and second-ranked Andy Pickar of Mankato.

            “That dual was about as close as you can get,” Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Denney said.

            “Jacob almost got the pin and then Tony almost got the takedown. Our guys competed really well. I’m proud of them. We are not quite there yet and we need to strengthen our line-up a little more. We’ve got to get better.”

            Lewis delivered a strong effort for UNO. Nebraska-Omaha had a five-point lead over Nebraska-Kearney in the finals of the 2007 National Duals before national champion Tervel Dlagnev of UNK pinned Lewis to give the Lopers a one-point win.

            “Tony really came to wrestle,” Denney said. “He wrestled tough and almost pulled it off.”

            Nebraska-Omaha wrestled without 2006 NCAA champion Cody Garcia (125), who sat out with a knee injury.

            “Not having Cody obviously made a difference,” Denney said. “He tweaked his knee last weekend and we’re hoping to have him back in the next week or two.”

            Mankato also beat top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, scoring a 25-16 win in the semifinals.

            “We probably wrestled our worst match against them,” Makovsky said. “But we were able to bounce back.”

            Third-seeded Central Oklahoma earned a 21-19 win over No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney in the third-place match.

            UNK was missing four starters, including 2006 national champion Brett Allgood (133). Three starters were out with injuries and one did not wrestle for personal reasons.

            Western State beat Minnesota State-Moorhead, 21-12, in the fifth-place match. Pitt-Johnstown downed Upper Iowa, 34-14, in the seventh-place match.

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