Omaha Athletics

The University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team will travel to Kearney, Neb. to compete in the Nebraska-Kearney Open on Saturday, Dec. 9. The meet will begin at 9 a.m. It will be the first of two trips this season to Kearney as the Mavericks will compete in the NCAA II National Tournament on Mar. 9-10 at UNK.

Records & Rankings
The Mavericks are ranked No. 4 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association pre-season poll and four Mavs are among the top eight in individual rankings.
Defending national champions Cody Garcia (125) and J.D. Naig (174) are both ranked No. 1. Ross Taplin (165) is third and Jacob Marrs is sixth at 197 pounds.

The Coach
Mike Denney is in his 28th season as the Maverick head coach. The Dakota Wesleyan graduate has a 262-101-5 career mark. He has twice been named the NCAA II National Coach of the Year and led the 1991, 2004, 2005, and 2006 Mavericks to NCAA II national championships.

Last Week
Three Mavericks finished second and another was fourth to highlight UNO's performance in the Northern Iowa Open Sunday. Cody Garcia, Ross Taplin and Jacob Marrs all were runners-up in the 25-team meet that featured 12 NCAA Division I teams.
Garcia went 4-1, losing in the finals at 125 pounds; Taplin, also 4-1, was second at 165 and Marrs posted a 3-1 mark at 197. In addition, heavyweight Tony Lewis was 5-2 and finished fourth.
Other Mavericks competing in the meet included Marcus Hilario, 2-2 at 141; Derek Keasling, 1-2 at 157, and 184-pounders Nick Edmonds and Austin Boehm, who were both 2-0, but dropped out because of injuries.

Taplin Named NCC Wrestler of the Week
Ross Taplin was named the NCC Wrestler of the Week after placing second at last weekend's Northern Iowa Open. Taplin, a sophomore 165-pounder from Abilene, Kan., went 4-1 to place second at the Northern Iowa Open. He opened with a 1:31 pin of Tom Anderson of St. Cloud State before pinning Justin Fraga of Purdue (3:56) and Alex Ward of Nebraska (4:39). In the semifinals he scored a near-fall in overtime to top #2-seed Roger Smith-Bergsrudof of Illinois, 2-1. He lost in the finals by a 9-7 count to Nick Baima of Northern Iowa. Baima is currently ranked fifth in NCAA Division I.


On Deck
A select group of Mavericks will compete in the prestigious Midlands Tournament on Dec. 27-28 in Chicago, Ill.