No. 4 Mavs Head to NCAA II North Regional
The University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team will travel to Moorhead, Minn. on Sunday, Feb. 25, to compete in the NCAA II North Region Championships. The top-four place finishers in each weight class will advance to the NCAA II Nationals in Kearney, Neb. on Mar. 9-10 at UNK's Health & Sports Center.
Records & Rankings
Nebraska-Omaha finished the regular season with a 6-5 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the North Central Conference. The Mavericks are ranked No. 4 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association top 20 poll released on Feb. 21. Six Mavs are ranked among the top eight in individual rankings.
Two Mavericks, Todd Meneely (149) and JD Naig (174), are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Jacob Marrs (197) is ranked fourth. Sim Bribieseca (141) and Ross Taplin (165) are ranked third, and Tony Lewis (285) is seventh.
The Coach
Mike Denney is in his 28th season as the UNO head coach. The Dakota Wesleyan graduate has a 268-106-5 career mark. He has twice been named the NCAA II National Coach of the Year and led the 1991, 2004, 2005, and 2006 Mavs to NCAA II national championships.
Last Week
No. 4 ranked UNO used a pair of first period pins by Todd Meneely and Austin Boehm to defeat No. 14 ranked Augustana, 30-7, last Wednesday night, Feb. 14, in front of 850 fans at Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse.
The Mavericks ended a three-match losing streak in their final home appearance to improve to 6-5 in duals, while Augustana fell to 8-6.
After the Vikings' Chad Trampe scored a 9-3 decision over Jimmy Ball in the evening's opening bout at 125 pounds, the Mavericks came back to win seven straight matches.
Meneely, the top-ranked 149-pounder in NCAA II, had three takedowns before pinning Brandon Kruger in 1:48 to put UNO up, 12-3. Boehm, an unranked freshman at 184, was down 3-2 when he got a reversal against Beau Severtson and then a fall at 2:10 for the deciding win to put the Mavs up 27-3.
In a matchup of the two highest-ranked opponents, Augustana's No. 3 ranked Nate Buys defeated No. 2 ranked Maverick redshirt freshman Jacob Marrs at 197, 13-2.
Probable Starters
125 Jimmy Ball (3-8)
133 Jeff Rau (16-17)
141 No. 3 Sim Bribieseca (21-10)
149 No. 1 Todd Meneely (29-2)
157 Henry Wahle (15-14)
165 No. 3 Ross Taplin (30-10)
174 No. 1 JD Naig (37-7)
184 Austin Boehm (22-13)
197 No. 4 Jacob Marrs (32-6)
285 No. 7 Tony Lewis (27-16)
On Deck
UNO will travel to Kearney, Neb. on Friday-Saturday, Mar. 9-10 to compete in the NCAA II National Championships at Nebraska-Kearney's Health & Sports Center. The Mavericks will be seeking their fourth-straight national team title.
