UNO wins Div II Wrestling title

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Nebraska-Omaha 109.5 points.
Augustana 101 points
Minnesota State-Mankato 77.5

Repeat National Champions!

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UNO Claims Second-Straight National Title
Mavericks Crown Three National Champions

OMAHA, Neb. -- Nebraska-Omaha crowned three individual national champions as the Mavericks claimed their second-consecutive team title at the 2005 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship being held on the Nebraska-Omaha campus before 3,500 fans at the Lee and Helene Sapp Fieldhouse.

UNO earned the team title with 109.5 points, followed by Augustana with 101 points. The Mavericks, who trailed Augustana by four points entering the morning's third session, won 10 of 12 matches on the day to propel them to victory.

Minnesota State, Mankato finished third with 77.5 points, followed by Pittsburgh-Johnstown with 73.5 points and Findlay rounded out the top five with 65.0 points.

Nebraska-Omaha's Patrick Allibone (157 pound sophomore), J.D. Naig (165 pound sophomore), and Les Sigman (285 pound junior) all won national championships. Sigman won his third straight national championship. Sigman has not allowed an offensive point to be scored against him in three national championships.

Augustana crowned two national champions with seniors Aaron Graumann at 125 pounds and Tom Meester at 184 pounds earning titles. Meester won his second-straight national championship.

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Awesome! Go Mavs.

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Mavs repeat on mat

They were the team that was supposed to win it this year.

The team with everybody back from the 2004 national champions.

The team with a home-mat advantage as the host of the 2005 NCAA Division II wrestling championships.

The UNO Mavericks 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 a boisterous crowd of 3,500 fans Saturday night at UNO's Sapp Fieldhouse.

"This is very, very special," UNO 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 after 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 senior Eli Dominguez (141) placed second.

"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 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," UNO 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, he 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.

UNO 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 UNO 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 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, who never won a state title. "It is the sweetest thing ever. It is so satisfying."

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. Coward was ranked second.

"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 within 6-4 in the third period, but could not draw any closer.