Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight clinches NCAA Division II team title for Lopers
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by Matt Levins
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Tervel Dlagnev had trained the last seven years just for the very situation he found himself in Saturday night during the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center.
And the University of Nebraska-Kearney senior heavyweight was not about to let his teammates down.
Trailing Minnesota State-Mankato by 3 1/2 points heading into the 300th and final match of the weekend, Dlagnev knew what he had to do. It was the situation he had been longing for, training for since seventh grade, when he first started wrestling.
Dlagnev came through in the clutch, posting a 4-1 victory over Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma to give the Lopers their elusive team title.
Nebraska-Kearney nipped Minnesota State-Mankato 108 1/2-108 for the team crown.
As Dlagnev stood on the stage, index finger pointed to the sky, it marked a turning point in the Nebraska-Kearney program.
No longer the bridesmaids, the Lopers wore the crown this time.
"I planned on this all along," Dlagnev said. "I train for situations like this. I have no fear. I am never scared of it. The team title means more to me, absolutely. It's been an elusive thing. Winning the national team championship is awesome. There's nothing else like it."
"It was a team effort," said Nebraska-Kearney coach Marc Bauer, who was voted Coach of the Year. "Even the one guy who didn't place for us won a match and that was the difference."
Dlagnev's teammate, senior Brett Allgood, lost in the first round last year, a defeat that contributed to another runner-up finish for the Lopers.
Given a second chance, Allgood put Dlagnev in position to deliver the title. Allgood scored a takedown with 39 seconds left to secure a 5-3 victory over Indianapolis senior Shane Perky to win his second national championship at 133.
"For the last four years we have been so close," Allgood said. "This means so much to us. We have been so close to tasting that gold. It feels great to finally get a piece of it."
The difference for the Lopers was the consolation round Saturday afternoon. After going 2-2 in the semifinals, Nebraska-Kearney went 10-4 in the consolations. All four wrestlers in the consolations - Jeff Rutledge (141), Ryan Etherton (149), Joe Ellenberger (157) and Kamarudeen Usman (174) - each came back to finish third.
"After a rough start this morning, I thought our hopes were going down the drain,' Bauer said. "But we came storming back and won some great matches. Our effort paid off."
Minnesota State-Mankato, seeking to end a 43-year drought and bring home a national team title for the first time since 1965, came up one second short.
Senior Andy Pickar, knowing he needed a major decision over Hudson Harrison of Mercyhurst College in the final at 165, got in for a takedown at the edge of the mat with three seconds left. Pickar turned Harrison for back points, but the referee only reached a one count before time expired.
Pickar had to settle for an 8-2 win, leaving the Mavericks just 3 1/2 points ahead of Nebraska-Kearney.
Had Pickar been able to get another one-second count, it would have put the pressure on Dlegnev to score a major decision in the heavyweight final.
"I wanted the major. I was less than a tick away. It was that close," Pickar said. "That would have been huge. That would have really put the pressure on Kearney."
"We had a million opportunities this weekend, a million," Mankato coach Jim Makovsky said. "We are not going to be happy tonight. We are not going to be in a good mood."
Pickar joined teammate Jason Rhoten as national champions for the Mavericks. Rhoten scored a 3-2 win over two-time champion Antonio Guerra of Findlay in the final at 125.
"I just had to keep things solid, take him down and keep scoring," Rhoten said.
Nebraska-Omaha crowned a pair of champions in Cody Garcia (125) and Todd Meneely (149).
Garcia, voted Outstanding Wrestler, used a headlock near the edge of the mat in the third period to secure his 8-2 win over Minnesota State-Mankato's Nick Smith at 125.
This one was even sweeter that the title Garcia won in 2006. He missed all of last year with a knee injury.
"That's the biggest thing. I had to battle back through a lot of adversity," Garcia said. "I had to build up to this one, mentally and physically."
Meneely became a back-to-back national champion, posting a 9-3 victory over Western State's Camille DuPont in the final at 149.
"I'm not completely satisfied," Meneely said. "In a couple of my matches I could have opened up more, but I didn't. My goal was to major, tech fall or pin all my opponents in the national tournament. I didn't do that."
Taplin dropped a 5-2 decision to Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Albert Miles at 174.
"We really competed," Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Denney said. "We have six All-Americans and return all six. We really thought we had a chance to make a run at the national title, but without Brent (Pankoke), we came up short."
Chadron State junior Josh Majerus, a national runner-up last year, got over the top this year, winning a national title at 197 with an 8-3 win over Western State's Donovan MacMahill.
"I knew (Upper Iowa's Ryan Phillips, last year's national champion) graduated, so I knew this was my chance," Majerus said. "I worked hard in the offseason for this and it paid off."
Central Oklahoma's Kyle Evans repeated his title at 141 with a 3-2 win over Steven Fittery of Shippensburg.
"I felt a lot less pressure this year because I had already won one," Evans said. "I give (Fittery) a lot of credt. He came in and gave me a god match."
Team scores
1. Nebraska-Kearney, 108 1/2
2. Minnesota State-Mankato, 108
3. Nebraska-Omaha, 93 1/2
4. Pittsburgh-Johnstown, 87
5. Adams State, 68 1/2
6. Central Oklahoma, 65
7. Western State, 64 1/2
8. Newberry College, 39 1/2
9. Chadron State, Mercyhurst College, 31.
Championship matches
125 - Cody Garcia (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. Nick Smith (Minnesota State-Mankato), 8-2
133 - Brett Allgood (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Shane Perkey (Indianapolis), 5-3
141 - Kyle Evans (Central Oklahoma) dec. Steven Fittery (Shippensburg), 3-2
149 - Todd Meneely (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. Camille DuPont (Western State), 9-3
157 - Jason Rhoten (Minnesota State-Mankato) dec. Antonio Guerra (Findlay), 3-2
165 - Andy Pickar (Minnesota State-Mankato) dec. Hudson Harrison (Mercyhurst College), 8-2
174 - Albert Miles (Pittsburgh-Johnstown) dec. Ross Taplin (Nebraska-Omaha), 5-2
184 - Daniel Scanlan (Limestone College) dec. Mike Corcetti (Pittsburgh-Johnstown), 5-2
197 - Josh Majerus (Chadron State) dec. Donovan McMahill (Western State), 8-3
HWT - Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Dustin Finn (Central Oklahoma), 4-1
And the University of Nebraska-Kearney senior heavyweight was not about to let his teammates down.
Trailing Minnesota State-Mankato by 3 1/2 points heading into the 300th and final match of the weekend, Dlagnev knew what he had to do. It was the situation he had been longing for, training for since seventh grade, when he first started wrestling.
Dlagnev came through in the clutch, posting a 4-1 victory over Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma to give the Lopers their elusive team title.
Nebraska-Kearney nipped Minnesota State-Mankato 108 1/2-108 for the team crown.
As Dlagnev stood on the stage, index finger pointed to the sky, it marked a turning point in the Nebraska-Kearney program.
No longer the bridesmaids, the Lopers wore the crown this time.
"I planned on this all along," Dlagnev said. "I train for situations like this. I have no fear. I am never scared of it. The team title means more to me, absolutely. It's been an elusive thing. Winning the national team championship is awesome. There's nothing else like it."
"It was a team effort," said Nebraska-Kearney coach Marc Bauer, who was voted Coach of the Year. "Even the one guy who didn't place for us won a match and that was the difference."
Dlagnev's teammate, senior Brett Allgood, lost in the first round last year, a defeat that contributed to another runner-up finish for the Lopers.
Given a second chance, Allgood put Dlagnev in position to deliver the title. Allgood scored a takedown with 39 seconds left to secure a 5-3 victory over Indianapolis senior Shane Perky to win his second national championship at 133.
"For the last four years we have been so close," Allgood said. "This means so much to us. We have been so close to tasting that gold. It feels great to finally get a piece of it."
The difference for the Lopers was the consolation round Saturday afternoon. After going 2-2 in the semifinals, Nebraska-Kearney went 10-4 in the consolations. All four wrestlers in the consolations - Jeff Rutledge (141), Ryan Etherton (149), Joe Ellenberger (157) and Kamarudeen Usman (174) - each came back to finish third.
"After a rough start this morning, I thought our hopes were going down the drain,' Bauer said. "But we came storming back and won some great matches. Our effort paid off."
Minnesota State-Mankato, seeking to end a 43-year drought and bring home a national team title for the first time since 1965, came up one second short.
Senior Andy Pickar, knowing he needed a major decision over Hudson Harrison of Mercyhurst College in the final at 165, got in for a takedown at the edge of the mat with three seconds left. Pickar turned Harrison for back points, but the referee only reached a one count before time expired.
Pickar had to settle for an 8-2 win, leaving the Mavericks just 3 1/2 points ahead of Nebraska-Kearney.
Had Pickar been able to get another one-second count, it would have put the pressure on Dlegnev to score a major decision in the heavyweight final.
"I wanted the major. I was less than a tick away. It was that close," Pickar said. "That would have been huge. That would have really put the pressure on Kearney."
"We had a million opportunities this weekend, a million," Mankato coach Jim Makovsky said. "We are not going to be happy tonight. We are not going to be in a good mood."
Pickar joined teammate Jason Rhoten as national champions for the Mavericks. Rhoten scored a 3-2 win over two-time champion Antonio Guerra of Findlay in the final at 125.
"I just had to keep things solid, take him down and keep scoring," Rhoten said.
Nebraska-Omaha crowned a pair of champions in Cody Garcia (125) and Todd Meneely (149).
Garcia, voted Outstanding Wrestler, used a headlock near the edge of the mat in the third period to secure his 8-2 win over Minnesota State-Mankato's Nick Smith at 125.
This one was even sweeter that the title Garcia won in 2006. He missed all of last year with a knee injury.
"That's the biggest thing. I had to battle back through a lot of adversity," Garcia said. "I had to build up to this one, mentally and physically."
Meneely became a back-to-back national champion, posting a 9-3 victory over Western State's Camille DuPont in the final at 149.
"I'm not completely satisfied," Meneely said. "In a couple of my matches I could have opened up more, but I didn't. My goal was to major, tech fall or pin all my opponents in the national tournament. I didn't do that."
Taplin dropped a 5-2 decision to Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Albert Miles at 174.
"We really competed," Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Denney said. "We have six All-Americans and return all six. We really thought we had a chance to make a run at the national title, but without Brent (Pankoke), we came up short."
Chadron State junior Josh Majerus, a national runner-up last year, got over the top this year, winning a national title at 197 with an 8-3 win over Western State's Donovan MacMahill.
"I knew (Upper Iowa's Ryan Phillips, last year's national champion) graduated, so I knew this was my chance," Majerus said. "I worked hard in the offseason for this and it paid off."
Central Oklahoma's Kyle Evans repeated his title at 141 with a 3-2 win over Steven Fittery of Shippensburg.
"I felt a lot less pressure this year because I had already won one," Evans said. "I give (Fittery) a lot of credt. He came in and gave me a god match."
Team scores
1. Nebraska-Kearney, 108 1/2
2. Minnesota State-Mankato, 108
3. Nebraska-Omaha, 93 1/2
4. Pittsburgh-Johnstown, 87
5. Adams State, 68 1/2
6. Central Oklahoma, 65
7. Western State, 64 1/2
8. Newberry College, 39 1/2
9. Chadron State, Mercyhurst College, 31.
Championship matches
125 - Cody Garcia (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. Nick Smith (Minnesota State-Mankato), 8-2
133 - Brett Allgood (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Shane Perkey (Indianapolis), 5-3
141 - Kyle Evans (Central Oklahoma) dec. Steven Fittery (Shippensburg), 3-2
149 - Todd Meneely (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. Camille DuPont (Western State), 9-3
157 - Jason Rhoten (Minnesota State-Mankato) dec. Antonio Guerra (Findlay), 3-2
165 - Andy Pickar (Minnesota State-Mankato) dec. Hudson Harrison (Mercyhurst College), 8-2
174 - Albert Miles (Pittsburgh-Johnstown) dec. Ross Taplin (Nebraska-Omaha), 5-2
184 - Daniel Scanlan (Limestone College) dec. Mike Corcetti (Pittsburgh-Johnstown), 5-2
197 - Josh Majerus (Chadron State) dec. Donovan McMahill (Western State), 8-3
HWT - Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Dustin Finn (Central Oklahoma), 4-1
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