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Nebraska-Kearney wins NCAA Div. II nationals led by champion Matt Malcom, Central Oklahoma places second
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
2022 NCAA Div. II National Champions - Nebraska-Kearney. Photo by Sam Janicki.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Led by individual champion Matt Malcom and eight All-Americans, Nebraska-Kearney won the NCAA Div. II national team title on Saturday night, the fourth national title in the program’s history.
Malcom, the No. 1 seed, scored a 1-0 victory over Shane Gantz of UW-Parkside in the finals at 165 pounds. UNK had a pair of runners-up in Josh Portillo (125) and Sam Turner (149).
Ranked No. 1 coming into the nationals, Nebraska-Kearney scored 127 points, with No. 2 ranked Central Oklahoma 41 points behind with 86 points. West Liberty was third with 75.5. points, and 2021 champions St. Cloud State was fourth with 67 points.
Central Oklahoma had two champions, No. 2 seed Heath Gray (184) and No. seed 1 Dalton Abney (197). Gray won the Div. II national title for the second straight year. Abney was a runner-up a year ago.
Two of the four 2021 national champion were able to reach the finals, Gray and Cole Laya of West Liberty (125).
Adams State had the most individual champions with three: Jonathan Andreatta (133) and Noah Hermosillo (149) and Josiah Rider (157). As a team, Adams State finished fifth.
Minnesota State.had two individual champions, Trevor Turiff (174) and Darrell Mason (285). Turiff was second in the 2021 nationals.
The other individual champion was Zeth Brower of Lander (141), the first national champion and All-American for his program.
NCAA DIV. II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At St. Louis, Mo., March 12
125
1st Place Match - Cole Laya (West Liberty) 25-4, RS Jr. over Josh Portillo (Nebraska-Kearney) 22-6, . (MD 9-0)
3rd Place Match - Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) 11-2, RS Sr. over Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) 29-6, RS Sr. (Dec 10-5)
5th Place Match - Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa) 26-5, Fr. over Nicholas Daggett (UNC-Pembroke) 25-7, Sr. (MD 14-2)
7th Place Match - Kevin Radcliff (Limestone) 15-8, . over Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) 17-11, RS Sr. (Dec 5-2)
133
1st Place Match - Jonathan Andreatta (Adams State) 23-3, RS Jr. over Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) 25-3, RS Sr. (Fall 2:25)
3rd Place Match - Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska-Kearney) 17-2, . over Reece Barnhardt (Mary) 24-10, Fr. (MD 11-3)
5th Place Match - Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) 22-3, RS So. over Majid Corbett (Limestone) 9-3, RS So. (M. For.)
7th Place Match - Devin Flannery (Millersville) 20-7, So. over Jack Huffman (Augustana) 20-4, RS So. (Dec 6-5)
141
1st Place Match - Zeth Brower (Lander) 18-1, RS So. over Branson Proudlock (Findlay) 30-2, Sr. (Dec 6-4)
3rd Place Match - Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) 30-1, RS Jr. over Tyler Warner (West Liberty) 12-4, RS Sr. (Dec 6-5)
5th Place Match - Nick James (Nebraska-Kearney) 23-10, Jr. over Colby Smith (Lindenwood) 27-7, . (M. For.)
7th Place Match - Peter Kuster (Drury) 27-10, Jr. over John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) 14-9, RS Fr. (Fall 2:16)
149
1st Place Match - Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) 24-1, RS Jr. over Sam Turner (Nebraska-Kearney) 19-5, . (SV-1 6-4)3rd Place Match - Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) 29-3, Jr. over Isiah Royal (Newberry) 13-2, Sr. (Dec 6-2)
5th Place Match - Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) 28-4, RS Sr. over Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) 36-8, So. (Dec 6-5)
7th Place Match - Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) 16-3, RS Jr. over Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri) 21-10, RS So. (Dec 7-1)
157
1st Place Match - Josiah Rider (Adams State) 28-2, RS So. over Baltazar Gonzalez (American International) 29-6, RS Sr. (Fall 2:48)
3rd Place Match - Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) 23-8, So. over John Ridle (Central Missouri) 27-5, So. (Fall 1:16)
5th Place Match - Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) 20-3, RS Jr. over Noah Tarr (Davis & Elkins) 30-10, RS Fr. (Dec 6-1)
7th Place Match - Dawson Combest (Indianapolis) 13-5, RS Jr. over Nathan Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) 22-7, RS Jr. (Dec 7-2)
165
1st Place Match - Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) 30-2, . over Shane Gantz (UW-Parkside) 34-1, RS Fr. (Dec 1-0)
3rd Place Match - Cory Peterson (McKendree) 37-5, RS So. over John Dean (Belmont Abbey) 20-4, RS Sr. (Dec 5-3)
5th Place Match - Drew Wiechers (Ashland) 24-10, Jr. over Evan Fisler (Gannon) 14-8, RS Jr. (Dec 5-3)
7th Place Match - Hunter Mullin (Western Colorado) 25-8, RS Jr. over James Penfold (Lake Erie) 17-4, Jr. (Dec 5-4)
174
1st Place Match - Trevor Turriff (Minnesota State) 21-3, Sr. over Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) 31-5, RS Sr. (Dec 3-2)
3rd Place Match - Ty McGeary (West Liberty) 25-2, RS So. over Austin Eldredge (Nebraska-Kearney) 26-6, RS Sr. (Dec 6-4)
5th Place Match - Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) 31-8, Fr. over Alex Kauffman (Central Oklahoma) 29-8, RS Jr. (SV-1 13-9)
7th Place Match - Caleb Spears (Newberry) 26-5, Sr. over Allen Michel (New Mexico Highlands) 21-11, . (Dec 6-3)
184
1st Place Match - Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) 16-1, . over Connor Craig (West Liberty) 13-1, RS Sr. (Dec 4-3)
3rd Place Match - Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney) 21-7, RS Jr. over Dan Filipek (McKendree) 22-4, . (SV-1 5-3)
5th Place Match - Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) 42-11, . over Caden Steffen (Southwest Minn. State) 22-4, RS Jr. (Dec 6-5)
7th Place Match - Anderson Salisbury (Colorado Mines) 23-5, RS Sr. over Reece Worachek (UW-Parkside) 26-13, So. (Dec 5-2)
197
1st Place Match - Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) 26-0, Sr. over Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) 30-7, RS So. (Dec 6-0)
3rd Place Match - Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) 31-7, RS So. over Cole Huss (Northern State) 15-5, Jr. (Fall 6:34)
5th Place Match - Gino Sita (Alderson Broaddus) 31-5, RS Fr. over Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) 26-3, RS Sr. (SV-1 6-4)
7th Place Match - Joel Leise (Gannon) 17-3, RS Jr. over Logan Kemp (West Liberty) 18-7, RS Sr. (Fall 2:36)
285
1st Place Match - Darrell Mason (Minnesota State) 22-0, RS Jr. over Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) 23-1, RS Sr. (Dec 5-3)
3rd Place Match - Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) 19-2, . over Weston Hunt (Colorado Mines) 23-4, Sr. (Dec 4-2)
5th Place Match - Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) 24-10, Sr. over Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) 12-3, Jr. (For.)
7th Place Match - AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) 31-12, . over Freddie Nixon (Gannon) 23-7, RS Sr. (Fall 3:50)
Team Standings
1 Nebraska-Kearney 127.0
2 Central Oklahoma 86.0
3 West Liberty 75.5
4 St. Cloud State 67.0
5 Adams State 65.0
6 Indianapolis 48.5
7 Minnesota State 39.0
8 Colorado Mesa 31.0
9 McKendree 30.5
10 Gannon 30.0
11 Colorado Mines 26.5
12 Pitt-Johnstown 26.0
13 Lander 22.5
14 UW-Parkside 22.0
15 Newberry 20.0
15 Tiffin 20.0
17 Limestone 19.5
18 Fort Hays State 18.5
18 Kutztown 18.5
20 Belmont Abbey 18.0
21 Central Missouri 17.0
21 Lake Erie 17.0
21 Mary 17.0
24 Findlay 16.0
24 Northern State 16.0
26 Alderson Broaddus 15.5
27 American International 15.0
28 Shippensburg 14.5
29 Mercyhurst 13.0
30 Augustana 12.5
30 Western Colorado 12.5
32 Ashland 12.0
33 UNC-Pembroke 10.5
34 Lindenwood 10.0
35 Davis & Elkins 9.0
36 Millersville 8.5
37 Southwest Minn. State 8.0
38 Drury 7.5
39 New Mexico Highlands 6.5
40 King 3.0
41 Upper Iowa 2.5
42 Notre Dame 2.0
43 Maryville 1.5
44 CSU-Pueblo 0.5
44 Glenville State 0.5
44 Mount Olive 0.5
44 Queens 0.5
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Led by individual champion Matt Malcom and eight All-Americans, Nebraska-Kearney won the NCAA Div. II national team title on Saturday night, the fourth national title in the program’s history.
Malcom, the No. 1 seed, scored a 1-0 victory over Shane Gantz of UW-Parkside in the finals at 165 pounds. UNK had a pair of runners-up in Josh Portillo (125) and Sam Turner (149).
Ranked No. 1 coming into the nationals, Nebraska-Kearney scored 127 points, with No. 2 ranked Central Oklahoma 41 points behind with 86 points. West Liberty was third with 75.5. points, and 2021 champions St. Cloud State was fourth with 67 points.
Central Oklahoma had two champions, No. 2 seed Heath Gray (184) and No. seed 1 Dalton Abney (197). Gray won the Div. II national title for the second straight year. Abney was a runner-up a year ago.
Two of the four 2021 national champion were able to reach the finals, Gray and Cole Laya of West Liberty (125).
Adams State had the most individual champions with three: Jonathan Andreatta (133) and Noah Hermosillo (149) and Josiah Rider (157). As a team, Adams State finished fifth.
Minnesota State.had two individual champions, Trevor Turiff (174) and Darrell Mason (285). Turiff was second in the 2021 nationals.
The other individual champion was Zeth Brower of Lander (141), the first national champion and All-American for his program.
NCAA DIV. II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At St. Louis, Mo., March 12
125
1st Place Match - Cole Laya (West Liberty) 25-4, RS Jr. over Josh Portillo (Nebraska-Kearney) 22-6, . (MD 9-0)
3rd Place Match - Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) 11-2, RS Sr. over Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) 29-6, RS Sr. (Dec 10-5)
5th Place Match - Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa) 26-5, Fr. over Nicholas Daggett (UNC-Pembroke) 25-7, Sr. (MD 14-2)
7th Place Match - Kevin Radcliff (Limestone) 15-8, . over Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) 17-11, RS Sr. (Dec 5-2)
133
1st Place Match - Jonathan Andreatta (Adams State) 23-3, RS Jr. over Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) 25-3, RS Sr. (Fall 2:25)
3rd Place Match - Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska-Kearney) 17-2, . over Reece Barnhardt (Mary) 24-10, Fr. (MD 11-3)
5th Place Match - Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) 22-3, RS So. over Majid Corbett (Limestone) 9-3, RS So. (M. For.)
7th Place Match - Devin Flannery (Millersville) 20-7, So. over Jack Huffman (Augustana) 20-4, RS So. (Dec 6-5)
141
1st Place Match - Zeth Brower (Lander) 18-1, RS So. over Branson Proudlock (Findlay) 30-2, Sr. (Dec 6-4)
3rd Place Match - Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) 30-1, RS Jr. over Tyler Warner (West Liberty) 12-4, RS Sr. (Dec 6-5)
5th Place Match - Nick James (Nebraska-Kearney) 23-10, Jr. over Colby Smith (Lindenwood) 27-7, . (M. For.)
7th Place Match - Peter Kuster (Drury) 27-10, Jr. over John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) 14-9, RS Fr. (Fall 2:16)
149
1st Place Match - Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) 24-1, RS Jr. over Sam Turner (Nebraska-Kearney) 19-5, . (SV-1 6-4)3rd Place Match - Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) 29-3, Jr. over Isiah Royal (Newberry) 13-2, Sr. (Dec 6-2)
5th Place Match - Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) 28-4, RS Sr. over Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) 36-8, So. (Dec 6-5)
7th Place Match - Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) 16-3, RS Jr. over Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri) 21-10, RS So. (Dec 7-1)
157
1st Place Match - Josiah Rider (Adams State) 28-2, RS So. over Baltazar Gonzalez (American International) 29-6, RS Sr. (Fall 2:48)
3rd Place Match - Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) 23-8, So. over John Ridle (Central Missouri) 27-5, So. (Fall 1:16)
5th Place Match - Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) 20-3, RS Jr. over Noah Tarr (Davis & Elkins) 30-10, RS Fr. (Dec 6-1)
7th Place Match - Dawson Combest (Indianapolis) 13-5, RS Jr. over Nathan Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) 22-7, RS Jr. (Dec 7-2)
165
1st Place Match - Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) 30-2, . over Shane Gantz (UW-Parkside) 34-1, RS Fr. (Dec 1-0)
3rd Place Match - Cory Peterson (McKendree) 37-5, RS So. over John Dean (Belmont Abbey) 20-4, RS Sr. (Dec 5-3)
5th Place Match - Drew Wiechers (Ashland) 24-10, Jr. over Evan Fisler (Gannon) 14-8, RS Jr. (Dec 5-3)
7th Place Match - Hunter Mullin (Western Colorado) 25-8, RS Jr. over James Penfold (Lake Erie) 17-4, Jr. (Dec 5-4)
174
1st Place Match - Trevor Turriff (Minnesota State) 21-3, Sr. over Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) 31-5, RS Sr. (Dec 3-2)
3rd Place Match - Ty McGeary (West Liberty) 25-2, RS So. over Austin Eldredge (Nebraska-Kearney) 26-6, RS Sr. (Dec 6-4)
5th Place Match - Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) 31-8, Fr. over Alex Kauffman (Central Oklahoma) 29-8, RS Jr. (SV-1 13-9)
7th Place Match - Caleb Spears (Newberry) 26-5, Sr. over Allen Michel (New Mexico Highlands) 21-11, . (Dec 6-3)
184
1st Place Match - Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) 16-1, . over Connor Craig (West Liberty) 13-1, RS Sr. (Dec 4-3)
3rd Place Match - Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney) 21-7, RS Jr. over Dan Filipek (McKendree) 22-4, . (SV-1 5-3)
5th Place Match - Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) 42-11, . over Caden Steffen (Southwest Minn. State) 22-4, RS Jr. (Dec 6-5)
7th Place Match - Anderson Salisbury (Colorado Mines) 23-5, RS Sr. over Reece Worachek (UW-Parkside) 26-13, So. (Dec 5-2)
197
1st Place Match - Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) 26-0, Sr. over Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) 30-7, RS So. (Dec 6-0)
3rd Place Match - Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) 31-7, RS So. over Cole Huss (Northern State) 15-5, Jr. (Fall 6:34)
5th Place Match - Gino Sita (Alderson Broaddus) 31-5, RS Fr. over Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) 26-3, RS Sr. (SV-1 6-4)
7th Place Match - Joel Leise (Gannon) 17-3, RS Jr. over Logan Kemp (West Liberty) 18-7, RS Sr. (Fall 2:36)
285
1st Place Match - Darrell Mason (Minnesota State) 22-0, RS Jr. over Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) 23-1, RS Sr. (Dec 5-3)
3rd Place Match - Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) 19-2, . over Weston Hunt (Colorado Mines) 23-4, Sr. (Dec 4-2)
5th Place Match - Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) 24-10, Sr. over Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) 12-3, Jr. (For.)
7th Place Match - AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) 31-12, . over Freddie Nixon (Gannon) 23-7, RS Sr. (Fall 3:50)
Team Standings
1 Nebraska-Kearney 127.0
2 Central Oklahoma 86.0
3 West Liberty 75.5
4 St. Cloud State 67.0
5 Adams State 65.0
6 Indianapolis 48.5
7 Minnesota State 39.0
8 Colorado Mesa 31.0
9 McKendree 30.5
10 Gannon 30.0
11 Colorado Mines 26.5
12 Pitt-Johnstown 26.0
13 Lander 22.5
14 UW-Parkside 22.0
15 Newberry 20.0
15 Tiffin 20.0
17 Limestone 19.5
18 Fort Hays State 18.5
18 Kutztown 18.5
20 Belmont Abbey 18.0
21 Central Missouri 17.0
21 Lake Erie 17.0
21 Mary 17.0
24 Findlay 16.0
24 Northern State 16.0
26 Alderson Broaddus 15.5
27 American International 15.0
28 Shippensburg 14.5
29 Mercyhurst 13.0
30 Augustana 12.5
30 Western Colorado 12.5
32 Ashland 12.0
33 UNC-Pembroke 10.5
34 Lindenwood 10.0
35 Davis & Elkins 9.0
36 Millersville 8.5
37 Southwest Minn. State 8.0
38 Drury 7.5
39 New Mexico Highlands 6.5
40 King 3.0
41 Upper Iowa 2.5
42 Notre Dame 2.0
43 Maryville 1.5
44 CSU-Pueblo 0.5
44 Glenville State 0.5
44 Mount Olive 0.5
44 Queens 0.5