Wrestling DIVISION II

Wrestling DIVISION II Highlights Nebraska-Kearney pins way to second title; pair of bonus-point wins clinch it for Lopers: TThree Nebraska-Kearney wrestlers won individual championships in the Division II Wrestling Championship March 9 and 10, as the Lopers pulled away from St. Cloud State and claimed their second title. The rivals started the fi nal session of the two-day competition tied at 91 points, and each had three fi nalists left to determine the meet’s outcome. The fi rst of several big fi nal matches hit the stage when the 133-pounders climbed the steps at host Colorado State-Pueblo’s Massari Arena. St. Cloud State’s Andrew Pokorny faced off against Upper Iowa’s Trevor Franklin, the defending champion. Franklin took a 2-0 lead with a takedown in the closing seconds of the fi rst period. It provided the diff erence in a 3-2 win, and second national title, for Franklin, who also completed an unbeaten season. The next half-hour belonged to Nebraska-Kearney. Dalton Jensen (141 pounds) and Raufeon Stots (149 pounds) won their weight classes, Jensen with a dramatic pin. T.J. Hepburn, a three-time All-American, then took the mat against West Liberty’s Jarrod Shaw. Barely two minutes into the 157-pound fi nal, Hepburn’s relentless attack fi nished with a cradle and a fall. Two cradles, three individual champions and the team title were headed back to Kearney. “The last half-hour I was having a hard time catching my breath,” said Hepburn (38-3) after his pin. “I’ve been here before, but no matter how many times you are in a situation like this, you get excited. When Dalton got that pin, my lungs opened up. “I told my teammates I was going for a pin in the fi rst period. To be the guy to clinch it feels awesome. Just a great way to go out.” Nebraska-Kearney head coach Marc Bauer certainly didn’t mind having Hepburn clinch the Lopers’ second title in fi ve years. “It’s clichéd to say, but this was a team eff ort,” Bauer said. “We started the day 15½ (points) ahead. You look at who St. Cloud had on the back side and it wasn’t a big surprise they made a run at us. To be tied going into the fi nals, then having those three win it for you is storybook. To come down to the leaders of our team, what can you say? Just an unbelievable day of up-and-down emotions. “When (Dalton and T.J.) came into the program, all they talked about was individual and team titles.” Jensen, a senior, countered an early shot from Newberry’s William Young for a 2-0 lead and somehow escaped another Young shot late in the opening period. A powerful second-period cradle led to the offi cial slapping the mat at the 4:18 mark. The Lopers had their fi rst champion and a pair of bonus points. “I lost the takedown last year and it kind of snowballed on me,” said Jensen, who fi nished last season as runner-up. “(Young) is a good scrambler, so I knew where I needed to be. To fi nish with a pin in the fi nals, it’s something I won’t forget. “We couldn’t have wrestled better as a team. T.J. and I had that bad taste in our mouths from last year, so we wanted to get rid of that.” Stots, a junior, scored a pair of fi rst-period takedowns for a 4-2 lead after three minutes. An uneventful second period and an early third-period escape gave him a 5-3 advantage. Stots gave up a late stalling point, but Maryville (Missouri) freshman Keenan Hagerty was unable to record a third-period takedown, resulting in a 5-4 victory for Stots. Nebraska-Kearney fi nished with 107 points. St. Cloud State totaled 95 and fi nished second for the second straight year. Grand Canyon and Findlay tied for third with 58 points. Newberry was fi fth. St. Cloud State won one of its three fi nals, getting a 9-3 decision by senior Derek Skala over Findlay’s Adam Walters in the 184-pound bout. Grand Canyon had a pair of champions – senior Victor Carazo at 174 and junior Kyle McCrite at 125. The 197-pound fi nal nearly saw Massari Arena burst at the seams when Adams State senior Luke McPeek, a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, rallied to beat Limestone’s Dan Scanlan. McPeek trailed Scanlan, the 2008 champion at 184 pounds, 10-4 at one point but stormed back to tie it, then won, 14-12, in overtime. McPeek was named the tournament’s Most Outstand- ing Wrestler. 2 DIVISION II WRESTLING—TEAM STANDINGS 2012 TEAM STANDINGS WRESTLEBACKS 165-POUND CLASS 1. Neb.-Kearney .......................................................107 First round: Yenolevich def. Perez, 8-4; Hillhouse def. Myers First round: Mike Williams, UNC Pembroke, def. Cody 2. St. Cloud St. ............................................................95 medical forfeit; Oliver def. Greene, 8-3; Reinsma pinned Quinn, Minn. St. Mankato, 7-1; Chester Granard, Colorado 3. Findlay ......................................................................58 Pastor, 2:28. Second round: Yenolevich pinned Young, 0:39; Mesa, def. Thomas Graszl, Ashland, 3-1 (ot); Tad Merritt, St. Grand Canyon .......................................................58 Edwards def. Hillhouse, 11-8 (ot); Magaha def. Oliver, 2-0; Cloud St., def. Robert Blotzer, Gannon, 7-2; Joey Wilson, 5. Newberry ................................................................46 Reinsma def. Reed, 6-3. Third round: Yenolevich pinned Neb.-Kearney, def. Matt Vandermeer, Lake Erie, 6-4; Chris 6. Upper Iowa .........................................................45½ Edwards, 2:37; Magaha def. Reinsma, 4-3. Semifinals: Watson, Central Okla., def. Isaiah Jimenez, San Fran. St., Wis.-Parkside ......................................................45½ Yenolevich def. Jeremiason, 12-2; Fillingame def. Magaha, 3-2; Taylor Nagel, Mary, def. Micah Bollinger, Kutztown, 4-3; 8. Adams St. ............................................................42½ 2-1. Third place: Fillingame def. Yenolevich, 4-2. Fifth Mason True, Findlay, def. Justin Samora, Adams St., 8-4; Blake UNC Pembroke .................................................42½ place: Jeremiason def. Magaha, 4-1. Seventh place: Sorensen, Upper Iowa, def. Thad Frick, East Stroudsburg, 10. Augustana (SD) .................................................41½ Reinsma def. Edwards, 6-2. 9-5. Quarterfinals: Williams def. Granard, 9-0; Wilson def. Merritt, 5-3; Nagel def. Watson, 4-2; True def. Sorensen, 7-3. Central Okla. ......................................................41½ 141-POUND CLASS Semifinals: Williams def. Wilson, 2-1; True def. Nagel, 6-3. 12. Pitt.-Johnstown................................................. 38½ First round: William Young, Newberry, def. Mitch Arnold, Final: Williams def. True, 5-2. 13. Ashland ....................................................................38 Newman, 11-2; Joshua Myers, Ouachita Baptist, def. Charles 14. Limestone ...........................................................33½ Napier, Fort Hays St., 3-2; Trevor Johnson, Mary, pinned WRESTLEBACKS 15. Ouachita Baptist ..................................................27 Jack Bachman, Pitt.-Johnstown, 5:39; Casy Rowell, Central First round: Quinn pinned Graszl, 4:45; Vandermeer def. 16. East Stroudsburg .................................................23 Okla., def. Max Ortega, Adams St., 6-3; Dalton Jensen, Neb.- Blotzer, 5-1; Jimenez def. Bollinger, 4-2 (ot); Frick def. Samora, 17. West Liberty ...........................................................22 Kearney, pinned Kenneth Kampnich, Limestone, 4:16; Daniel 8-3. Second round: Quinn def. Sorensen, 3-1; Vandermeer 18. Northern St.............................................................21 Ownbey, UNC Pembroke, def. Tyrell Galloway, Maryville def. Watson, 3-0; Merritt def. Jimenez, 2-1 (ot); Granard 19. Mary ..........................................................................19 (MO), 16-7; Tywan Claxton, King (TN), def. James Martinez, def. Frick, 10-5. Third round: Vandermeer def. Quinn, 20. Kutztown .............................................................17½ Colorado Mesa, 7-3; Chism Fink, Augustana (SD), def. Aaron 6-2; Merritt pinned Granard, 6:15. Semifinals: Wilson def. Vandermeer, 5-2; Merritt def. Nagel, 9-1. Third place: Merritt 21. Maryville (MO) ......................................................16 Smith, American Int’l, 2-0. Quarterfinals: Young def. Myers, 11-5; Johnson def. Rowell, 7-2; Jensen def. Ownbey, 7-4; def. Wilson, 3-0. Fifth place: Nagel def. Vandermeer, 7-2. 22. King (TN) ............................................................. 15½ Seventh place: Quinn def. Granard, 3-2. 23. Minn. St. Mankato ...............................................15 Fink def. Claxton, 4-1. Semifinals: Young def. Johnson, 7-2; 24. Colorado Mesa ..................................................12½ Jensen def. Fink, 7-4. Final: Jensen pinned Young, 4:18. 174-POUND CLASS Western St. ..........................................................12½ WRESTLEBACKS First round: Travis Sheehy, Newberry, def. Trevor Grant, First round: Napier def. Arnold, 4-1; Ortega pinned Colorado St.-Pueblo, 9-2; Carl Serck, Augustana (SD), def. 26. Seton Hill ....................................................................9 Kelly Henderson, Central Okla., 5-1; Victor Carazo, Grand 27. Gannon ...................................................................8½ Bachman, 5:46; Kampnich pinned Galloway, 4:42; Smith def. Martinez, 10-8. Second round: Claxton def. Napier, 5-4; Canyon, def. Matt Littleton, West Liberty, 18-3 (technical 28. Indianapolis ..............................................................8 fall); Shamus O`Grady, St. Cloud St., def. Jacob Cramer, Tiffin, 29. Lake Erie .................................................................7½

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