2008 Woodie Awards
WRESTLING: Wrestlers corral split in Minnesota
Jason Sibson
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Sports
The UNO Wrestling team entered Si Melby Hall in Augsburg, Minn., road-worn and short-handed. Augsburg's Division III national championship banner from a year ago glared down at a Maverick team that was absent several of its stars, including No. 1 ranked Cody Garcia and all-Americans Sim Bribieseca and Ross Taplin.
Like a well-oiled machine shy of several valuable parts, Division II No. 2 UNO functioned well short of capacity Friday night in an eventual 22-15 loss.
Augsburg College got off to a swift start, bottling up four of the first five bouts. UNO showed poise and determination to crawl back from an early 15-3 hole, actually tying the dual at 15 with two bouts left thanks to decisions captured by Brent Pankoke, Jacob Marrs and Tony Lewis.
Augsburg then sealed the win by claiming the last two bouts. Augsburg College now owns a 3-1 all-time series edge over UNO in duals.
Before the UNO wrestling program made its way back to Omaha, an undefeated St. Cloud State team awaited in what would be a crucial Saturday afternoon North Central Conference dual. UNO, still absent several of its key members, were in danger of falling to 3-3 in duals this season after cruising to a 3-0 start.
Todd Meneely set an urgent tone early with a 17-8 major decision over Chad Kubasch at 149 pounds. Aaron Denson (165) and Pankoke (184) capped off individually dominating weekends with bout victories, and UNO eventually prevailed with a 25-16 final.
The win got UNO's season back on track as they look ahead to a Friday night dual Feb. 1 at Central Oklahoma. The Mavericks hope to get back to full strength and return Garcia, Taplin and a handful of other valuable wrestlers nursing injuries with the fast approaching March NCAA II tournament on the horizon.
Like a well-oiled machine shy of several valuable parts, Division II No. 2 UNO functioned well short of capacity Friday night in an eventual 22-15 loss.
Augsburg College got off to a swift start, bottling up four of the first five bouts. UNO showed poise and determination to crawl back from an early 15-3 hole, actually tying the dual at 15 with two bouts left thanks to decisions captured by Brent Pankoke, Jacob Marrs and Tony Lewis.
Augsburg then sealed the win by claiming the last two bouts. Augsburg College now owns a 3-1 all-time series edge over UNO in duals.
Before the UNO wrestling program made its way back to Omaha, an undefeated St. Cloud State team awaited in what would be a crucial Saturday afternoon North Central Conference dual. UNO, still absent several of its key members, were in danger of falling to 3-3 in duals this season after cruising to a 3-0 start.
Todd Meneely set an urgent tone early with a 17-8 major decision over Chad Kubasch at 149 pounds. Aaron Denson (165) and Pankoke (184) capped off individually dominating weekends with bout victories, and UNO eventually prevailed with a 25-16 final.
The win got UNO's season back on track as they look ahead to a Friday night dual Feb. 1 at Central Oklahoma. The Mavericks hope to get back to full strength and return Garcia, Taplin and a handful of other valuable wrestlers nursing injuries with the fast approaching March NCAA II tournament on the horizon.
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