Two Mavs finish second at the Kaufman-Brand Open

Two Mavericks placed second to lead UNO in the 27th annual Kaufman-Brand Open, considered one of the largest wrestling tournaments in the country.Over 450 wrestlers from 12 different states and 33 schools competed on the mats in Sapp Fieldhouse on Nov. 21. The tournament was split into two divisions, elite and amateur.

The Mavs had five wrestlers place in the elite division and seven place in the amateur division.

Senior Jacob Marrs was the top finisher for UNO in the elite division. Marrs came in second place at 197 pounds after finishing the day 4-1, including earning three straight pins. The native of Oak Hill, Kan., earned his 100th career win when he defeated Minnesota's Joe Nord in 39 seconds. Marrs is the 25th wrestler in UNO history to reach 100 wins. He lost in the championship round to Tyler Sorenson of South Dakota State.

Sophomore heavyweight Taylor Escamilla placed second in the amateur division's 285-pound class. Escamilla lost to Minnesota's Jake Kettler in the championship round, 6-5.

Many other Mavs placed throughout the tournament.

Junior Aaron Denson placed third at 184 pounds after going 4-1. Denson fell to Iowa's Vinnie Wagner before beating Iowa's Grand Gambrall and Old Dominion's Joe Budi for third place.

Junior Ryan Pankoke went 4-1 and finished third at 165 pounds. Pankoke's only loss came to Nebraska's Tyler Koehn. Pankoke placed third after defeating Tyler Johnson of North Dakota state.

Junior Mario Morgan finished second at 141 pounds while wrestling unattached. He went 3-1, losing to Montell Marion in the championship round. Marion was wrestling for Iowa unattached.

Sophomore Nathan Sigman went 6-1 and finished third at 157 pounds. He fell to Joey Sheridan, wrestling unattached for Old Dominion, in the semi-finals before defeating Clay Gable to earn third place.

The wrestling team will be back on the mat Dec. 5 when they travel to Hays, Kan., to participate in the Fort Hays Open beginning at 9 a.m.