Kearney, Neb. – The 3rd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team had two champions, a runner up and four third place finishers to win the 2012 RMAC Championships/Super Regional 4 Sunday in Hays, Kans.
This marks the 10th time in the last 13 years the Lopers have won this event. Next year, UNK moves into the MIAA for wrestling and will also compete in a new region.
Individually, Kearney qualified eight for the NCAA Division II Championships March 9-10 in Pueblo, Colo. To reach the NCAA's, a wrestler must finish in the top four at his regional meet. Final results are
HERE.
UNK entered Sunday in second place, five points behind Grand Canyon (Ariz.). The Lopers basically sewed up its second straight team title thanks to third place finishes by seniors
Ross Brunkhardt (184 lbs.) and
Joey Wilson (165 lbs.), sophomore
Mark Fiala (174 lbs.) and redshirt freshman
Kevin Barrett (285 lbs.).
In the finals Sunday evening, the Lopers went 2-1 as senior
Dalton Jensen (141 lbs.) and
T.J. Hepburn (157 lbs.) rolled to first place finishes while junior
Raufeon Stots (149 lbs.) rallied late but fell to GCU's Bobby Ward, 4-3.
The other Loper headed to Pueblo is redshirt freshman
Matt Lenagh (Millard North), who placed fourth at 197 lbs. He secured his trip to nationals thanks to a 3-2 OT decision over Western State's Sam Mangum in the consolation semifinals.
UNK finished with 115.0 points, followed by the GCU 'Lopes (108.5), Adams State (97.5), Fort Hays State (92.5) and Colorado Mesa (86.0). The remaining six schools were well behind this pack.
Jensen (Missouri Valley, Ia.) is now on a 16-match win streak after a 10-0 major decision over C.J. Napier of Hays. Ranked No. 1 in the nation, this marks Jensen's second win over Napier, a UNL transfer.
Hepburn also picked up his second RMAC/Region 4 title as he majored Jon Gappmaier of Colorado Mesa, 14-5. The now two-time RMAC Wrestler of the Year is 32-3 and has won 22 in a row.
Stots (Houston, Texas) beat Ward, a N.C. State transfer, earlier this year but Ward jumped out to a 3-0 lead this time. Stots used a reversal to close the gap but couldn't record a last second takedown and lost for the first time since January 25th.
In the third place matches, Brunkhardt (Merino, Colo.) got by Jordan Debus of Chadron State, 3-1, after dominating Adam Carey of Pueblo, 8-1. Wilson (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) rebounded from a double OT lost on Saturday to slip second-seed Sam Thoman of Hays, 3-2, and then beat Justin Samora of Adams State, 12-6, in the third place bout.
At 174 lbs., Fiala (Seward) also lived on the edge as he needed OT to get by Zak Slotten of Mesa, 3-1, to reach the third place match. There, he beat Trevor Grant of Pueblo by another 3-1 score.
Finally, Barrett (Boys Town) reached his third place match with a 4-2 decision and need extra time to beat GCU's
Jordan Johnson, 3-1. This marks Barrett's second win over Johnson, an Iowa transfer.
Bauer, in his 13th season as Loper head coach, has now won the RMAC Coach of the Year honor nine times.
