Kearney, Neb. - A new look Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team will be aiming for its sixth straight top five finish at the NCAA Division II Championships in 2011.

The team has its annual Blue/Gold Scrimmage Nov. 6th at the Health & Sports Center. Around 22 matches will take place, on two mats, with the action starting at 5:30 p.m.

The regular season begins in earnest Nov. 13th at the Wyoming Cowboy Open.

Head coach Marc Bauer, whose program will host the NCAA's March 11-12 in the Health & Sports Center, is hoping to keep the Lopers in the national race despite a lineup that will feature plenty of new faces.

UNK must replace national champion Marty Usman (174 lbs.), 2010 All-Americans Taylor May (165 lbs.), Justin McKain (197 lbs.) and Derek Ross (184 lbs.), 2009 All-American Joey Morrison (133 lbs.) and starter Danny Luttrell (125 lbs.).

The Lopers lone wrestler with Division II national tournament experience is junior T.J. Hepburn (East Hampton, Conn.), who went 44-9 in 2009-10 at 149 lbs.

Ranked No. 1 for a brief time, he placed third at the NCAA meet. Also an All-American while at Colby C.C. (Kan.), Hepburn will move up to 157 lbs. this season.

Hepburn is the only Loper selected to the preseason All-RMAC team or ranked in the national preseason rakings. As a team, UNK is picked second in the RMAC and fourth nationally.

Other returning starters are juniors Tyler Baker (141 lbs.) and Jordan Gienger (157 lbs.) and senior Ben Hohensee (Hwt.).

Baker (Hoxie, Kan.) won 18 matches as a first-year starter while Hohensee (Monet, Mo.), a two-time JUCO All-American, posted a 26-19 record. Thrust into a starting role, Gienger (St. Francis, Kan.) posted 15 wins last season.

UNK will rely on an influx of transfers to replace its departed stars. Junior Dalton Jensen (Iowa State) will challenge Baker for the top spot at 141 lbs. while redshirt freshman Jared Hatley (Wyoming) will likely replace Hepburn at 149 lbs.

Hatley (Torrington, Wyo.) joined the Loper program in January and has four Wyoming state titles to his credit. Jensen (Missouri Valley, Ia.) spent three years at Iowa State, qualifying for the NCAA Division I Championships at 141 lbs. in 2010.

At 165 lbs., junior Joey Wilson comes in from Division I UC Davis while junior Caleb Kociemba (Clackamas C.C., Oreg.) is a candidate to replace Ross.

Wilson (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) was a two-year starter for the Aggies, posting 32 wins the last two seasons. A rare UNK wrestler from the Northwest, Kociemba (Hillsbogo, Oreg.) is a two-time national JUCO qualifier.

True freshman Alec Chanthapetheth (Aurora), who went undefeated as a junior to win a Nebraska Class A state title, may be the man at 125 lbs. while Loper veterans Jordan White (Jr./Lincoln), Stephen Weimer (So./Clovis, Calif.) and Tim Crocker (Fr.-R/Kearney) are candidates at 133 lbs.

Georgia native Christian Flavin, who went 23-7 last year splitting time between 197 and 285 lbs., will try and be the starter at 197 lbs.

At 174 lbs., sophomore Ross Brunkhardt (Merino, Colo.) will look to shake some injuries that have kept him on the sidelines the past two years. Competing unattached in 2007-08, he went 21-9 at 157 lbs. to be named UNK's Most Outstanding Freshman.

Others to watch include junior Raufeon Stots (141-149 lbs./two-time JUCO All-American) and sophomores Josh Smith (133 lbs./6-7), Drew Comito (165 lbs./12-18), Matt Duffy (174 lbs./22-16) and Nick Bauman (184 lbs./14-8 in 2008-09).