Kearney, Neb. – The fourth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team finished fourth at the 2012 NWCA./Cliff Keen National Duals Sunday in Springfield, Ill.

UNK (2-2) was poised to reach the title match as they led No. 1 ranked Newberry College (S.C.) 15-6 in the semifinals. However, the Wolves won the final four weight classes, by a total of six points, to win 18-15. 

It was déjà vu for the Lopers in the third place match as they led second-ranked Upper Iowa 15-6, only to see the Peacocks win the final four weight classes to take home a 24-15 victory.

Third-ranked St. Cloud State (Minn.) defeated Newberry, 23-12, to win the tournament. Click HERE to see the Loper results on Sunday.

Against Newberry, junior Stephen Weimer (Clovis, Calif.) upset sixth-ranked Matt Oliver, 5-4, at 133 lbs. Top-ranked Dalton Jensen (Missouri Valley, Ia.) followed with a 7-6 decision over second-ranked B.J. Young to give the Lopers its first lead.

At 157 lbs., senior T.J. Hepburn (East Hampton, Conn.) put UNK back on top as he recorded a 26 second fall with second-ranked Joey Wilson (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) making it a 15-6 score thanks to a  2-1 win over fifth-ranked Sean Byrnes.

In the loss to the Peacocks, Jensen capped a 4-0 weekend by recording a fall in 4:45 with Hepburn beating seventh-ranked Winston Robbins, 7-2, to also win all four matches in the tournament. 

The other Loper to go 4-0 was Wilson, who posted a 8-5 victory over Blake Sorensen. That made the score 15-6 but Wade Gobin recorded a fall at 174 lbs. to start the UIU rally.

Of note, Hepburn became the 13th Loper to reach 100 career wins. In his third year at UNK, the two-time All-American is now 101-16

UNK wrestles Division II Newman and NAIA Oklahoma City U. Wednesday in OKC and then faces seventh-ranked Central Oklahoma Thursday in Edmond. The week will end with the non-varsity in action at the Midland Open in Fremont on Saturday.