UNO tops Augsburg 21-12
OMAHA, Neb. – Claiming six victories in the match, the University of Nebraska-Omaha scored a 21-12 victory over visiting Augsburg College in a meeting of defending small-college wrestling national champions on Thursday evening at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
Nebraska-Omaha, the defending NCAA Division II national champion, improved to 5-0 on the season with six wins, including a key injury default win at 141 pounds that gave the Mavericks the team lead. Augsburg (5-3 in dual meets) is the defending NCAA Division III national champion and current No. 3-ranked team in the division.
In the biggest win for the Auggies on the night, No. 3-ranked Tony Valek (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) scored a 3-2 win over UNO’s top-ranked Esai Dominguez at 149 pounds. In the top position to start the second period, Valek rode Dominguez for the entire two minutes, eventually claiming a 1:39 riding-time advantage for the bout-deciding bonus point. Valek is now 22-2 on the season.
At 197, No. 3-ranked Jared Massey (SR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) improved to 7-0 on the season for the Auggies with a 6-5 win over UNO’s Matt Baker, ranked No. 8 in Division II. Tied at 4-4, Massey scored the eventual bout-winning takedown with 35 seconds left in the third period, and after Baker escaped, Massey claimed the 6-5 victory.
At 165, Augsburg’s No. 2-ranked Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) improved to 10-2 on the season with a 4-1 win over UNO’s Nathan Sigman, using takedowns in the first and third periods to provide the margin of victory.
Josh Roberts (SO, Grand Forks, N.D./Central HS), ranked No. 5 in Division III, opened the match for the Auggies with an 11-5 win over UNO’s Cody Tyler, using two takedowns, a reversal, a two-point near-fall and 3:15 of riding time to secure the bout win.
One of the key moments in the match came at 141 pounds, as UNO’s No. 2-ranked Mario Morgan claimed an injury-default win over Augsburg’s No. 10-ranked Cody Hansen (SO, Albert Lea, Minn.) early in the second period. The default gave the Mavericks six team points and a 9-3 lead after three bouts.
The Mavericks claimed two other victories in battles of ranked wrestlers, as No. 3-ranked Ryan Pankoke scored a 5-2 win over No. 2-ranked Zach Molitor (SR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) at 174, and No. 4-ranked Aaron Denson scored an 8-3 win over No. 6-ranked Brad Baus (JR, Mukwonago, Wis.) at 184.
At 133, Augsburg’s Boyd Suparat (SO, North Branch, Minn.) suffered a 10-4 loss to Trent Cox. At 157, Jon Priess (SO, Waconia, Minn.) was edged 5-2 by top-ranked George Ivanov, and at heavyweight, Niko Bogojevic (FY, Superior, Wis.) was topped 4-0 by No. 5-ranked Taylor Escamilla.
Augsburg’s White Team (junior varsity) competes at the Iowa Lakes Community College Laker Open on Saturday (1/22), and the varsity returns to action on Friday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. with a quadrangular meet against Concorda-Moorhead, St. John’s and St. Olaf in Perham, Minn.
No. 1 (D-II) Nebraska-Omaha (5-0) 21, No. 3 (D-III) Augsburg (5-3) 12
125 – No. 5 Josh Roberts (AUG, 14-4) dec. Cody Tyler (UNO, 20-12) 11-5 (Augsburg 3-0)
133 – Trent Cox (UNO, 15-4) dec. Boyd Suparat (AUG, 15-8) 10-4 (TIED 3-3)
141 – No. 2 Mario Morgan (UNO, 16-4) inj. def. No. 10 Cody Hansen (AUG, 15-6) (UNO 9-3)
149 – No. 3 Tony Valek (AUG, 22-2) dec. No. 1 Esai Dominguez (UNO, 24-3) 3-2 (UNO 9-6)
157 – No. 1 George Ivanov (UNO, 18-3) dec. Jon Priess (AUG, 12-14) 5-2 (UNO 12-6)
165 – No. 2 Orlando Ponce (AUG, 10-2) dec. Nathan Sigman (UNO, 18-17) 4-1 (UNO 12-9)
174 – No. 3 Ryan Pankoke (UNO, 27-2) dec. No. 2 Zach Molitor (AUG, 12-2) 5-2 (UNO 15-9)
184 – No. 4 Aaron Denson (UNO, 17-5) dec. No. 6 Brad Baus (AUG, 20-5) 8-3 (UNO 18-9)
197 – No. 2 Jared Massey (AUG, 7-0) dec. No. 8 Matt Baker (UNO) 6-5 (UNO 18-12)
HWT – No. 5 Taylor Escamilla (UNO, 24-10) dec. Niko Bogojevic (AUG, 21-6) 5-0 (UNO 21-12)