Wrestling Talk Forums supported
USA Wrestling Kansas KWCA
Wrestling Talk Forums supported & maintained by USA Wrestling-Kansas
USAW USA Wrestling Kansas
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,443
R
Member
Member
R Offline
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,443
UNO Wrestling: Young Mavs not green

UNO Wrestling: Young Mavs not green
BY ROB WHITE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


UNO's Cody Garcia, the 125-pound Division II national champion in 2006, returns after suffering a knee injury last December.

UNO wrestling coach Mike Denney doesn't worry about pushing the members of his team to perform.

He worries more about holding them back.

After last year's disappointing third-place finish at the Division II national tournament — which followed three straight championships — Denney decided to start practice a full week later than normal. He'll continue to emphasize saving his athletes' strength, both physical and mental, throughout the season.

"We want them peaking at the right time," Denney said. "We don't want them to over-train, which is what happened to some guys last year. It isn't an exact science. There's an art to it. We're just going to try to have them fresher at the end. They're just so highly motivated that it's hard to hold them back."

Though the Mavericks must replace a national champion — three-time 174-pound king J.D. Naig — they also welcome back a past national champion who wasn't able to compete in the second semester last season. Cody Garcia, the 125-pound champion in 2006, returns after suffering a knee injury last December.

Both he and returning 149-pound champion Todd Meneely will be able to join the team on a full-time basis for the second semester. They are unable to practice with the team and can compete only as unattached wrestlers during the first semester in order to retain an extra season of eligibility.

Six other Mavs return after competing in the national tournament last year: 133-pounder Jeff Rau, 141-pounder Sim Bribieseca, 165-pounder Ross Taplin, 184-pounder Austin Boehm, 197-pounder Jacob Marrs and heavyweight Tony Lewis.

Taplin, who placed third as a freshman and was among the top 165-pounders all last season while going 32-14, was upset twice at the national tournament. He's expected to bounce back strong, though it's still to be determined whether he'll be at 165 or 174. Denney plans to have Taplin at one weight, with redshirt freshman Aaron Denson of Millard South taking over the other spot.

Marrs (35-9) and Lewis (30-18) are expected to provide major points at the top two weight classes.

Though seniors are a rare commodity in the Mavs' wrestling room, any lack of experience isn't an issue.

Garcia, Bribieseca, Boehm and Marrs are sophomores, while Meneely, Taplin and Lewis are juniors.

"I just feel good about this bunch," Denney said. "Even though it looks like we're a young team, I don't consider us young. These guys have competed at a high level."

The UNO roster (KANSANS ONLY LISTED):
• Juniors
Tony Lewis, 285, Ulysses, Kan.
Ross Taplin, 165-174, Abilene, Kan.

• Sophomores
Cody Garcia, 125, Hutchinson, Kan
Jacob Marrs, 197, Oak Hill, Kan

• Freshmen
Kyle Allen, 157-165, Clay Center, Kan
Matt Rein, 125, Abilene, Kan.
Judd Schroeder, 165, Newton, Kan.
Taiten Weatherbee, 133, Hays, Kan.

The UNO schedule:

• November:
3, at Daktronics Open, Brookings, S.D., 9 a.m.;
10, at Nichols Open, Fort Dodge, Iowa, 9 a.m.;
17, Kaufman-Brand Open, 9 a.m.

• December:
2, at Northern Iowa Open, 9 a.m.;
8, at Nebraska-Kearney Open, 9 a.m.;
29-30, at Midlands Tournament, Chicago.

• January:
5, at Dana Open, 9 a.m.;
12-13 at NWCA National Duals, Cedar Falls, Iowa;
19, Brand Open, 9 a.m.;
25, at Augsburg (Minn.), 7 p.m.;
26, at St. Cloud State, 2 p.m.

• February:
1, at Central Oklahoma, 7 p.m.;
2, at Nebraska-Kearney, 7 p.m.;
8, MSU-Mankato, 7 p.m.; 13, Augustana, 7 p.m.;
21, Northern Iowa, 7 p.m.

• March:
2, North Regional at Mankato, Minn., 10 a.m.;
14-15, Division II Nationals, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.


Richard D. Salyer
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,443
R
Member
Member
R Offline
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,443
Published Friday
November 2, 2007

Wrestling: Denson will drop a weight for first season
BY ROB WHITE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Redshirt freshman Aaron Denson has made UNO wrestling coach Mike Denney a happy guy by taking a decision out of his hands.

Denney said the Millard South graduate, who wrestled unattached at 174 pounds last season, volunteered to trim down to 165 and allow Ross Taplin to move up from 165 to 174.

"Aaron took it upon himself to do that for the team and see how he feels at that weight," Denney said. "I hope he goes down there and feels really good, because he and Ross are two of our top guys, and to have them at the same weight would not be good for us. He's going to give it a go, and we're appreciative of that."

The Mavericks will bring out a full complement of wrestlers for the Nov. 10 Nichols Open, which moves this year from Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Ames, Iowa.

UNO, awaiting the return of past national champions Cody Garcia and Todd Meneely for the second semester, was ranked seventh in the Division II preseason poll that came out last week. Denney said the rankings didn't include Garcia and Meneely — the ratings committee was informed that the two would be out.

However, the Mav wrestlers, third nationally last year after three straight national titles, didn't take too favorably to their preseason placement.

"It stirred them up a little bit," Denney said, laughing. "There was a little bit of an undercurrent. It helps us as coaches, because it's a great motivational tool and we didn't have anything to do with it."

Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom

Copyright ©2007 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved.



Richard D. Salyer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Member
Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Garcia, Meneely win NCAA Division II titles
3/16/2008
University of Nebraska Omaha Sports Information


CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Cody Garcia and Todd Meneely each won their second national title Saturday night, helping to lead the Mavericks to a third place finish in the NCAA Division II National Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Nebraska-Kearney won the team scoring race by the narrowest of margins, topping second-place Minnesota State, Mankato by one-half point, 108.5-108. UNO (93.5) finished third for the second consecutive year, while Pittsburg Johnstown (87) and Adams State (68.5) rounded out the top five.

Garcia claimed his second national title with a convincing 8-2 decision over Minnesota State's Nick Smith in the 125-pound title bout. Garcia, who missed last season due to injury, also won the 125-pound title in 2006. He finished the season with a 22-1 mark, his only loss being an injury default.

"It was great to see what Cody accomplished," UNO Head Coach Mike Denney said. "Especially after the injury and everything he had to go through."

Garcia was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2008 NCAA Division II National Championships and won the award for most falls in the least amount of time, pinning his first three opponents in a total time of 4:53.

UNO only had to wait three matches to crank up the celebration again, crowning their second national champion at 149.

Defending national champion Todd Meneely squared off against Western State's Camille DuPont in a battle of No.1 versus No. 2 at 149 pounds. Meneely suffered an early takedown and fell behind 2-0, but was able to recover and take control of the match, earning his second straight 149-pound title with a 9-3 decision. Meneely finished the year with a record of 23-2.

Garcia and Meneely became the ninth and tenth Maverick wrestlers to win at least two national titles in their careers, joining an exclusive list of UNO wrestling greats such as; Sigman, Naig, and Washington.

While Meneely, having also won the 2007 title, became only the seventh UNO wrestler to win back-to-back national titles.

Taplin, the Mavs third finalist, lost the 174-pound final to Albert Miles of Pittsburg Johnstown, 5-2. Taplin, who posted a third-place finish in 2006, is a three-time national-qualifier and two-time All-American.

Taplin's win in the semifinals over Mercyhurst's Josh Shield's was the 100th of his career, making him the twenty-second Maverick to reach the century mark.

Joining Garcia, Meneely and Taplin as 2008 All-Americans were Aaron Denson, Jacob Marrs, and Tony Lewis. Denson and Lewis finished seventh at 165 and 285, while Marrs placed third at 197.

"I am really proud of how we competed, we overcame adversity and made the best of things," said Coach Denney. "Every guy we brought with us won at least one match this year."

The Mavericks lose just one person out of their starting lineup heading into next year. Every 2008 All-American will be back next season, as will 2007 All-American Sim Bribieseca, giving UNO a very optimistic view of things to come.


Are you making a POSITIVE difference in the life of kids?

Randy Hinderliter
USAW Kansas
KWCA Rep/Coaches Liaison
Ottawa University Volunteer Assistant
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 58
Member
Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 58
Judds a STUD!!!


"Risk everything, fear nothing, leave NO REGRETS."

Moderated by  RichardDSalyer 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 4 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Super Admin, bvswwrestling, CoachFitzOS, Dluce, Shawn Russell
12,303 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums11
Topics36,091
Posts250,722
Members12,303
Most Online1,305
Mar 13th, 2025
Top Posters
usawks1 8,595
smokeycabin 6,248
Aaron Sweazy 5,262
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0
(Release build 20240826)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 8.3.23 Page Time: 0.022s Queries: 22 (0.015s) Memory: 3.0286 MB (Peak: 3.5914 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2025-08-01 04:48:41 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS