NATIONAL DUALS, DAY 2 NOTES: Minnesota State-Mankato tops Nebraska-Omaha in Division II finals
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Craig Sesker (USA Wrestling)
01/13/2008
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Most of the drama in the final round of the 2008 National Duals belonged to the NCAA Division II level.
The D-II finals once again came down to the final bout and once again produced an exciting finish.
Minnesota State-Mankato's Brady Wilson delivered a win at heavyweight to lift his fourth-ranked team to a 19-17 victory over No. 2 Nebraska-Omaha.
It was the first National Duals title for Mankato, which lost to Nebraska-Omaha in the 2006 finals of this event.
"This is a huge win for us," Mankato coach Jim Makovsky said. "To win a national championship like this is great for our program. We've been working for this and we're excited to be able to do it."
The second-ranked Wilson scored a takedown in overtime to beat No. 7 Tony Lewis of UNO 3-1 in the final match. Nebraska-Omaha had taken a 17-16 lead when Jacob Marrs won by major decision at 197.
"We're a team that's been knocking on the door, and to come through and win this is just awesome," Wilson said. "We've come a long way and our work ethic has really improved."
Mankato's seventh-ranked Travis Elg turned in another big win when he pinned fifth-ranked Yasiim Bribieseca at 141.
"Elg really came through," Makovsky said. "He had an injury to his collarbone and we weren't sure he was going to wrestle. Elg's a pinner and he went after it and came through."
Nebraska-Omaha wrestled without 2006 NCAA champion Cody Garcia (125), who is out with a knee injury.
Mankato also beat top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, scoring a 25-16 win in the semifinals.
Wartburg wins fourth Division III title
The No. 1 Wartburg College Knights won their fourth National Duals title in Division III as they downed No. 3 Wisconsin-La Crosse 25-8 in the finals Sunday afternoon.
It marked the first time in the seven years of the National Duals for Division III that Wartburg and Augsburg didn't meet in the finals.
No. 2 Augsburg fell to No. 3 Wisconsin-La Crosse 22-12 in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon. Augsburg, which has won this event three times including 2007, came back to finish third Sunday.
National Duals return to UNI-Dome in 2009
The National Duals are scheduled to return to the UNI-Dome for the fourth straight year in 2009.
The event is set for Jan. 10-11, 2009 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.