UNO freshman Elijah Madison won the title at heavyweight. Jason Bryant photo.

OMAHA, Neb. - The team race had long since been decided, but there was still plenty of pressure on Nebraska-Omaha freshman heavyweight Elijah Madison.

Top-ranked UNO had struggled in the finals, dropping all four of its matches entering the last bout of the two-day tournament.

But Madison changed that by pulling out a 1-0 win over Minnesota State Mankato senior Brady Wilson in the finals on Saturday night at Nebraska-Omaha's Sapp Fieldhouse.

Madison's win brought the large throng of UNO fans to their feet as the Mavericks capped a dominating weekend of wrestling at the NCAA Division II Championships.

UNO won its second straight Division II title and fifth in the past seven years. It was the Mavs' sixth title under Hall of Fame coach Mike Denney.

The Mavericks finished with 131 points. Augustana was a distant second with 72 points. Upper Iowa and Nebraska-Kearney tied for third with 67 points apiece.

"I couldn't really expect much more out of my guys," Denney said. "We put five guys in the finals, which was a record for us. We lost some tough matches in the finals, but our guys battled hard and had a great total tournament. I'm really proud of our guys."

The heavyweight match was scoreless after one period before the second-ranked Madison rode the top-ranked Wilson the entire second period. Madison chose neutral in the third period, and held off a number of late takedown attempts by Wilson in the third period.

Madison picked up the match's only point with his riding-time edge.

"We had some bad luck in the first four finals matches and there was a lot of pressure on me to win it," Madison said. "I just fed off the crowd out there - I can't even explain how great our crowd was.

"He's a good wrestler. I was lucky to beat him."

UNO senior Cody Garcia (133 pounds) fell short in his bid for a third national title. Pitt-Johnstown's Shane Valko threw Garcia to his back in the second period for a takedown and two-point near fall. The top-ranked Valko then rode the No. 2 Garcia out in the third period to win 6-3.

Valko was named Outstanding Wrestler.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to win this," Valko said. "I've worked really hard for a lot of years for this moment. I had to stay focused and block everything out."

Garcia won national titles at 125 as a freshman and sophomore before placing third at 133 last year.

"Cody had been sick all week, and he really battled here," Denney said. "He's been a gift and he's meant so much to our program."

Mercyhurst's Josh Shields fell short of repeating as national champion at 165. Upper Iowa's Travis Eggers launched Shields to his back in the opening seconds of the match. He nearly pinned Shields and his five-point move led to an 8-3 win.

Eggers placed second at 157 last season.

In the 125 finals, second-ranked Seth Wright of New Mexico Highlands gave up the first takedown before coming back to down No. 4 Tyler Mumbulo of Upper Iowa 17-4. Wright previously wrestled for Northern Iowa.

Augustana's Jay Sherer scored a takedown with one second left in overtime to pull out a 3-1 win over UNO's third-ranked Mario Morgan at 141. Sherer, ranked seventh, grew up in nearby Columbus, Neb.

Wisconsin-Parkside's top-ranked Craig Becker won an early scramble to score the first takedown before holding off No. 2 Esai Dominguez of UNO 4-3 in the 149 finals.

Anderson's Jonathan Jackson finished a single-leg shot for a second-period takedown in earning a 3-1 win over UNO freshman George Ivanov in the 157 finals.

Nebraska-Kearney's Kamarudeen Usman spun behind Wisconsin-Parkside's Luke Rynish for a takedown with 15 seconds left to break a 3-3 tie in the 174 finals. Usman won 5-4. Usman had placed second and third previously in this tournament.

Newberry's Bryant Blanton outlasted East Stroudsburg's Shane Mallory 2-1 in a match that went to the first tiebreaker at 184.

Western State's Donovan McMahill held off Augustana's Ty Copsey 3-1 in the 197 finals.

Upper Iowa's Heath Grimm was named Coach of the Year.

The 2011 NCAA Division II Championships will be held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Champion Interviews
125 pounds: Seth Wright (New Mexico Highlands)
133 pounds: Shane Valko (Pitt-Johnstown)
141 pounds: Jay Sherer (Augstana)
149 pounds: Craig Becker (UW-Parkside)
157 pounds: Jonathan Jackson (Anderson)
165 pounds: Travis Eggers (Upper Iowa)
174 pounds: Marty Usman (Nebraska-Kearney)
184 pounds: Bryant Blanton (Newberry)
197 pounds: Donovan McMahill (Western State)
285 pounds: Elijah Madison (Nebraska-Omaha)

Runner-up Coach Interview:Augustana's Jason Reitmeier

SATURDAY NIGHT'S FINALS RESULTS

125 Pounds
Seth Wright (New Mexico Highlands) dec. Tyler Mumbulo (Upper Iowa), 17-4.

133 Pounds
Shane Valko (Pitt-Johnstown) dec. Cody Garcia (Nebraska-Omaha), 6-3

141 Pounds
Jay Sherer (Augustana) dec. Mario Morgan (Nebraska-Omaha), 3-1 OT

149 Pounds
Craig Becker (Wisconsin-Parkside) dec. Esai Dominguez (Nebraska-Omaha), 4-3

157 Pounds
Jonathan Jackson (Anderson College) dec. George Ivanov (Nebraska-Omaha), 3-1

165 Pounds
Travis Eggers (Upper Iowa) dec. Josh Shields (Mercyhurst), 8-3

174 Pounds
Kamarudeen Usman (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Luke Rynish (Wisconsin-Parkside), 5-4

184 Pounds
Bryant Blanton (Newberry) dec. Shane Mallory (East Stroudsburg), 2-1 TB1

197 Pounds
Donovan McMahill (Western State) dec. Ty Copsey (Augustana), 3-1

285 Pounds
Elijah Madison (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. Brady Wilson (Minnesota State-Mankato), 1-0