Nebraska-Omaha wrestlers celebrate their third straight national title. Photo by Matt Pfiffner, The Predicament.

KEARNEY, Neb. – Seniors Mario Morgan, Ryan Pankoke and Aaron Denson arrived at Nebraska-Omaha five years ago as part of the same recruiting class.

They each walked off the wrestling mat for the final time Saturday night as individual and team national champions.

Morgan (141 pounds), Pankoke (174) and Denson (184) put exclamation marks on stellar careers by capturing crowns at the NCAA Division II Championships before a packed house of 3,000 fans at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Top-ranked UNO led No. 2 St. Cloud State by just four points entering the finals, but clinched its third straight title after the senior standouts each struck gold. Pankoke’s win made it official.

The Mavericks finished with 102.5 points. St. Cloud State turned in a strong performance, tallying 90.5 points with Huskies standout John Sundgren (157) winning a national title.

UNO coach Mike Denney’s team won its sixth national title in the past eight years. Denney has coached the Mavericks to seven national titles.

“Wow, those fifth-year seniors came through,” Denney said. “They’ve all been through some adversity in their careers. Mario was on, Pankoke showed some grit and Aaron really came through. This was a tough tournament for us, but our guys kept scrapping and battling. They showed so much heart. They were gritty. We showed up today and it paid off. I'm proud of them.”

Morgan, second in this event last year, was dominant in a 12-5 win over Nebraska-Kearney’s Dalton Jensen in the finals. Jensen, an NCAA qualifier in Division I for Iowa State last year, pinned defending champion Jay Sherer of Augustana in the semifinals.

Pankoke, third in 2010 at 165, downed Luke Rynish of Wisconsin Parkside 3-2 in the 174 finals.

Denson, second in this event in 2009 at 165, held off Western State’s Charlie Pipher 6-4 in the 184 finals.

Sundgren became the first St. Cloud State wrestler to win nationals since Gene Hanemann in 1995. Before Hanemann, the last Husky wrestler to win a title was Mike Rybak in 1967. Sundgren downed Dillon Bera of Wisconsin Parkside 4-0 in the finals.

St. Cloud State’s Steve Costanzo was named Coach of the Year. The Huskies' second place finish was the best in school history.

“Our guys came together and believed they had the opportunity to win the tournament,” said Costanzo, a past All-American wrestler under Denney at UNO. “They performed well. We had a great day today. Our guys came through this morning and that made a big difference.”

Western State’s Donovan McMahill repeated as champion at 197 after downing West Liberty State’s Mitch Knapp 9-3 in the finals. McMahill was named Outstanding Wrestler.

Three wrestlers – Grand Canyon’s Todd Wilcox (133), Indianapolis’ Nick Walpole (149) and Northern State’s Matthew Mueleners (285) – won the first Division II titles in their school’s histories.

The second-ranked Mueleners avenged two losses this season to top-ranked Jake Kahnke of St. Cloud State in rallying for a 4-3 win.

Upper Iowa’s Trevor Franklin started the night by winning the title at 125. Findlay’s Michael Lybarger won the title at 165.

FINAL TEAM SCORING

Nebraska-Omaha 102.5, St. Cloud State 90.5, Augustana 81.5, Upper Iowa 66, Western State 64, Newberry 60, Grand Canyon 58, Nebraska-Kearney 53.5, Wisconsin Parkside 43, Minnesota State Mankato 31.5, Pitt-Johnstown 31.5.

SATURDAY NIGHT’S FINALS RESULTS

125 POUNDS
No. 1 Trevor Franklin (Upper Iowa) dec. No. 6 Alex Meger (Augustana), 3-0

133 POUNDS
No. 1 Todd Wilcox (Grand Canyon) dec. No. 7 William Young (Newberry), 8-3

141 POUNDS
No. 1 Mario Morgan (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. No. 3 Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney), 12-5

149 POUNDS
No. 3 Nick Walpole (Indianapolis) dec. No. 2 T.J. Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney), 4-2

157 POUNDS
No. 4 John Sundgren (St. Cloud State) dec. No. 3 Dillon Bera (Wisconsin Parkside), 4-0

165 POUNDS
No. 3 Michael Lybarger (Findlay) dec. No. 8 Zack McKendree (Gannon), 3-1 SV

174 POUNDS
No. 1 Ryan Pankoke (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. No. 6 Luke Rynish (Wisconsin Parkside), 3-2

184 POUNDS
No. 3 Aaron Denson (Nebraska-Omaha) dec. No. 2 Charlie Pipher (Western State), 6-4

197 POUNDS
No. 1 Donovan McMahill (Western State) dec. No. 8 Mitch Knapp (West Liberty State), 9-3
 
285 POUNDS
No. 2 Matthew Mueleners (Northern State) dec. No. 1 Jake Kahnke (St. Cloud State), 4-3