By Paul Freeland
UNO wrestling finished the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals meet with a 4-1 record and a third-place finish.
Maverick head coach Mike Denney’s team defeated No. 22 San Francisco State 24-13 and fifth-ranked Pittsburgh-Johnstown 24-14 on the first day of competition before falling 22-13 to two-time defending champion and top-ranked North Dakota State. The Mavericks rebounded on day two, though, to beat No. 14 Augustana 26-18 and win the third-place dual 21-18 over No. 3 Ashland.
Chad Wallace went 3-0 with two default wins for the Mavericks at 197 pounds. Cody Ritter (149 pounds) and Roderick Ratcliff (141 pounds) each went 4-1 in their weight classes and defeated the top-ranked wrestler in their class, while Zach Stalder went 4-1 with his lone loss a narrow 4-3 defeat to top-ranked Mauricio Wright of SFSU.
UNO (6-1) will travel to North Dakota State on Jan. 25 for their next dual meet.
UNO’s track team claimed six first-place finishes as the Mavericks claimed top team honors at the Central Missouri Invite.
UNO took first place in the team competition with 80 points, while host school Central Missouri State finished second with 74 points and Emporia State took third with 45.5 points.
Carly Lambert won the 60-meter dash (7.84 seconds) and 200-meter dash (25.89 sec.) while Syd Merz took first in the 600-meter run (1:26.53). Merz and Lambert combined with Amanda Mahn and Andrea Walker to win the 1,600-meter relay (4:02.08) and Melissa Mersinger won the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet and eight inches. Mersinger’s mark was long enough to stand as a provisional qualifier for the national indoor meet.
UNO swimming and diving met in-state foe Nebraska-Kearney for the second time this season and for the second time dominated the meet.
Jamie Haferbier was one of three Mavericks with wins in two events, the 100 breaststroke (1:08.19) and 500 freestyle (5:24.44). Amy Percosky won the 50 freestyle (26.11) and 200 individual medley (2:22.78), while Aja Wurth set a school record with 250.72 points in the 1-meter dive and also won the 3-meter dive with 245.93 points.
There are currently five Mavericks who have qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships. Haferbier, Wurth, Stacy Crook, Martina Zamecnik and Ali Petersen have all secured their place in the national meet.
