This Week's Schedule: The 16th-ranked UNC wrestling team completes its four-match homestand this week when it plays host to Augustana Thursday (Feb. 1) and top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha Saturday. Thursday's dual begins at 7:00 p.m. at Butler-Hancock Hall, while Saturday's match is at 3:00 p.m.
For the Record: The Bears are seeking their first North Central Conference win of the season. UNC's overall record stands at 2-4-1, while its NCC record is 0-3-1. UNC has lost conference duals to South Dakota State (25-16), St. Cloud State (22-17) and Minnesota State (24-10) and tied defending national champion North Dakota State (21-21).
Augustana enters the week with an overall record of 6-5 and an NCC mark of 0-2. The Vikings travel to Fort Hays State Wednesday before arriving in Greeley Thursday.
Nebraska-Omaha is currently 6-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference action. UNO's two losses came to Division I Michigan and Oklahoma.
The Coach: UNC head coach Jack Maughan is in his 14th season at the helm of the UNC wrestling program. During his tenure, the Bears have finished among the nation's top-10 on six occasions. Maughan has coached three national champions, four runners-up and 26 All-Americans. A 1986 graduate of North Dakota State University, where he was a two-time All-America performer, Maughan has a career dual record of 84-96-1.
UNC in the National Rankings: In the most recent NCAA II Wrestling Poll (Jan. 16), the Bears are ranked no. 16, one slot down from the previous poll (Dec. 20). (See page 2 for complete national rankings.) Individually, UNC has four wrestlers ranked led by senior Marshall Hahn (3rd, 149 pounds) and sophomore Brody Olson (4th, 157 pounds). Also ranked for the Bears are junior Tom Clemen (5th, 197 pounds) and senior Jason Romero (7th, 125 pounds).
Scouting the Vikings: Augustana (6-5, 0-2 NCC) is currently not ranked nationally as a team, however, three Augie grapplers are ranked nationally. Junior Ryan Carlson is sixth at 141 pounds, junior Seth Webster is eighth at 149 pounds and junior James Garvey is seventh at heavyweight. Carlson's record currently stands 15-5, including a 9-2 mark in duals. Webster is 14-6 overall and 10-1 in duals, while Garvey is 18-7 overall and 9-2 duals. Augie is also solid at 133 pounds where junior Jacob Ramos has a 14-6 overall record.
Scouting the Mavericks: Top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha (6-2, 3-0 NCC) is coming off of consecutive wins over top 10 teams. Last Friday, the Mavericks defeated no. 10 Nebraska-Kearney 28-9, while Saturday UNO handled no. 3 North Dakota State 22-12. The Mavericks have seven wrestlers ranked nationally, led by Chad Wallace who is first at 197 pounds. Other ranked UNO wrestlers are Mack LaRock (4th, 125 pounds), Roderick Ratcliff (3rd, 133 pounds), Cody Ritter (7th, 141 pounds), Alan Cartwright (7th, 157 pounds), Zach Stalder (6th, 174 pounds) and Scott Antoniak (5th, 184 pounds).
UNC Wrestling Celebrates 75th Anniversary: This season marks the 75th anniversary of the sport of wrestling at the University of Northern Colorado. Wrestling was first sponsored at UNC in the 1925-26 season. Through the years, there have been many memorable teams, wrestlers and coaches. In the 75 years of wrestling at UNC, there have been: 36 conference championship teams, 9 individual national champions, 18 Division I All-Americans and 63 Division II All-Americans.
Bears Drop Adams State: Last Friday, UNC won its first dual of the season, dropping Adams State 26-10 at Butler-Hancock Hall. The Bears jumped out of the gates quickly, notching victories in the first three matches of the night. Freshman Ryan Guillaume got things started at 184 pounds. The Ft. Collins native posted a 10-4 win over Walter Scherar to improve to 8-8 on the season. At 197 pounds, freshman Jason McMillan scored a technical fall with a 15-0 shutout win over Manny Martinez in four minutes, 25 seconds. Sophomore Tony Schunke continued the strong start for UNC with a 10-4 win at heavyweight. After three matches, the Bears had an 11-0 lead.
Adams State got on the board when Adam Mars defeated eighth-ranked Jason Romero of UNC. The 6-3 loss dropped Romero's overall record to 2-3. The Grizzlies made it two in a row when Jimmy Melek won a major decision over Jon Nider (10-0) at 133 pounds. After the intermission, UNC junior Simon Hoepfner tallied a 5-3 win over Shane Barnes at 141 pounds and senior Marshall Hahn followed that up with a 5-2 win at 149 pounds. The third-ranked Hahn improved to team-best 17-6 on the season.
Brody Olson, ranked no. 4 in the nation at 157 pounds, earned an 8-6 decision over Travis Koppenhafer to build the Bears' advantage to 20-7 and clinch the team victory. Junior Brian Hufford put the exclamation point on the win for UNC as he pinned ASC's Phil Allen in 3:54 at 165 pounds. In the night's final match, the Grizzlies' Don Ortega defeated Shad Stagl 4-2 at 174 pounds.
Bears Handle No. 14 Western State: Behind senior Jason Romero's 9-8 decision at 125 pounds, the 16th-ranked UNC wrestling squad won its second straight dual, posting a 21-14 win over no. 14 Western State Saturday at Butler-Hancock Hall.
UNC got things going early in the dual, which began at 157 pounds. Fourth-ranked Brody Olson won an 8-4 decision over Ryan Mizushima to improve to 15-9 on the season. Junior Brian Hufford followed that up with a 9-5 win over Dave Vondy to put the Bears up 6-0. After Western State's Steve Sisler defeated Shad Stagl 10-3 at 174 pounds, freshman Ryan Guillaume got the Bears back on track with a 4-1 win at 184 pounds. UNC freshman Jason McMillan sent the Bears into the intermission with a commanding 12-3 team lead when he defeated Jeff Mueller 9-2 at 197 pounds.
Sophomore heavyweight Tony Schunke continued the UNC momentum after the break. The East Los Angeles native pinned Tyler Ainsworth 22 seconds into their match to put UNC up 18-3, setting up the match of the night. UNC's eighth-ranked Romero battled the Mountaineers' Anthony Guillen at 125 pounds. In a back-and-forth match, Romero was able to withstand a late Guillen charge and take the match 9-8. Romero improved his record to 3-3, while Guillen fell to 16-6. With the victory, UNC's team lead was pushed to an insurmountable 21-3.
Western State took the evening's final three matches as Fred McCathron defeated Jon Nider at 133 pounds (16-5), Zac Stratton defeated Simon Hoepfner at 141 pounds (12-4) and Adrian Jiron defeated Andy Stumpf at 149 pounds (9-2).
UNC Hosts Division II National Championships: UNC's Butler-Hancock Hall is the site of the 2001 NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships to be held March 9-10. UNC has hosted this event on two previous occasions (1992 and 1996). For tickets, or more information, please contact the athletic department at 970-351-2534.
Blue & Gold Luncheon: UNC head coach Jack Maughan, along with all in-season coaches, will speak every Monday at the Blue & Gold Booster Luncheon held at Old Chicago (2349 W. 29th Street). The luncheon begins at noon and costs $7 per person.
This Week's Probable Dual Lineups
#16 Northern Colorado (2-4-1, 0-3-1 NCC) 125 - #8 Jason Romero (Sr., 3-3) 133 - Eric Spry (Jr., 2-2) OR Jon Nider (Jr., 0-2) 141 - Simon Hoepfner (Jr., 12-7) OR 149 - #3 Marshall Hahn (Sr., 17-6) OR Andy Stumpf (Fr., 9-7) 157 - #4 Brody Olson (So., 15-9) 165 - Brian Hufford (Jr., 13-10) OR Shane Grenko (Sr., 1-2) 174 - Shad Stagl (Fr., 8-12) 184 - Ryan Guillaume (Fr., 9-8) 197 - #5 Tom Clemen (Jr., 11-5) OR Jason McMillan (Fr., 10-1) Hwt. - Tony Schunke (So., 14-10)
Augustana (6-5, 0-2 NCC) 125 - Charlie Swanson (Sr., 14-8) 133 - Jacob Ramos (Jr., 14-6) 141 - #6 Ryan Carlson (Jr., 15-5) 149 - #8 Seth Webster (Jr., 14-6) 157 - Lincoln Likness (Jr., 0-2) 165 - Todd Kirkpatrick (Jr., 15-12) 174 - Jeremy Murphy (So., 0-9) 184 - Open 197 - Ben McKenzie (Sr., 2-14) Hwt. - #7 James Harvey (Jr., 19-6)
#1 Nebraska-Omaha (6-2, 3-0 NCC) 125 - #4 Mack LaRock (Sr., 24-2) 133 - Ricky Frausto (Sr., 18-9) 141 - #3 Roderick Ratcliff (So., 15-8) 149 - #7 Cody Ritter (Jr., 16-8) 157 - #7 Alan Cartwright (Sr, 20-5) 165 - Dan Vech (Fr., 16-11) OR John Mitchell (So., 15-11) 174 - #6 Zach Stalder (So., 19-6) 184 - #5 Scott Antoniak (Sr., 21-6) 197 - #1 Chad Wallace (So., 15-4) Hwt. - Lance Tolstedt (Fr., 19-9)