UNK Wrestling: #2 Lopers Make a Statement, Qualify All 10 for NCAA's

The second-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team won Super Region VI for the fifth time in six years and qualified all 10 starters for the NCAA Championships Saturday night in Gunnison, Colo.

The Lopers tallied 155.0 points to lead a field of 12 with 23rd-ranked Colorado Mesa (109) a distant second. UNK's tally is the second best in program history, trailing only the 175.50 put up by the 2021-22 squad.

That team went on to win the National Title and this team is in good shape to follow suit. The Lopers crowned six champions, had two runners up and two third-place finishers. The top three in each of 10 weight classes advance to the NCAA's Mar. 14-15 in Indianapolis. Division II has six wrestling regions (180 total qualifiers).

Fourth-ranked Trenton Munoz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and second-ranked Zach Ourada (Omaha Skutt) both had to bounce back from semifinal losses and win twice on the backside to return to the NCAA's. Munoz, whose day included a 15-12 OT win in round one, had decisions of 7-3 and 4-2 to place third at 165-pounds with Ourada out scoring his final two foes by a 28-11 margin at 125-pounds.

Next, redshirt freshman Cael Robb (Medford, Minn.), 12th-ranked Jacobi Deal (Durham, N.C.) and 12th-ranked Jacari Deal (Medford, Minn.) are all first time NCAA qualifiers. Robb finished second at 157 pounds after a 16-1 tech fall, Jacobi first upset 2nd-ranked Cole Hernandez of meet host Western Colorado, 2-1 and then won the 174-pound finals in overtime, 4-1. A class higher, his brother came in second after a key 7-6 win in the semis.

Two more first time qualifiers are eighth-ranked and junior Hector Serratos (Wichita, Kan.) at 133-pounds and redshirt sophomore Joseph Airola (Ward, Colo.) at 141-pounds. Eighth-ranked Serratos had four third period points to take his finals match, 4-2, with the 12th-ranked Airola pulling two upsets in the semis and finals.

Among UNK's vets, top-ranked heavyweight Crew Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) remained unbeaten with three falls, fifth-ranked Jackson Kinsella (Creston, Ia.) beat ranked foes in the semis and finals and graduate Nick James (Kearney) bested rival and 11th-ranked Dean Noble of WCU, 11-10, in the 149-pound semis. He then was up 3-1 over Chadron's Torry Early before sticking him at 5:32.

The brackets for the NCAA Championships will be released closer to the start of the meet at www.ncaa.com. Top-ranked St. Cloud State (eight qualifiers), third-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside (five) and fourth-ranked Central Oklahoma (six) didn’t have as good as regional performances as the Lopers.

 
125 lbs. - #2 Zach Ourada (15-4) placed 3rd and scored 13.5 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Zach Ourada received a bye
Quarterfinal - Zach Ourada won by major decision over Roberto Estrada (Western Colorado) (MD 16-6)
Semifinal - #8 Dayson Torgerson (Colorado Mesa) won by fall over Zach Ourada (Fall 6:46)
Cons. Semi – Zach Ourada won by decision over #7 Christian Lopez (Colorado Mines) (Dec 11-6)
3rd Place Match - Zach Ourada won by major decision over Roberto Estrada (Western Colorado) (MD 17-5)
 
133 lbs. - #8 Hector Serratos (20-5) placed 1st and scored 18.5 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Hector Serratos won by tech fall over Andrew Honas (Fort Hays) (TF-1.5 3:50; 15-0)
Quarterfinal - Hector Serratos won by fall over Samuel Eveland (New Mexico Highlands) (Fall 2:13)
Semifinal - Hector Serratos won by decision over Devin Gomez (Western Colorado) (Dec 7-3)
1st Place Match - Hector Serratos won by decision over Eddie Bowman (CSU-Pueblo) (Dec 4-2)
 
141 lbs. - #12 Joseph Airola (17-7) placed 1st and scored 16.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Airola received a bye
Quarterfinal - Joseph Airola won by major decision over Nathan Aguilar (Cal Poly Humboldt) (MD 10-2)
Semifinal - Joseph Airola won by decision over #4 Johnny Lopez (San Francisco State) (Dec 6-3)
1st Place Match - Joseph Airola won in sudden victory - 1 over #8 Angel Flores (Adams State) (SV-1 4-1)
 
149 lbs. - Nick James (4-0) placed 1st and scored 17.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Nick James received a bye
Quarterfinal - Nick James won by decision over Kevin Boston (CSU-Pueblo) (Dec 5-0)
Semifinal - Nick James won by decision over #3 Dean Noble (Western Colorado) (Dec 11-10)
1st Place Match - Nick James won by fall over Torry Early (Chadron State) (Fall 5:32)
 
157 lbs. - Cael Robb (12-12) placed 2nd and scored 14.5 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Cael Robb received a bye
Quarterfinal - Cael Robb won by decision over Marcus Caro (Colorado Mines) 21-10 (Dec 8-2)
Semifinal - Cael Robb won by tech fall over Zane Stoddard (San Francisco State) 2-3 (TF-1.5 5:00; 16-1)
1st Place Match - #8 Aaden Valdez (Adams State) won by decision over Cael Robb (Dec 4-0)
 
165 lbs. - #4 Trenton Munoz (20-6) placed 3rd and scored 11.5 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Trenton Munoz won in sudden victory - 2 over Levi Deaguero (Adams State) (SV-2 15-12)
Quarterfinal - Trenton Munoz won by decision over Cole Zoller (Cal Poly Humboldt) (Dec 2-0)
Semifinal - Ivan Smith Jr. (New Mexico Highlands) 4-0 won by decision over Trenton Munoz (Dec 5-1)
Cons. Semi - Trenton Munoz won by decision over Levi Deaguero (Adams State) (Dec 7-3)
3rd Place Match - Trenton Munoz won by decision over Jakob Smith (Colorado Mines) (Dec 4-2)
 
174 lbs. - #12 Jacobi Deal (19-4) placed 1st and scored 15.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Jacobi Deal won by decision over Connor Padgett (Fort Hays State) (Dec 4-2)
Quarterfinal - Jacobi Deal won by decision over Dallas Porter (Adams State) (Dec 7-2)
Semifinal - Jacobi Deal won by decision over #2 Cole Hernandez (Western Colorado) (Dec 2-1)
1st Place Match - Jacobi Deal won in sudden victory - 1 over Augustus Dalton (Colorado Mesa) (SV-1 4-1)
 
184 lbs. - #12 Jacari Deal (10-3) placed 2nd and scored 13.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Jacari Deal won by decision over Sergio Zaragoza (Adams State) (Dec 8-3)
Quarterfinal - Jacari Deal won by decision over Matthew Rodriguez (Fort Hays State) (Dec 4-0)
Semifinal - Jacari Deal won by decision over Cole Gray (Western Colorado) (Dec 7-6)
1st Place Match - #4 Keegan Gehlhausen (Chadron State) won by decision over Jacari Deal (Dec 7-1)
 
197 lbs. - #5 Jackson Kinsella (19-7) placed 1st and scored 19.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Jackson Kinsella won by tech fall over Ricky Feroce (Simon Fraser) (TF-1.5 4:37; 20-4)
Quarterfinal - Jackson Kinsella won by tech fall over Remington Winmill (CSU-Pueblo) (TF-1.5 2:53; 19-4)
Semifinal - Jackson Kinsella won by major decision over #11 Ryan Cody (Colorado Mines) (MD 13-0)
1st Place Match - Jackson Kinsella won by decision over #10 Tereus Henry (Fort Hays State) (Dec 4-1)
 
285 lbs. - #1 Crew Howard (24-0) placed 1st and scored 21.0 team points

Champ. Round 1 - Crew Howard received a bye
Quarterfinal - Crew Howard won by fall over Carson Hatch (Cal Poly Humboldt) (Fall 2:01)
Semifinal - Crew Howard won by fall over Henry Sturn (CSU-Pueblo) (Fall 4:20)
1st Place Match - Crew Howard won by fall over Cody Pinkerton (Chadron State) (Fall 3:34)
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