Click HERE for team scores and HERE for final brackets.
The Lopers, who also placed first in 2008, entered the finals with 101.0 points, one point ahead of top-ranked St. Cloud State.
UNK secured the team trophy when redshirt freshman Daniel DeShazer (133 lbs.) and senior Raufeon Stots (149 lbs.) each beat a St. Cloud wrestlers to win individual national crowns.
Later, senior Chase Nelson (165 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Romero Cotton (197 lbs.) finished as national runners up. Kearney actually scored 109.0 points but was docked a point for team misconduct.
Finishing with seven All-Americans, the Lopers came in just ahead of the SCSU Huskies (105.0) and the NDC Falcons (103.5), who were making their first trip to the NCAA's. Last year, Kearney scored 107.0 points with SCSU second (95.0).
Ranked fourth, DeShazer (Wichita, Kans.) took on Bennington senior and former UNO Maverick and UNL Husker Andrew Pokorny, a second-ranked senior.
Leading from start to finish, he tallied a takedown at 2:02 of the first period and added a second 30 seconds later. Up 5-2 after the second period, he recorded another takedown and then hung on for a 7-5 win. DeShazer ends his first year in Kearney at 33-8 (21-1 vs. D2 competition).
Looking to join Brett Allgood, Ali Elias and Tervel Dlagnev as Lopers with two national titles, the top-ranked Stots (Houston, Texas) got a takedown about two minutes into his 149 lbs. final match against St. Cloud senior Jacob D. Horn.
A second period takedown gave Stots a 4-3 lead heading into the final two minutes. Neither wrestler scored in the third period but the final 10 seconds provided a lot of action; Stots got close to a takedown and then Horn almost returned the favor.
Stots finishes his senior year 34-4 (26-2 vs. D2 competition).
The 165 lbs. title match was between the top-ranked Joey Davis of NDC and the second-ranked Nelson (Wichita, Kans.).
Davis showed why he went unbeaten in his first collegiate season (30-0) as he had two powerful takedowns in the first period and added another in the second. Nelson managed three escapes and ends his one and only year in Kearney at 30-4 (21-2 vs. D2 competition).
Finally at 197 lbs., Cotton (Hutchinson, Kans.) ran into former UNO Maverick Matt Baker, now a senior at Maryville U. in St. Louis.
Ranked eighth nationally, Cotton grabbed the early lead on the top-ranked Baker (36-1) by getting a takedown at the 1:35 mark of the first period.
However, Baker used two escapes to tie the match heading into the final period. After Cotton escaped early in the third, Baker used a takedown with a minute to go to grab his first lead. Cotton escaped to tie things up and then almost got a takedown with time winding down. However, the buzzer sounded and the match went into overtime tied at four.
After neither wrestler scored in sudden victory, Baker rode out Cotton for 30 seconds. Baker then got an escape with 21 seconds left to pick up a 5-4 victory.
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