Wrestler bring home hardware |
| Posted by Administrator on Mar 27 2008 at 3:07 PM |
Photo by Nicholas Hauder
Junior Keenan McCurdy of Lincoln rejoices with assistant coach Ty Swarm and Josh Ericson after a victory during the second session of hte NCAA Divison II Wrestling National Championships. McCurdy become an All-American for the first time after placing eigth at the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
By Hannah Hotovy
Antelope Staff
Seven months of training, thousands of pounds lifted, countless calories denied and gallons of sweat have finally paid off for the Loper wrestling team as they win their first-ever team national title.
The national championships held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 14-15 never saw a more happy and enthusiastic team as the UNK Lopers when they won the team national title after heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev beat Central Oklahoma's Dustin Finn in the final championship round, 4-1.
Coach Marc Bauer has been the UNK wrestling head coach for nine years and was an assistant coach for four years before that. The win at nationals was a team goal he had been working toward during those 13 years, but he wasn't sure if this year would be the one.
"At the beginning of the year I knew we had the experience, the leadership, the individuals to win a national title. But as the season progressed, I had my doubts when our lineup was hurt through guys being injured, not making weight and also not having Brett Allgood until the second semester," Bauer said.
Despite the adversity that the Loper wrestling team went through this year, they came out as the champions, winning the national title by only a half a point over Minnesota State University.
Bauer mentioned that one thing stuck out as the main factor in winning the title compared to all the other years he has been coaching at UNK.
"There were a lot of little things that helped us win. The thing that I noticed that made the biggest difference this year at nationals was that no single team got on such a roll and took off so far ahead of everyone that nobody could catch up with them. All the top teams lost some guys in the first round and throughout the tournament," Bauer said.
The emotions a coach experiences while watching his team win something as huge as a national title are practically indescribable, but Bauer tried to put it into words.
"It's a fantastic feeling. You know how hard these guys have worked, and it was just great to celebrate with these guys when they achieved the goal they have been working towards for so hard and long. I am very proud and honored to be along for the ride with them," Bauer said.
In addition, Bauer was named the Division II Coach of the Year at nationals by the other Division II coaches, a title he was also awarded back in 2003.
As Bauer and the UNK Loper wrestling team look to the future, they are hopeful to possibly win another national title.
"We will be losing four of our top guys, but we will also have six returning All-Americans. We will continue to work and develop ourselves over the summer. No one is willing to commit like these guys. They are solid-core individuals who have been to nationals. We, of course, will have our challenges," Bauer said.
Challenges this year's team has proven can be overcome.
