Cozad Native 3rd in Collegiate Debut, 31 Lopers Compete

Kearney, Neb. – The 4th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team placed four individuals in the top four at the 38th Annual Wyoming Cowboy Open Saturday in Laramie, Wyo.

The non-team scoring event featured NCAA Division I & II schools along with NAIA schools and junior colleges from around the area.

In the Elite Division, junior T.J. Hepburn (East Hampton, Conn.) won the 157 lbs. class, senior Ben Hohensee (Monet, Mo.) was runner up at 285 lbs. and junior Joey Wilson (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) finished fourth at 165 lbs.  True freshmen Tanner Sturgeon (Cozad) then placed third at 165 lbs. in the Amateur Division.

The Lopers lone returning All-American, Hepburn went 4-0 to place first. Among his wins before the finals was a pin of Mesa State’s Jon Gappmaier (4:52) and a decision of Colorado State-Pueblo’s Levi Jutila, 7-4.  Ranked second nationally, Hepburn beat Air Force’s Darren Stowe, 5-1, in the title match.

A returning starter, Hohensee edged Western State’s Kyle Graulus, 1-0, and Robert Tucker of Colorado School of Mines, 3-1, to reach the 285 lbs. semifinals. There, he beat another RMAC rival in Chadron State’s Sam Udell, 2-1.

In the finals, Hohensee fell to Nebraska’s Tucker Lane, 4-0.

A transfer from Division I UC Davis, Wilson went 4-2 on the day, losing twice to Air Force’s Jarret Hoeppner. Wilson did pick up two wins over wrestlers from Division I Northern Colorado.

Also in the Elite Division for the Lopers, junior college transfer Raufeon Stots (Houston, Texas) was 3-1 at 149 lbs. before injury defaulting.  Others to default out of the tournament included junior Dalton Jensen (Elite/141 lbs.) and true freshman Nick Ridgeway (Amateur/141 lbs.).

Of the 13 Lopers to compete in the Amateur Division, nine won at least two matches. Sturgeon led the way, going 5-1 and having two falls and a major decision along the way.  After a 5-4 quarterfinal loss to Kevin O’Brien of Northern Colorado, Sturgeon bounced back to win four straight, beating Western State’s Jorge Benitez, 5-0, for third place.

Redshirt freshman Drew Etherton (Lincoln/141 lbs.) and true freshman Matt Lenagh (Millard North/184 lbs.) didn’t place but both went 4-2. Lenagh’s day featured two major decisions with Etherton having a fall (2:38) and a tech fall (16-0).

Finally, true freshman Tyler Anderson (Clay Center, Kans.) went 2-2 at 141 lbs. with the wins coming by fall (1:41) and tech fall (17-2).

UNK is at the UNO Kaufman Brand Open next Saturday.