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UNO’s Aaron Denson is not as hungry as he used to be.
At least away from the mat.
The junior wrestler out of Millard South competed at 184 pounds in Saturday’s Kaufman-Brand Open, UNO’s annual wrestling extravaganza at Sapp Fieldhouse.
The 6-foot-1 Denson, who expects to work his way down to 174 pounds by the Dec. 5 Fort Hays State Open, finished second in the Division II national tournament last season at a rail-thin 165 pounds. During the summer, when he’s still working out but isn’t cutting weight, Denson said he’s a comfortable 195 to 200.
“Aaron really had to take one for the team last year,” UNO coach Mike Denney said. “He really sacrificed, and he has our appreciation.”
Denson went 6-1 and finished third in his division at the Kaufman-Brand Open, which drew more than 450 wrestlers from 12 states and 33 schools.
He said the Mavs look forward to competing in the meet for a variety of reasons.
“There’s a lot of competition, and you’re battling some of the toughest guys out there,” he said. “It’s early in the season, so you can kind of find out where you’re at. And since it’s the first part of the year, it doesn’t mean the world if you don’t win — you’re looking for good, tough matches. You’d rather peak at the regionals and nationals, but as a side note, this is our tournament and we want to do well in it.”
The outstanding wrestler honor for the Elite division went to Nebraska’s Tucker Lane, while Joe Colon from Iowa Central College took the outstanding wrestler in the Amateur division. UNO’s Jacob Marrs earned most falls in Elite with three pins in 3:16. The most falls in Amateur went to Matt Katusin, an unattached competitor from UNK who had four falls in 8:32.
Nebraska’s Lane took the 285-pound title for the second year in a row. Teammate Chris Hacker claimed the 149-pound Elite division title, and C.J. Napier was victorious in the 133-pound Amateur division.
Iowa wasn’t to be outdone: The Hawkeyes’ Matt Ballweg won the 157 Elite title, and Montell Marion, who was competing unattached, won the 141 Elite.
The University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Kamarudeen Usman, wrestling unattached, won the Elite 174 competition.
Everyone is well aware of UNO’s Denson, who opens this season as the top-ranked wrestler in Division II. He finished seventh at 165 as a freshman.
Denson stayed at 165 last year to allow then-senior Ross Taplin to finish his career at 174. Taplin finished third in Division II as the University of Nebraska at Omaha cruised to another national championship.
Denson compiled a 31-9 record en route to his runner-up finish. He said keeping his weight down was more of a mental battle than a physical one, though there were physical challenges.
“I think I’d have been more consistent at 174, because my energy level would have been a lot higher,” Denson said. “Cutting so far, there’s only so much recovery the body can do in the two hours — or the hour in a dual — before you wrestle. I’m a lot more energized right now. I’m able to focus a lot more on wrestling this year, and last year I was focused more on losing weight.”
Denson put everything together last year after finishing a disappointing third in the regional.
“I knew I only had to make that weight one more time, and when I got to Houston (for the national tournament) I was lighter than I normally had been,” he said. “Then I just studied film, watched the people I was going to wrestle and knew my opponents by the time I got on the mat.”
ELITE DIVISION FINALS
• 125: Andrew Long, Iowa State, def. JJ Krutsinger, Iowa, 14-6. 133: Kyle Hutter, Old Dominion, def. Tyler Clark, Iowa unattached, 6-3. 141: Montell Marion, Iowa unattached, def. Mario Morgan, UNO unattached, 7-2. 149: Chris Hacker, Nebraska, def. Jason Pyle, Luther, 8-4. 157: Matt Ballweg, Iowa, def. Andrew Sorenson, Iowa State, 7-2. 165: Chris Brown, Old Dominion, def. Tyler Koehn, Nebraska, 4-0. 174: Kamarudeen Usman, UNK unattached, def. Tyler French, Air Force, 5-3. 184: Sonny Yohn, Minnesota, def. Vinnie Wagner, Iowa unattached, 3:46. 197: Tyler Sorenson, South Dakota State, def. Jacob Marrs, UNO, 10-9. 285: Tucker Lane, Nebraska, def. Blake Rasing, Iowa, 3-2.
Contact the writer:
444-1027, rob.white@owh.com
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