In one moment, all that Cody Garcia had been working for slipped away.

Pittsburgh-Johnstown’s Shane Valko picked up four quick second-period points with a takedown and near fall, and UNO’s Garcia never recovered in his bid to win a third national title and complete an undefeated senior season.

Valko won the 133-pound championship Saturday night at Sapp Fieldhouse, 6-3.

Garcia said he left himself vulnerable momentarily.

“And he took advantage of it,” Garcia said. “That’s wrestling.”

Valko (27-1), the national runner-up last year, has been ranked No. 1 all season. Garcia, third at 133 last year, has been ranked No. 2 all year. They had not met previously.

“I’ve wanted to wrestle him since my freshman year in college,” Valko said. “They had the Omaha crowd. I knew it would be a great match. He’s a great wrestler out there.”

Garcia is a two-time 125-pound champion and former outstanding wrestler at the national tournament. He came up just short in his bid to become UNO’s fourth three-time national champion.

He finished his senior season 48-1 with 31 pins.

“It’s hard right now,” Garcia said about 15 minutes after the match. “I’m still kind of in shock. It hasn’t really set in. I’m sure that it will sometime soon.”

After falling behind 5-2 on Valko’s big move, Garcia tried to muster an attack but couldn’t. His escape made it 5-3 near the end of the second period, but a stalling point against Valko was the only point of the final period.

“He was riding my ankle and I had a hard time getting out,” Garcia said. “I just couldn’t get flowing.”

Garcia suffered a left knee injury Saturday morning near the end of the second period during his semifinal win over Corey Bowers of Gannon (Pa.). Garcia needed an injury timeout during the match and then stayed down on the mat at its conclusion.

But Garcia, from Hutchinson, Kan., said the knee didn’t affect him in the final. If anything, he said, his stamina was affected by illness earlier in the week.

“I just never got going,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t confident in my conditioning, and I kind of held back a little bit.”

Valko was able to savor victory in a match that has been anticipated all season.

“It feels unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve waited 15 years for this. It couldn’t have gone any better than this.”

Contact the writer:

444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

« Sports - Mavs Today

Share