• Photo Showcase: NCAA Division II National Championships

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It didn't go off without a hitch, but UNO's first experience with DJ Sokol Vision passed the test.

“(Marketing Director) Matt (Hansen) said they felt like they utilized less than 10 percent of what it could do,” UNO Athletic Director Trev Alberts said. “The capabilities are remarkable.

“Was it perfect? No. But I didn't hear any complaints that the replay boards weren't working.”

The new video boards, part of a $294,000 project which also includes a center-hung scoreboard at Sapp Fieldhouse, were installed less than two weeks ago. The project is a result of a gift from the David Sokol family in honor of its late son, DJ.

Only the 10 foot by 12 foot video screens on each board were in operation, usually showing the featured match among six taking place at Sapp Fieldhouse during the Division II national tournament. Per NCAA tournament rules, four supplemental screens on each board were left blank - they will be used for messages from sponsors at UNO events.

Typically, UNO's ‘O' logo will extend up from each of the top corners of each board. However, one of the O's was broken in an accident earlier this week and is being replaced, so the other three O's were taken down temporarily.

UNO also survived a scare when in chip in the software malfunctioned Thursday and a replacement part had to be overnighted, then installed Friday morning.

“Matt looked a little disheveled when I got here this morning,” Alberts said. “I asked if everything was OK, and he said everything was fine, other than that the replay boards don't work.”

In the end, everything turned out fine.

“I'm really proud of our staff because we had essentially a day and a half (of training) to work with this,” Alberts said.

Newberry impressive

Newberry College's rise to the top of Division II wrestling has been swift.

Jason Valek was hired for a club program starting in 2004-05 and then transitioned to Division II. The South Carolina school was the national runnerup finish. Valek's team is ranked No. 2 this season and brought seven wrestlers to the Division II national tournament at Sapp Fieldhouse.

Only three are left after the first day, two of them semifinalists.

“We really beat the streets to find good, quality kids and get them into our system, and then get them to believe, to overcome,” Valek said. “The biggest struggle at first was Pitt-Johnstown and how to displace them. They'd won 19 regionals in a row before we beat them three years ago.”

The final hurdle now is to try to overcome the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Valek, who previously coach at Newberry High School, said wrestling is catching on locally.

“Trying to grow it in South Carolina has been fun,” he said. “We're a small school, less than 1,000 students, and wrestling is what Newberry College is known for.”

Valek has wrestlers from 14 states in his program, taking advantage of being one of only a handful of Division II wrestling programs in the Southeast. Locally, he said, the middle school wrestling program has 60 kids in it, compared to four when he was there.

“You have to educate a lot of people on what it is,” he said. “Last year we were fortunate enough to have two national champions, and you can tell people we've got two of the 10 national champions in the country residing in Newberry, S.C.”

Augustana on the way

The 2005 national tournament, also at Sapp Fieldhouse, was a major step for the Augustana program.

Five years later, the Vikings are hoping they've gotten back to the level they were at then, when they were runner-up to UNO. They've got four semifinalists and two more wrestlers in the consolation bracket.

“Before (2005), we were a good team but we weren't really competing for national titles,” Augustana coach Jason Reitmeier said. “The next couple of years we were still pretty competitive, but I think what happened is that we slipped a little in recruiting. I got a little lazy, and the guys themselves got a little lazy. We've awakened them, gotten after them and let them know that's not acceptable. The coaching staff has worked harder. We're not back where we want to be, but we're on the way there.”

Costanzo excels

Former UNO wrestler and assistant Steve Costanzo is building a second program in relatively short order.

After turning Dana into an NAIA national champion, Costanzo brought eight St. Cloud State wrestlers to the Division II national tournament, more than any school but host UNO. The Huskies are ranked No. 5 in the country after matching the best finish in school history, eighth place, last season.

“That was a stepping stone for our program,” Costanzo said. “We haven't been there in a while. We've got a lot to look forward to. We're trying to get over that hump and be in contention for a trophy. We haven't brought one to St. Cloud State in the existence of our program.”

They're in second place after the first day of the tournament, with two semifinalist and two more wrestlers in consolations.

Denney proud

Two members of Mike Denney's coaching tree have become persistent thorns in his side.

Marc Bauer at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Steve Costanzo of St. Cloud State are former Maverick wrestlers who guide high-level programs. Bauer took UNK to the 2008 Division II championship and has the ninth-ranked team. Costanzo's team finished eighth last year and was ranked No. 5 this season.

While St. Cloud State is in second, UNK is in eighth place with one semifinalist and four others competing in consolations.

“I'm always kind of shocked at the level of intensity they have,” Denney said, laughing. “Sometimes I'd like to tell them to respect their elders a little bit. They really come after us. It's intense. Steve winked at me during the (pre-tournament) press conference when he was talking about this being a business trip — I guess I don't control his scholarship any more.

“I'm proud of them. They do a great job.”

— Rob White

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