UNK Athletics
Peter Yazvac, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
KANSAS CITY – The Nebraska-Kearney wrestling program picked up two 2019 MIAA Awards as sophomore Matt Malcom has been tabbed the league’s Most Dominant Wrestler and Dalton Jensen repeats as Coach of the Year.
The league’s six head coaches voted on the “special” awards that included Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Coaches could not vote for their own wrestlers.
Malcom (Glenwood, Ia.) went wire-to-wire at 157 pounds, winning the national title with a 29-5 record. Based on criteria from the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association), he averaged 3.9 points per match which ranked nationally. The MIAA and Super Region 157 pounds champ finished the year with eight majors, seven tech falls and six falls.
Jensen, in his third year as head coach, saw his team win another MIAA title, win Super Region VI and qualify six for the NCAA Division II Championships. Four Lopers reached the finals, the first time a D2 schools has done that since UNK did it in 2013. Going 12-4 (5-0 MIAA) in duals, the Lopers finished fifth at the NCAA meet with 71.0 points. It marked the program’s 18th straight top eight finish.
Lindenwood 125 pounder Carlos Jacquez was named the Wrester of the Year after going 30-0 and winning the national title. Newman’s Kameron Frame is the Freshman of the Year as he earned All-American honors at 149 pounds.