The Lopers, who have won eight of the last nine RMAC/West titles, also set a school mark for most consecutive RMAC titles. The softball team and men's indoor track program each won six straight league titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

UNK placed all 10 of its wrestlers in the top four and nine will now move onto the NCAA Championships March 14-15 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This marks the third time in the last four years the Lopers have sent nine wrestlers to nationals.

Coming into the RMAC meet, the fifth-ranked Lopers were arguably an underdog to both third-ranked Adams State and fourth-ranked Western State. However, UNK went 8-2 combined in the opening round and second round and then had a monster effort in the middle of the day to wrap up the title well before finals.

Of the eight wrestlers who won first or second round matches, seven made to the finals. The two wrestlers who lost opening- or second-round bouts came back through the consolation bracket with three straight wins. Finally, the one Loper who lost in the semifinals came back to finish third in his class.

Western State (129 points) and Adams State (122.5) each had two champions. Fourth-place Chadron State (82.5) had one.

Winning an unprecedented fourth straight RMAC title was senior heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev, who recorded pins in 4:17, 2:06 and 44 seconds. He is now 163-19 in his collegiate career and riding a 67-match win streak.

Not surprisingly, Dlagnev repeated as RMAC wrestler of the year.

Senior Brett Allgood (133 pounds) won his three straight league title despite wrestling only about a period and a half during the regular season. After a fall in the quarterfinals, he beat fifth-ranked Raymond Dunning of Adams 11-5 and third-ranked Jesse Cruz of Western 6-3 to improve to 3-1 on the year.

Next, senior Joe Ellenberger repeated as the 157-pound champion, while senior Jeff Rutledge won his first RMAC title at 141.

Improving to 35-6, the second-ranked Ellenberger beat third-ranked Noomis Jones of Adams 6-2 in the finals. Also the top seed in his class, and ranked third nationally, Rutledge beat eighth-ranked Josh Hensley of Adams, 8-3, in his finals bout.

Finally, Texas sophomore Marty Usman pulled off two upsets to win the very tough 174-pound class. The fourth-ranked Usman beat No. 1-ranked Larry Wilbanks of Western State 5-2 in the semifinals, then beat No. 2 ranked Evan Copeland of Adams 4-2 in the finals.

Showing the depth of this class in the RMAC, Wilbanks finished fifth and didn't qualify for nationals.

In his first RMAC tournament, UNK sophomore Ryan Etherton finished runner up at 149. He got a key fall of sixth-ranked Joey Deaguero of Adams in the semifinals before falling to second-ranked Camille DuPont of Western State in the finals, 3-1.

Loper junior Paul Sutton, who began the year at 174, upset sixth-ranked Lars Lueders of Western 9-5 to reach the 184-pound finals. There, he ran into defending national champion Jared Deaguero of Adams, losing 7-1.

In the consolation bracket, UNK junior Keenan McCurdy bounced back from a second-round loss to win four straight matches and finish third at 165. The win streak started with two falls and ended with a 7-3 decision over Mike Gallegos of Adams in the third-place bout.

Gallegos beat McCurdy in the second round and also during the regular season.

Loper sophomore Derek Ross, who began the year at 184, placed third at 197. After falling to No. 1-ranked Josh Majerus of Chadron in the semifinals, Ross used a pin and a 3-2 decision to finish third.

Finally, UNK junior Michael Abril helped out the team in a big way by winning three straight matches in the 125-pound consolation bracket. While he placed fourth overall, Abril will not be going to Iowa since he lost to fifth-place finisher Eddie Lopez of Western State in the second round.

UNK coach Marc Bauer was named RMAC coach of the year once again. This marks the seventh time he has won the award since taking over the program prior to the 1999-00 season.