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potential out of every kid he recruits. He’s a master at recruiting the type of kids who fit into his program. He does a phe- nomenal job balancing fundraising, coaching, recruiting and motivating his athletes.”


Fundraising is a major part of Denney’s job as a coach at a non-Division I school without a huge operating budget. Tournaments like the Kaufman-Brand Open bring in much-needed financial support that help the Mavericks with trav- el and other expenditures the program has.


Denney estimates he raises about $100,000 a year for his program. The Kaufman-Brand Open is his program’s biggest fundraiser.


Denney was hired by athletic director Don Leahy in 1979. Leahy is one of 13 athletic directors Denney has worked for in his 32 seasons at UNO. Denney’s wrestlers have not only excelled at the Division II level, they’ve enjoyed plenty of success against Division I competition and beyond. Three of Denney’s wrestlers – Mark Rigatuso (1982-83), R.J. Nebe (1988) and Joe Wypiszenski (1990) – earned Division I All-American honors for UNO when Division II wrestlers were allowed to compete in the NCAA Division I Championships.


Les Sigman, a four-time NCAA Division II champion for the Mavericks from 2003- 06, won the Midlands Championships during his college days. He defeated numerous Division I All-Americans en route to the Midlands title.


Sigman broke through to make the


U.S. World Team in freestyle wrestling this past season at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. He placed ninth in the 2010 World Championships this past September in Moscow, Russia.


“Oh my gosh, that was great to see Les make the World Team,” Denney said. “There are only two heavyweights every year who make a U.S. World Team in wrestling – one in freestyle and one in Greco-Roman – so obviously that is very difficult to accomplish. To see Les per- form like that, it was very impressive. He never even wrestled freestyle until he got out of college. He’s come a long way, and he’s been through a lot to get to that point. It was really something, to see him wrestle in the World Championships. We were so proud of him.”


Even though he was busy with the school year just starting, Denney and UNO associate head coach Ron Higdon flew halfway around the globe to watch


Denney’s teams have won 5 of the last 7 Division II titles. Tim Tushla photo.


Sigman compete in Russia. “Les was a gift to our program – not just because of his wrestling but also because of the way he carried himself,” Denney said. “He doesn’t have an arro- gant bone in his body. He’s confident, but he’s very humble and just goes about his business. He handled the pressure really well when he wrestled here, and he pro- vided great leadership.”


Sigman came to UNO as a 184- pounder and eventually developed into a top-flight heavyweight. He’s ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in freestyle at his weight class.


“Coach Denney was a great mentor for me,” Sigman said. “We have a father-son type of relationship where I can talk to him about anything. The environment he creates in the wrestling room is so posi- tive, and that allows you to really grow and improve. Plus the competition in the room is very tough, and that makes everybody better.” Denney’s impact as a father figure could be seen more recently when he brought Todd Meneely back into the Maverick program.


Meneely was a four-time state champi- USA Wrestler 7


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