KEARNEY, Neb. (Dec. 13) – Central Oklahoma ended its first-semester schedule with four placers at the Nebraska-Kearney Open here Saturday.
Colby Robinson and Dustin Finn both took third while Tim Elliott was fourth and Cameron Gladd sixth for the No. 6-ranked Bronchos in the all-day tournament that featured a number of the top NCAA Division II national contenders.
It was UCO's last action until the Jan. 3 Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Bronchos took just 10 individuals to the tournament because of injuries and final exams.
“It was a good tournament,” said head coach David James. “Our kids wrestled hard and we saw a lot of good competition. We're looking forward to taking some time off to heal up and rest, but when we get back we know there's a lot of work to do and we're going to have to get a lot better.”
The top-ranked heavyweight in Division II, Finn had four falls in the tournament but also suffered his first loss of the season.
He had first-period pins in his first two matches before dropping a 4-2 sudden-victory decision to Nebraska-Omaha's fifth-ranked Tony Lewis 4-2 in the semifinals, rebounding from that upset with two straight consolation falls to take third.
Robinson rolled into the semifinals at 141 with two technical falls and a 3-1 win before losing to Nebraska's Jon Burns, but he came back with an 8-3 victory in the consolation semis and took the bronze medal with an injury default win.
Elliott opened the tournament with a 23-8 technical fall and then pulled out a 5-4 quarterfinal win, but was pinned by two-time national champion Cody Garcia of UNO in the semifinals. The third-ranked Elliott won a 3-2 decision in the consolation semis, then was pinned by No. 7 Marques Bravo of Western State in the third-place match.
Gladd rebounded from a first-round loss to rack up four straight consolation wins to make the semifinals, but fell to Finn there and then lost the fifth-place match.
Nebraska-Kearney Open
Consolation Finals
133: Marques Bravo, Western State, pinned Tim Elliott, UCO, 2:20.
141: Colby Robinson, UCO, by default over Adam Keiswetter, Unattached.
Hvy: Dustin Finn, UCO, pinned Cody Beck, Central Missouri, 4:33.
Fifth-Place
Hvy: Ben Hohensee, Labette, dec. Cameron Gladd, UCO, 6-2.
