EDMOND (Feb. 14) – Three seniors wrapped up their home careers in impressive fashion and No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma took little time to flatten outmanned Truman State Saturday afternoon in the final dual of the season.
Tim Elliott, Luke Elmore and Tommy McCarty all had falls in their final Hamilton Field House appearances, with the Bronchos scoring seven pins – six in the opening period – in a 55-0 thumping of the Bulldogs.
It was the largest-margin of victory in school history, eclipsing a 54-0 shutout of North Texas during the 1973-74 season.
Only two of the 10 matches went the distance and four of the first-period falls didn't make it to the two-minute mark as UCO finished the dual campaign 11-6-1.
“Truman has a really young team and we had some guys get after it today,” head coach David James said. “I was glad to see us being aggressive in trying to put people on their back and it's always good to see a lot of falls.”
The Bronchos also got pins from Kelly Henderson, Mikey Morgan, Daniel Morrison and Zach James, while Scott Berens picked up a forfeit, Colby Robinson had a major decision and Dustin Finn a 6-2 victory.
Elliott had no trouble racking up his 10th straight win, piling up a quick 14-3 lead before pinning James Crone in 1:39 in the opening bout at 125 pounds for his 12th fall and 27th bonus-point win of the season.
Robinson followed Berens' forfeit win with an 11-2 major decision at 141, using two reverses, a takedown and a near-fall to overcome on early 2-0 deficit and win going away. Elmore had a 7-0 second-period lead before getting his fall at the 4:47 mark at 149 for his seventh consecutive win.
Henderson needed just 27 seconds to end his match at 157 and Morgan jumped to a 12-1 lead before disposing of J.C. Housley in 2:24 at 165. McCarty followed with a 1:19 fall at 174 for his eighth win in a row.
Morrison collected his pin at 1:38 and James at 2:33 to give UCO a 52-0 lead and Finn ended the rout with a 6-2 triumph at heavyweight, clinching that victory on a takedown with 10 seconds remaining.
The Bronchos will spend the next two weeks preparing for the NCAA Division II regional tournament that will be held March 1 in Kirksville, Mo. The top-four placers at each weight advance to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, set for March 13-14 in Houston, Texas.
UCO 55, Truman State 0
125: Tim Elliott, UCO, pinned James Crone, 1:39.
133: Scott Berens, UCO, won by forfeit.
141: Colby Robinson, UCO, major dec. Alex Maus, 11-2.
149: Luke Elmore, UCO, pinned Vince Vitatoe, 4:47.
157: Kelly Henderson, UCO, pinned Chadd Griesemer, 0:27.
165: Mikey Morgan, UCO, pinned J.C. Housley, 2:24.
174: Tommy McCarty, UCO, pinned Jeff Garber, 1:19.
184: Daniel Morrison, UCO, pinned Chad Kurvoski, 1:38.
197: Zach James, UCO, pinned Thomas Redmon, 2:33.
Hvy: Dustin Finn, UCO, dec. Loyde Braidlow, 6-2.
