OMAHA, Neb. (March 13) – It wasn't the finish he was after, but Central Oklahoma heavyweight Dustin Finn did win the final match of his fabulous career in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships here Saturday afternoon.
The senior standout pulled out a 4-3 tiebreaker victory over St. Cloud State's Jacob Kahnke to claim third place, bouncing back from a last-second loss in the morning semifinals with two consolation wins.
A runner-up the previous two seasons, Finn became the 19th three-time All-American at UCO – including the first heavyweight to accomplish that feat.
The Bronchos also got All-America finishes from 133-pounder Scott Berens (seventh) and 174-pounder Cody Rowell (eighth). UCO was 15th in the team standings with 24.5 points heading into Saturday night's championship finals.
“I'm really proud of the way Dustin came back and got third after such a disappointing loss,” head coach David James said. “It's not easy to do that, especially when you're a senior and you've had your national championship dream ended. He sucked it up and showed true character in taking third.
“We obviously didn't have the tournament we wanted and nobody associated with our program is happy with our finish. We're going to work hard at getting things corrected and get us back where we belong.”
The third-ranked Finn fell to No. 1 Brady Wilson of Minnesota State 3-1 in the semifinals as Wilson got the winning takedown with just five seconds remaining. Finn came back with a second-period pin in the consolation semifinals and then secured the bronze medal with his tight win over Kahnke, using a reverse early in the second tiebreaker period for that.
Finn finished the season 28-6 and ended his career with a stellar 89-17 record, an .840 winning percentage that ranks as the ninth-best at UCO. He also piled up 35 career falls, fourth on the school's all-time list.
Berens lost his first consolation match Saturday before finishing his career with a 14-8 win over Michael Magaha of Limestone in the seventh-place match. Berens had four reverses and two near-falls in easily overcoming an early 2-0 deficit.
Rowell, who knocked off fifth-ranked Aaron Denson of Nebraska-Omaha late Friday night to make the All-America round, lost both his matches Saturday in finishing eighth.
The senior nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback in his seventh-place bout, but came up just short in a 10-8 loss to Central Missouri's Matt Bailes. Rowell trailed 8-0 in the first period before using two reverses, a takedown and two-point near-fall to pull within 10-8 late in the final stanza before Bailes barely held off Rowell's last-second near-fall attempt.
NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
Consolation Finals
Hvy – Dustin Finn,UCO, dec. Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State, 4-3 (TB).
Seventh Place
133 – Scott Berens, UCO, dec. Michael Magaha, Limestone, 14-8.
174 – Matt Bailes, Central Missouri, dec. Cody Rowell, UCO, 10-8.
Championship Semifinals
Hvy – Brady Wilson, Minnesota State, dec. Finn, UCO, 3-1.
Consolation Quarterfinals
133 – Sheridan Moran, Newberry, dec. Berens, UCO, 5-1.
174 – Mitch Norton, Upper Iowa, pinned Rowell, UCO, 6:34.
Consolation Semifinals
Hvy – Finn, UCO, pinned Steve Franklin, San Francisco State, 2:18.
