Three Still Alive In Regional Wrestling

2/27/2015 9:15:00 PM

Zac D'Amico

PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 27) – Central Oklahoma struggled through a tough day at the NCAA Division II West Super Regional here Friday, advancing three individuals to the second day of competition.

Chris Watson moved into the championship finals at 165 pounds with three wins to secure a berth in the national tournament, while 125 Zac D'Amico and 149 Spencer Rutherford each won a pair of consolation matches to stay alive.

D'Amico and Rutherford both need at least one more win to secure a spot in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, set for March 13-14 in St. Louis, Mo. The top four placers at all 10 weights from each of four regionals around the country advance to the national tournament.

The Bronchos are ninth in the 14-team field with 32 points. Consolation semifinal action begins at 12 p.m. (Oklahoma time) Saturday, followed by the third- and fifth-place matches before the championship finals at 7 p.m.

"Obviously it was a disappointing day for us," head coach David James said. "We lost some tough matches and just didn't wrestle very well overall. Chris did a great job staying focused in making the finals and hopefully we can push Zac and Spencer through tomorrow."

D'Amico will take on Nebraska-Kearney's Connor Bolling and Rutherford meets San Francisco State's Dylan Furtado in the consolation semifinals. Watson will face UNK's Devin Aguirre for the regional title.

The top-ranked and No. 1-seeded Watson rolled into the finals with three wins as he remained unbeaten at 37-0. The senior star opened with a 13-0 major decision, then followed with methodical 5-1 and 6-1 victories.

D'Amico received a first-round bye and then dropped a hard-fought 4-0 decision to No. 1 seed and third-ranked Jerry Huff of Adams State in the quarterfinals. The redshirt freshman bounced back with a forfeit victory and 9-1 major decision to keep his national tournament hopes alive.

Rutherford was pinned in the first round, but followed a consolation bye with a third-period fall and 14-5 rout of second-seeded Matt Hickman of California Baptist.

UCO suffered a major setback at 133 where second-seeded and fourth-ranked Dustin Reed was eliminated. Reed had a 6-0 first-round win, but lost 4-3 on a last-second takedown in the quarterfinals and then was caught and pinned in the consolations.

Jeromy Davenport also had two tough losses, falling 3-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals and then dropping an 11-9 decision in the consolations after leading 8-3.

NCAA Division II West Super Regional
Championship Semifinals
165 – Chris Watson, UCO, dec. Austin Harris, Western State, 6-1

Championship Quarterfinals
125 – Jerry Huff, Adams State, dec. Zac D'Amico, UCO, 4-0.
133 – Taylor Summers, Chadron State, dec. Dustin Reed, UCO, 4-3.
157 – Bradley Little, Fort Hays State, dec. Jeromy Davenport, UCO, 3-1 (SV).
165 – Watson, UCO, dec. Alec Smith, California Baptist, 5-1.

Championship First Round
133 – Reed, UCO, dec. Anthony Calderon, FHSU, 6-0.
141 – Tim Urenda, Colorado State-Pueblo, dec. Will Steltzlen, UCO, 3-0.
149 – Drew Schumann, Colorado Mesa, pinned Spencer Rutherford, UCO, 2:28.
165 – Watson, UCO, major dec. Noel Torres, Newman, 13-0.
174 – Chance Bila, Nebraska-Kearney, dec. Dylan Harmon, UCO, 9-5.
184 – Jon Inman, FHSU, dec. Caleb Hawes, UCO, 8-2.
197 – Francisco Retana, Mesa, pinned Michael Conner, UCO, 5:36.
Hvy – Ivan DeLeon, UNK, dec. Kyle Factor, UCO, 5-2.

Consolation Quarterfinals
125 – D'Amico, UCO, major dec. Robert Ozuna, New Mexico Highlands, 9-1.
149 – Rutherford, UCO, major dec. Matt Hickman, CBU, 14-5.

Consolation Second Round
125 – D'Amico, UCO, won by medical forfeit over Jacob Espana, NMHU.
133 – Caleb Micho, NMHU, pinned Reed, UCO, 3:34.
149 – Rutherford, UCO, pinned Skyler Lykins, Colorado Mines, 6:33.
157 – Steven Kelly, CSU-P, dec. Davenport, UCO, 11-9.
174 – Caleb Copeland, CSC, dec. Harmon, UCO, 9-3.
184 – Easton Hargrave, NMHU, dec. Hawes, UCO, 12-10 (SV).
197 – Paul Wilson, Mines, pinned Conner, UCO, 4:07.
Hvy – Sean Molle, Simon Fraser, dec. Factor, UCO, 3-1.

Consolation First Round
141 – Dan Gaylor, NMHU, dec. Steltzlen, UCO, 8-4.
197 – Conner, UCO, dec. Anthony Ball, CSU-P, 8-3.

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