Wrestling 1/31/2018 9:01:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Battles Kearney Thursday

KEARNEY, Neb. – The 2012-13 academic year was the first year the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Nebraska-Kearney were members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

In four of the five seasons since, the winner of the wrestling dual between the two Division II powerhouses has won the conference title. UCO was a perfect 5-0 in 2012-13, Kearney won all five of its duals in 2013-14 and again in 2015-16, and Central won all five of its league duals last season. In each case, the other team was 4-1 and finished in second place.

That will be the case again in year six as the teams are set to dual Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the de facto regular season conference championship. Central Oklahoma is 4-0 in the MIAA this season. Kearney is 3-0, though it figures to win easily its dual with Newman next week.

WATCH THE MATCH LIVE ON FACEBOOK

"This dual is going to be a lot of fun I think," UCO head wrestling coach Todd Steidley said. "It's two of the best teams in the country, there's going to be a lot of really good matches, and these are the duals you like to coach. You want to wrestle the best competition you can to get ready for the postseason and fortunately for us, we get to do that in this conference with Nebraska-Kearney."

Should the match run even, the final match of the dual could be one of the best matches in the league all season.

UCO heavyweight Caleb Cotter is 22-1 on the season, has won his last 13, and is ranked fourth in the country at his weight.

Kearney's Jarrod Hinrichs is 30-6 on the season, 18-0 against Division II opponents, and has won 17 consecutive matches.

Their collision course in the final match of Thursday's dual could not only shape the conference champion, but will also carry significant implications in the conference tournament and into the postseason.

The heavyweight bout will be the final match of the night. Might not be as meaningful depending on the outcome of the earlier matches.

Right off the bat, UCO will send out second-ranked and unbeaten Eli Hale at 125 pounds. The senior is 12-0 on the season. Since joining the team at semester, Hale has rattled off 10 bonus-point wins including a team-high six major decisions.

Kearney's Josh Portillo is ranked ninth in the country at 125 pounds and will go against Hale. Kearney also has Bryce Shoemaker ranked 11th in the country at 133 pounds. UCO will put either Blake Dauphin (15-9) or Josh Breece (4-7) up against him.

Portillo and Shoemaker are both coming off losses against Lindenwood last weekend.

Another showdown of ranked grapplers awaits at 149 pounds. UNK's Keith Surber is ranked second in the country. The defending national champion is 9-4 on the season and will wrestle UCO junior and seventh-ranked Will Steltzlen.

Steltzlen has a UCO high 30 wins this season including 10 bonus-point wins. Steltzlen had a 13-match win streak earlier this season, tied with Cotter for the season-high by a Broncho.

UCO is ranked at 157 pounds with senior returning national qualifier Bryan Dutton, 21-12 on the season, sitting at 11th in the nation. Dutton has won three in a row and seven of his last eight with five bonus-point wins during that stretch.

Neither team will put out another ranked opponent until the heavyweight match. Kearney's Hinrichs however is not ranked. UNK still lists Kevin Barrett as its top heavyweight and he is ranked sixth in the country, though Hinrichs has taken over the role with increasing persistence.

Central Oklahoma is 19-10 all-time against Kearney. The series is 3-2 in favor of UNK since both schools joined the MIAA six years ago.

Central returns home for its final dual of the season next week. The Bronchos will host sixth-ranked McKendree on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Field House. McKendree edged the Bronchos earlier this season at the national duals in Fort Wayne, Ind., snapping a school-record 28 dual win streak for UCO.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Josh Breece: 5' 4"; Junior; 133

Caleb Cotter: 6' 2"; Senior; Hvy

Blake Dauphin: 5' 8"; Junior; 133

Bryan Dutton: 5' 10"; Senior; 157

Eli Hale: 5' 8"; Senior; 125

Players Mentioned

Josh Breece
: 5' 4"; Junior; 133

Caleb Cotter
: 6' 2"; Senior; Hvy

Blake Dauphin
: 5' 8"; Junior; 133

Bryan Dutton
: 5' 10"; Senior; 157

Eli Hale
: 5' 8"; Senior; 125