Bronchos Finish Sixth At Midwest Classic

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 16) – A trio of top-four finishes propelled Central Oklahoma to a sixth-place finish in the rugged Midwest Classic that wrapped up Sunday afternoon.

The unranked Bronchos got runner-up showings from 184-pounder Heath Gray and heavyweight Blake Berryhill while 197 Colton Looper came in fourth in the two-day, 39-team tourney that featured 16 top-25 NCAA Division teams.

Fourth-ranked McKendree captured the team title with 127.5 points, followed by Maryville (87), Lindenwood (85), tournament host Indianapolis (82), Tiffin (76) and UCO (72).

"It was a pretty good weekend for us and I'm really proud of our guys," head coach Todd Steidley said. "Everybody contributed and I thought we showed a lot of people that we have a good team. We have a long way to go, but I think we're getting better."

Gray and Berryhill both went 4-1 during the weekend in making the finals before falling short, while Looper had a 6-2 record as he rebounded from a second-round loss.

All 10 of UCO's individuals won at least one match during the tournament.

Gray had three bonus-point wins Saturday in making the semifinals and made the title bout with 9-3 decision over Tiffin's 11th-ranked Hayden Bronne Sunday morning before falling to McKendree's Michael Pixley in the gold medal match.

The unseeded Berryhill, who started the tournament with an upset of the No. 2 seed in Saturday's first round, pulled out a wild 16-14 win over Lake Erie's Evan Loughman in Sunday's semifinal finals. He lost to top-seeded and fourth-ranked Dylan Faulkenburg of Indianapolis in the title bout.

Looper won three matches just to reach the consolation finals before losing to Maryville's Ethan Sheretz.

The senior strongman opened his busy day with a first-period fall, then knocked off third-seeded and eighth-ranked Nicholas Mason of Tiffin 8-4 to avenge a second-round loss on Saturday. Looper trimmed King's Elijah Seay 6-3 in the consolation semifinals.

UCO started the day with two other individuals in the consolation rounds, but 157 Dayton Garrett and 165 Wyatt Jordan were eliminated in their first match.

It was Central's last competition of the first semester, with the Bronchos not set to return to action until going to Louisville, Ky. Jan. 4-5 for the NWCA Division II National Duals.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
184 – Michael Pixley, McKendree, pinned Heath Gray, UCO, 3:57.
Hvy – Dylan Faulkenberg, Indianapolis, pinned Blake Berryhill, UCO, 3:38.

CONSOLATION FINALS
197 – Ethan Sheretz, Maryville, major dec. Colton Looper, UCO, 8-0.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
184 – Gray, UCO, dec. Hayden Bronne, Tiffin, 9-3.
Hvy – Berryhill, UCO, Evan Loughman, Lake Erie, 16-14.

CONSOLATION FOURTH ROUND
157 – Beau Minnick, Tiffin, dec. Dayton Garrett, UCO, 7-3.
165 – Shelden Struble, Indianapolis, pinned Wyatt Jordan, UCO, 4:05.
197 – Looper, UCO, pinned Jared McKindle, Lindenwood, 2:51.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
197 – Looper, UCO, dec. Nicholas Mason, Tiffin, 8-4.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
197 – Looper, UCO, dec. Elijah Seay, King, 6-3.

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Players Mentioned

Blake Berryhill: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 285

Dayton Garrett: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Colton Looper: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Wyatt Jordan: 5' 11"; Junior; 165

Players Mentioned

Blake Berryhill
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 285

Dayton Garrett
: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Colton Looper
: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Wyatt Jordan
: 5' 11"; Junior; 165