McQuigg Upset Sparks Bronchos

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 5) – Noah McQuigg got Central Oklahoma off to a quick start with a big upset and No. 13-ranked Central Oklahoma went on to topple No. 21 Upper Iowa 24-12 to finish seventh in the NWCA Division II National Duals Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall.

McQuigg stunned returning national runner-up Maleek Williams 13-11 in a wild start to the dual and the Bronchos also got wins from 141 Will Steltzlen, 149 Brik Filippo, 157 Dayton Garrett, 184 Heath Gray and heavyweight Blake Berryhill in finishing 3-2 for the weekend.

"We're certainly not happy with seventh, but I thought we finished the tournament the right way," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It was a tough weekend with a lot of great competition and I think we made some positive strides. We've still got a long ways to go, but we're headed in the right direction."

McQuigg had three takedowns and a near-fall in building a 10-4 lead after two periods, but Williams escaped to start the third and then used a six-point move to go ahead 11-10. McQuigg's escape with 26 seconds left tied it and the redshirt freshman swooped in for the winning takedown with 11 seconds remaining.

The Peacocks won in overtime at 133 to tie it, then UCO took the next three weights to build a 15-3 advantage.

Steltzlen started that streak with an 11-2 major decision behind a four-takedown attack and Filippo followed with a 17-2 technical fall. Filippo had four takedowns and two four-point near-falls in finishing off a perfect 5-0 weekend.

Garrett cruised to a 13-6 victory at 157, breaking open a close match with a six-point move in the final seconds of the second period.

That gave the Bronchos a 15-3 lead, but UIU won the next two bouts to get within 15-9 before Gray ended an unbeaten weekend with a hard-fought 6-4 triumph at 184.

The fourth-ranked Gray trailed No. 7 Dalton Hahn 2-1 after one period before using an escape and two takedowns in the second stanza to move ahead 6-3. Hahn escaped to start the third to make it 6-4 and that's the way it ended.

Upper Iowa prevailed at 197 to pull within 18-12 before Berryhill ended the dual with a late fall. The fourth-ranked sophomore trailed Triston Westerlund 4-3 entering the final period, but took the lead with a four-point near-fall midway through and then got the pin on the edge of the mat with just two seconds left.

UCO, now 5-2 on the season, is back in action Wednesday with a 7 p.m. home dual against Ouachita Baptist.

UCO 24, Upper Iowa 12
125 – Noah McQuigg, UCO, dec. Maleek Williams, 13-11.
133 – Justin Folley, UIU, dec. Rio Zamora, 9-7 (SV).
141 – Will Steltzlen, UCO, major dec. Ryan Schmalen, 11-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, tech. fall Ryan Steffen, 17-2.
157 – Dayton Garrett, UCO, dec. Mac Spotts, 13-6.
165 – Brock Benitz, UIU, dec. Wyatt Jordan, 9-5.
174 – Connor Williams, UIU, dec. Devin Crawl, 7-2.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Dalton Hahn, 6-4.
197 – Nick Baumler, UIU, dec. Colton Looper, 8-5.
Hvy – Blake Berryhill, UCO, pinned Triston Westerlund, 6:58.

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Players Mentioned

Blake Berryhill: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 285

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman; 149

Dayton Garrett: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Colton Looper: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Noah McQuigg: 5' 5"; Sophomore; 125

Rio Zamora: 5' 7"; Junior; 133

Will Steltzlen: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Wyatt Jordan: 5' 11"; Junior; 165

Devin Crawl: 5' 10"; Junior; 174

Players Mentioned

Blake Berryhill
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 285

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman; 149

Dayton Garrett
: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Colton Looper
: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Noah McQuigg
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; 125

Rio Zamora
: 5' 7"; Junior; 133

Will Steltzlen
: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Wyatt Jordan
: 5' 11"; Junior; 165

Devin Crawl
: 5' 10"; Junior; 174