Gray Leads UCO At Lindenwood Open

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (Nov. 23) – Central Oklahoma's Heath Gray rolled to the 184-pound championship to lead the No. 13-ranked Bronchos at the Lindenwood Open Saturday.

Gray was one of six placers for UCO in the Open Division of the huge tournament that attracted 38 teams and nearly 600 individuals from around the country.

Kalin Winkler was runner-up at 197 and Zachary Moore was the consolation champion at 157, while 165 Dayton Garrett claimed third, 141 Nate Keim was fourth and 157 Ty Lucas sixth.

UCO also had five unattached entries place in the Freshman-Sophomore Division. Studd Morris won the 125 consolation title, with 141 Kobey Kizarr, 149 Kobi Gomez and 197 David Wright taking fourth and 174 J.T. Stambeck sixth.

"It was a long day, but we got a lot of matches in and that was good for us," head coach Todd Steidley said. "Heath looked great and did a great job winning a tough weight. We had a lot of positives today, but we still have a lot of work to do."

Gray – UCO's lone returning All-American and ranked second nationally in NCAA Division II – went 4-0 in winning his title. The junior standout followed a first-round bye with two straight major decisions before winning 10-5 in the semifinals and cruising to a 10-3 finals victory over Iowa State's Julien Broderson.

Winkler drew an opening-round bye and then claimed 6-4, 7-0 and 5-2 wins to make the finals before falling to third-ranked Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree in the gold-medal match.

Moore had a first-round fall before losing his next match only to rebound with three straight falls in taking the consolation crown. All four of Moore's falls came in the first period, with three in less than a minute.

Keim rebounded from a first-round loss with three consecutive consolation wins, then dropped an 8-4 decision to Saul Ervin of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the third-place bout.

Garrett went 4-1 in his third-place showing, beating Iowa State's Zane Mulder 12-6 in the consolation finals.

Lucas started the day with back-to-back bonus wins after a first-round bye before losing three straight in a sixth-place finish.

Anthony DesVigne went 5-1 on the day in the Freshman-Sophomore Division, but was unable to continue after reaching the six-match limit for a one-day tournament.

Morris also had a 5-1 record in the Freshman-Sophomore Division in taking the 125-pound consolation championship, winning two matches by one point and another in overtime.

UCO doesn't return to action until going to Oklahoma City University for a Dec. 5 dual.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Dayton Garrett: 5' 10"; Junior; 165

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

David Wright: 6' 0"; Senior; 197

Kobi Gomez: 5' 11"; Freshman; 141

Kobey Kizarr: 5' 9"; Freshman

Zachary Moore: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Dayton Garrett
: 5' 10"; Junior; 165

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

David Wright
: 6' 0"; Senior; 197

Kobi Gomez
: 5' 11"; Freshman; 141

Kobey Kizarr
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Zachary Moore
: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Freshman