UCO Ends Dual Season On The Road

Central Oklahoma travels to Missouri to wrap up its regular season schedule with a pair of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association duals.

The Bronchos, 12th in the Division II dual rankings and 18th in the tournament poll, go to St. Charles, Mo. to take on No. 6 (duals)/No. 9 (tournament) Lindenwood at 2 p.m. Sunday before moving on to Warrensburg, Mo. to face Central Missouri at 7 p.m. Monday in the dual finale.

UCO is 10-4 on the season and 2-1 in the league. The Lions are 12-4 and 3-1, while the Mules are 1-5 and 0-4. The Bronchos hold big series leads over both teams, leading Lindenwood 9-1 and Central Missouri 40-0.

"Lindenwood will be a big challenge for us," head coach Todd Steidley said. "They're solid at every weight and have several highly-ranked guys, so we're going to need to pull off some upsets. I like the way our guys have been working and I think we've made some really good progress the last month."

The Lions have six individuals ranked in the top 10, led by No. 1 Carlos Jacquez at 125 pounds. Kyle Jolas is eighth at 165, while 133 Tanner Hitchcock and 149 Gavin Londoff are both ninth and 184 Colton Clingenpeel and heavyweight Courvosier Morrow are 10th.

UCO has two ranked wrestlers, with Heath Gray second at 184 and Greg Wilson eighth at heavyweight.

Gray leads the Bronchos with a 27-1 record that includes 17 bonus-point wins and he's riding a 12-match winning streak. Colton Looper (197) is next on the win list at 20-7 with a team-high nine falls and he's won six of his last seven matches. Brik Filippo (149) has won eight of his last 10 bouts and is 19-5 on the season.

UCO's next action after Monday's dual will be at the NCAA Division II Super Region IV Tournament Feb. 23. That one-day, 10-team tournament will be hosted by Lindenwood, with the top-three placers at each of the 10 weights advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships, set for March 8-9 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Here's a look at UCO's probable lineup for Lindenwood and Central Missouri:

125 - Tanner Cole, RS Fr. (5-3); 133 - Noah McQuigg, So. (12-10); 141 - Nate Keim, RS Fr. (13-5) or Will Steltzlen, Sr. 96-2); 149 - Brik Filippo, RS Fr. (19-5); 157 - Ty Lucas, RS Fr. (12-3) or Dayton Garrett, So. (12-9); 165 - Briar Stopp, Sr. (0-2); 174 - Devin Crawl, Jr. (6-11); 184 - Heath Gray, So. (27-1); 197 - Colton Looper, Sr. (20-7); Hvy - Greg Wilson, Sr. (4-2).

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Players Mentioned

Tanner Cole: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman; 133/141

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

Dayton Garrett: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman; 141

Colton Looper: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; 149

Noah McQuigg: 5' 5"; Sophomore; 125

Briar Stopp: 5' 8"; Senior; 157

Will Steltzlen: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Players Mentioned

Tanner Cole
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman; 133/141

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

Dayton Garrett
: 5' 10"; Junior; 157

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 174

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman; 141

Colton Looper
: 5' 8"; Senior; 197

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; 149

Noah McQuigg
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; 125

Briar Stopp
: 5' 8"; Senior; 157

Will Steltzlen
: 5' 8"; Senior; 149