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Heath Gray
Heath Gray

Wrestling

UCO Advances To National Duals Semifinals With Upset

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 10) – Zachary Moore's last-second disqualification victory at 149 pounds ignited a six-match winning streak that powered No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 3 Notre Dame College 28-10 Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2020 U.S. Marine Corps/National Wrestling Coaches Association Division II National Duals.

The Bronchos trailed 6-5 heading into Moore's bout, but the senior scored seven unanswered points to overcome an early 4-0 deficit before forcing the fifth – and final – stalling call against Kyle French with just four seconds remaining to give UCO six points.

That big boost put Central in the lead for good and consecutive wins by 157 Ty Lucas, 165 Anthony DesVigne, 174 Tre'Vaughn Craig, 184 Heath Gray and 197 Kalin Winkler clinched the upset. Tanner Cole (125) started the dual with a technical fall as the Bronchos won seven of the 10 bouts.

UCO, now 5-0 on the season, moves into Saturday's 10 a.m. (Oklahoma time) semifinals against defending champion and top-rated St. Cloud State.

"That was a great team effort and a really big win for us," said head coach Todd Steidley after the Bronchos beat the Falcons for the first time in four tries. "Everybody stepped up and did their part. We got some big bonus wins and also won a couple of tight matches.

"I was just really proud and happy with the way we competed. We've got another tough assignment tomorrow against St. Cloud, but we came here wanting to go against the best teams and that's what we get to do."

Cole got UCO off to a fast start with a 15-0 rout in the opening match. The sixth-ranked sophomore dominated from the start and earned the five-point technical fall with a near-fall in the final 10 seconds.

Notre Dame took the next two weeks to move in front, but Moore's dramatic finish at 149 flipped the momentum to Central's side and the Bronchos rode it the rest of the way.

Lucas had a pair of second-period takedowns in pulling out a 5-3 win and then DesVigne was impressive in his dual debut for UCO with an 11-5 triumph over No. 8-ranked Alonzo Turner. The redshirt freshman was thrust into the lineup after sixth-ranked Dayton Garrett was injured in the first round against Colorado School of Mines and responded with a four-takedown attack in pulling off the big upset.

Craig also wrestled his first-ever dual for the Bronchos and showcased explosive ability with a pair of six-point moves in taking a 15-2 second-period lead en route to a 19-6 major decision.

That gave UCO a 21-6 lead and Gray secured the dual with a gutsy 4-1 win in a one vs. two showdown. The second-rated Gray broke a 1-1 tie on a takedown with 45 seconds left and controlled No. 1 Tony Vezzetti the rest of the way to add a riding time point in avenging a loss to Vezzetti in last year's national tournament.

Winkler picked up the final Central's final victory with a 10-0 major decision, securing the bonus points with a four-point near-fall in the final 30 seconds.

 

UCO 28, Notre Dame 10
125 – Tanner Cole, UCO, tech. fall Johnny Craker, 15-0.
133 – Hunter Bray, NDC, dec. Noah McQuigg, 6-2.
141 – Kelan McKenna, NDC, dec. Nate Keim, 6-2.
149 – Zachary Moore, UCO, won by disqualification over Kyle French, 6:56.
157 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Taylor Misuna, 5-3.
165 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Alonzo Turner, 11-5.
174 – Tre'Vaughn Craig, UCO, major dec. Emilo Fowler, 19-6.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Tony Vezzetti, 4-1.
197 – Kalin Winkler, UCO, major dec. Michael Viramontes, 10-0.
Hvy – Jared Campbell, NDC, major dec. Garrett Beier, 10-0.
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Players Mentioned

Tanner Cole

Tanner Cole

5' 6"
Sophomore
Anthony DesVigne

Anthony DesVigne

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
Dayton Garrett

Dayton Garrett

5' 10"
Junior
165
Heath Gray

Heath Gray

5' 11"
Junior
184
Nate Keim

Nate Keim

5' 7"
Sophomore
141
Ty Lucas

Ty Lucas

5' 9"
Sophomore
157
Noah McQuigg

Noah McQuigg

5' 5"
Junior
133
Garrett Beier

Garrett Beier

6' 0"
Junior
Zachary Moore

Zachary Moore

5' 6"
Senior
Kalin Winkler

Kalin Winkler

6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Tanner Cole

Tanner Cole

5' 6"
Sophomore
Anthony DesVigne

Anthony DesVigne

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
Dayton Garrett

Dayton Garrett

5' 10"
Junior
165
Heath Gray

Heath Gray

5' 11"
Junior
184
Nate Keim

Nate Keim

5' 7"
Sophomore
141
Ty Lucas

Ty Lucas

5' 9"
Sophomore
157
Noah McQuigg

Noah McQuigg

5' 5"
Junior
133
Garrett Beier

Garrett Beier

6' 0"
Junior
Zachary Moore

Zachary Moore

5' 6"
Senior
Kalin Winkler

Kalin Winkler

6' 0"
Junior