LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 11) – Tanner Cole and Heath Gray pulled out exciting overtime wins to spark sixth-ranked Central Oklahoma to an 18-13 upset of No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney as the Bronchos claimed third place in the 2020 NWCA Division II National Duals Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall.
UCO fell into the third-place bout after dropping a hard-fought 22-12 semifinal decision to defending champion and top-ranked St. Cloud State earlier Saturday, but rebounded strong against the Lopers to finish off an impressive weekend.
The Bronchos knocked off No. 16 Colorado School of Mines and No. 3 Notre Dame College Friday before battling the Huskies tough and then slipping past UNK.
"It was a good weekend for us and I'm really proud of the way we wrestled," said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team is now 6-1 on the season. "We battled hard in every match. I think our guys showed that we can compete with anybody and we need to just keep building on this momentum."
Cole (125) and Gray (184) needed extra time to earn their wins, while 149 Brik Filippo, 157 Ty Lucas, 174 Gage McBride and 197 Dalton Abney also won against UNK.
The sixth-ranked Cole toppled No. 1 Josh Portillo 8-6 to cap off a perfect weekend. Cole trailed 4-2 after the first period, pulled even at 5-all after two and had secured what appeared to be the winning riding time point by controlling Portillo in the third stanza when a stalling call with 11 seconds left gave Portillo a penalty point that forced OT.
Cole wasn't fazed by that controversial whistle, however, as the sophomore swooped in on Portillo's legs early in the one-minute sudden-victory period and secured the winning takedown in 24 seconds.
UCO lost a team point arguing the late stalling call in the match and the Lopers took the next two weights to grab a 6-2 lead.
Filippo tied it with a 12-4 major decision behind a five-takedown attack while piling up more than four minutes of riding time and Lucas rallied for a 6-3 win to put UCO on top 9-6.
Lucas trailed 3-0 early in the second period, but moved in front 4-3 with a takedown and near-fall in the final 15 seconds of the stanza and added a third-period takedown to cap the comeback.
UNK regained the lead at 10-9 with a major decision at 165, but the Bronchos answered by winning the next three matches to secure the dual.
McBride secured a narrow 5-4 victory with a takedown in the final 30 seconds, Gray prevailed 3-1 on a takedown 17 seconds into the first sudden-victory period and Abney had a pair of first-period takedowns in a 6-3 triumph.
UCO gave No. 1 St. Cloud State a battle in the Saturday morning' semifinals, but couldn't overcome some tough losses.
The Bronchos lost four matches by two points or less – including two in overtime – and suffered its first loss of the season after a 5-0 start. It was the 57th straight win for the defending champion Huskies, who feature seven individuals ranked in the top four.
Central got bonus-point wins from Cole and Gray, while Christian Arriola pulled out a tough one-point win.
Cole dominated from the outset in scoring a 16-1 technical fall, jumping out to an 8-0 first-period lead and then securing the five team points with a takedown in the final 15 seconds.
Gray rolled to a 10-2 major decision for his 18th consecutive win. The second-rated junior standout racked up four takedowns and had nearly four minutes riding time in dominating No. 3 Tyree Overton.
Arriola's first-period takedown was the difference in a 3-2 victory over ninth-ranked Ezayah Oropez.
Zachary Moore drooped a 3-1 sudden-victory decision at 149 to No. 2 James Pleski and the fourth-ranked Lucas fell the same way in a showdown at 157 against No. 1 Jake Barzowski.
Tre'Vaughn Craig lost 1-0 at 174 to No. 2 Kolten Eischens and UCO's other tough defeat came at 197, where Kalin Winkler fell 3-1.
UCO 18, Nebraska-Kearney 13
125 – Tanner Cole, UCO, dec. Josh Portillo, 8-6 (SV).
133 – Wesley Dawkins, UNK, dec. Cody Karstetter, 4-1.
141 – Jonathan Killingsworth, UNK, dec. Nate Keim, 3-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, major dec. Teontae Wilson, 12-4.
157 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Jacob Wasser, 6-3.
165 – Matt Malcom, UNK, major dec. Anthony DesVigne, 10-1.
174 – Gage McBride, UCO, dec. Terrell Garraway, 5-4.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Anthony Mancini, 3-1 (SV).
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Andrew Demos, 6-3.
Hvy – Jarrod Hinrichs, UNK, dec. Garrett Beier, 3-2.
St. Cloud State 22, UCO 12
125 – Tanner Cole, UCO, tech. fall Robbie Horsman, 16-1.
133 – Garrett Vos, SCSU, dec. Noah McQuigg, 9-3.
141 – Garrett Aldrich, SCSU, dec. Nate Keim, 8-4.
149 – James Pleski, SCSU, dec. Zachary Moore, 3-1 (SV).
157 – Jake Barzowski, SCSU, dec. Ty Lucas, 3-1 (SV).
165 – Devin Fitzpatrick, SCSU, major dec. Anthony DesVigne, 10-1.
174 – Kolten Eischens, SCSU, dec. Tre'Vaughn Craig, 1-0.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, major dec. Tyree Overton, 10-2.
197 – Noah Ryan, SCSU, dec. Kalin Winkler, 3-1.
Hvy – Christian Arriola, UCO, dec. Ezayah Oropeza, 3-2.
