No. 7 Bronchos Take Down Fort Hays State

HAYS, Kan. (Jan. 31) – Dalton Abney and Cody Karstetter scored first-period falls to spark No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma to a 28-15 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association triumph over Fort Hays State Friday night at Gross Coliseum.

It was the fifth straight win for the Bronchos, who won six of the 10 matches in improving to 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in the league. UCO moves on to Kearney, Neb. Saturday for a 2 p.m. conference showdown against No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney.

Studd Morris added a major decision and Brik Filippo earned a forfeit, while Zachary Moore and Heath Gray both tough two-point victories.

"We're missing some guys right now so it was a good win for us," said head coach Toddy Steidley, who had three starters out with injury or illness. "Cody and Dalton did a great job getting us some bonus points that we needed. It's going to be a tough match tomorrow and our guys need to be ready to go."

Morris scored the last of his five takedowns with 30 seconds left and added a riding time point to secure a 12-4 major decision in the opening match at 125 pounds to give UCO the quick lead. Karstetter jumped on top 6-0 early at 133 before notching his second fall of the season at the 2:29 mark to put the Bronchos on top 9-0.

FHSU got on the scoreboard with second-ranked Brandon Ball's 7-2 win over Nate Keim at 141, but Brik Filippo picked up a forfeit at 149 and Zachary Moore held on for a 10-7 victory at 157 after building an early 7-2 lead to make it 18-3.

The Tigers took the next two weights to pull within 18-9 before back-to-back wins by Gray and Abney clinched the dual.

The top-ranked Gray extended his winning streak to 23 in a row, though it wasn't without a struggle. The junior standout was down 2-1 to Aryus Jones after the first period, got an escape and takedown in the second to go ahead and then added another takedown with 37 seconds left to go up 7-3 before giving up a last-second reverse.

Abney stayed perfect (11-0) on the season in quick fashion, grabbing a quick 6-0 lead before getting the fall with 16 seconds left in the opening period.

UCO 28, Fort Hays State 15
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, major dec. Colin Cole, 12-4.
133 – Cody Karstetter, UCO, pinned Conrad Cole, 2:29.
141 – Brandon Ball, FHSU, dec. Nate Keim, 7-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, won by forfeit.
157 – Zachary Moore, UCO, dec. Tristan Porsch, 10-8.
165 – Conrad Vajnar, FHSU, dec. Anthony DesVigne, 8-6.
174 – Marty Verhaeghe, FHSU, dec. Gage McBride, 9-5.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Aryus Jones, 7-5.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, pinned Tyler Boone, 2:44.
Hvy – A.J. Cooper, FHSU, pinned Garret Beier, 6:50.

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; 197

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Gage McBride: 6' 1"; Junior

Zachary Moore: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; 197

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter
: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Gage McBride
: 6' 1"; Junior

Zachary Moore
: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Freshman