Friday Feature: Going Out In Style

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EDMOND – Central Oklahoma entered the 1988-89 wrestling season on a mission. After all, the Bronchos had finished national runner-up the previous year, which was unacceptable to a program that had come to dominate the NAIA ranks.

"Everybody's working hard to get that championship back after not winning it last year," head coach David James told the Vista. "I don't think we paid the price last year, so we're making sure we do this time and hopefully it will pay off with another national title."

It did.

UCO ended its affiliation with the NAIA in style, capturing its fifth championship in six years and the eighth in 11 seasons. The Bronchos moved to NCAA Division II in 1989-90.

Central figured to be a prime challenger entering the '88-89 campaign, with two-time national champion Johnny Nimmo and two-time All-American Shawn Fleming leading the way. Senior transfers Marc Hull and Tony Pacheco were also expected to make big impacts.

The Bronchos started the dual season 1-3, with the losses coming to ranked Division I rivals Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Lock Haven. UCO then knocked off Missouri 23-18 to ignite an 11-match winning streak and finished 12-3.

Six tournaments – four opens and two invitationals -- were also sprinkled in the schedule. The Bronchos ran away with the Southwest Missouri Invitational crown behind five individual winners (Fleming, Nimmo, Hull, Jeff Gowens and Greg Oplotnik) and took fourth in the Division I-dominated Southern California Invitational.

UCO qualified nine for the NAIA National Championships, set for March 2-4 in Jamestown, N.D., with five of those set to make their first national tournament appearance.

"We're wrestling pretty good right now," James said in the Vista's tournament preview. "I think we turned it around at the Southern California Invitational back in December once we got Marc Hull back in the lineup. He brings a lot to the team besides his record. His leadership and spunk are good for others."

The Bronchos were ranked third going into the tournament, trailing Simon Fraser and Fort Hays State, but surged into the lead on the second day and went on to trim SF by 13 points (105-92) for their final NAIA title.

Nimmo won his third straight national championship at 158 pounds and was joined on the top of the podium by Fleming (118). UCO also got runner-up finishes from Gowens (134) and Hull (142), while Pacheco (126) took third, Oplotnik (190) fifth and Howard Moore (167) seventh.

Nimmo entered as the No. 1 seed and easily made that hold up. He followed a first-round bye with back-to-back falls, earned a semifinal default while holding a big lead and then cruised past the No. 2 seed 5-1 in the gold medal match.

Fleming was also seeded first and the junior wasn't tested in winning his first four matches to make the finals. He capped his title run with a tight 3-2 victory over No. 2 seed Billy Johnson of FHSU, who had defeated Fleming in the 1988 national finals.

Gowens went into the tournament seeded seventh and won his first two matches easily. The sophomore then pulled off consecutive 9-8 come-from-behind upsets over the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds to advance to the finals, where he fell to the top seed.

Hull, a national champion at FHSU in 1987 before transferring to UCO and sitting out a redshirt year, was seeded second. He posted 16-3, 17-4, 13-3 and 14-4 routs to roll into the finals, but was denied a second title with a tough 6-5 loss to No. 1 seed Chuck Ahsmuhs of Pacific.

Pacheco entered as the sixth seed, but made the semifinals with three close wins. He dropped a 3-2 decision in the semifinals, then rebounded with a 9-3 decision and overtime criteria win to claim third.

The 11^th-seeded Oplotnik lost in the second round after opening the tournament with a bye, but responded in the consolations. The sophomore reeled off four straight wins, including a pair of one-point nail-biters, then lost again before claiming a 9-4 victory in the fifth-place match.

Moore, also a No. 11 seed, did much the same thing. He opened with a bye, lost in the second round and then won three consecutive consolation bouts – one in overtime – before losing again. The freshman won 4-1 to take seventh.

"This one mans a lot to me, especially after finishing second last year," James said in the Vista's tournament wrap-up. "We're all going to relax now and take it easy for awhile. I think the guys deserve it."

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