Wrestling 11/13/2020 9:02:00 AM Mike Kirk

Friday Feature: End Of A Drought

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EDMOND – Central Oklahoma was riding a string of 18 consecutive top-four national tournament finishes going into the 2001-02 wrestling season, with the Bronchos having captured nine championships during that uncanny stretch of success.

But UCO hadn't won a title in six years, a drought that equaled the longest endured since the program was reinstated in 1972. The Bronchos were expected to be top contenders again in 2001-02, entering with the No. 3 ranking.

Three All-Americans – Mark Dodgen, Cole Province and Muhammed Lawal – and three national qualifiers were back from the 2001 club that finished third. Transfers Michael Barreras and Jeff Henning were expected to have big impacts, with veterans Matt Dodgen and Nate Gomez giving UCO additional firepower.

"I don't know why we shouldn't challenge for the national championship with what we have coming back and what we added," 20^th-year head coach David James said in the media guide's preseason outlook. "We should be excited and enthused about our chances and we are."

The Bronchos responded with a sensational season, capped by another national championship.

UCO fell to Oklahoma in the dual opener and then won its last 15 matches, setting a school record for dual victories. The only close calls in that streak were a 21-17 win over Division I Cal Poly-SLO and an 18-14 triumph over Ashland in the semifinals of the Division II National Duals, a title the Bronchos won by beating North Dakota State 26-15 in the finals to take over the No. 1 ranking.

Central also competed in three open tournaments and finished a solid 18^th in the Las Vegas Invitational behind Lawal's runner-up finish.

That season-long success prepared James' crew for the post-season and the Bronchos were ready.

UCO piled up 150.5 points in steamrolling to its 13^th straight Midwest Regional title and qualifying eight individuals for the NCAA Division II Championships. Province (133), Matt Dodgen (141), Barreras (149), Gomez (157), Silvis (165), Henning (184) and Lawal (197) all won titles, while true freshman Chris Saferite – who took over at 125 when Mark Dodgen opted to redshirt -- advanced with a runner-up finish.

"We're in position to be one of the teams that will contend for the national championship, but there will be several others," James said in the Vista's regional wrap-up. "It will definitely be an interesting tournament and we're going to have to be ready to wrestle our best."

The Bronchos needed to be at their best to fend off NDSU. Province, Matt Dodgen, Silvis and Lawal climbed to the top of the podium as champions, Saferite was a surprise runner-up, Henning came in third and Barreras finished fourth as UCO edged the Bison 128-116.5 for its 13^th national championship.

"What a great, great effort from our team," James told the Oklahoman after the tournament. "We came here really focused on winning a national championship and we wrestled extremely well for two days. It's been a few years since we've won one of these and it feels ready good to get our program back on top."

It was the first Division II tournament to feature no seeding, though there were still national individual rankings. There were 16 qualifiers at each weight -- four from each of the four regions -- and first-round pairings were established by regional finishes.

Province, ranked second entering the tournament, had a tough road to the finals. The sophomore beat the third-, fifth- and sixth-ranked individuals in making the title bout, where he routed unranked Jimmy Melek of Adams State 11-3 for his second title.

The second-rated Dodgen opened the tournament with back-to-back falls – including one in just 13 seconds – before pulling out a 5-3 sudden-victory decision in the semifinals. The junior trimmed top-ranked Chris Shears of Ashland 5-4 to take the gold medal.

The top-ranked Silvis made the finals with a 15-3 major decision along with a pair of easy five-point wins. The sophomore edged South Dakota State's Tyler Bryant 3-2 for the championship to finish off a sensational 31-2 season.

Lawal wasn't tested in becoming UCO's fourth champion. The top-rated junior had a 25-8 technical fall, 13-5 major decision and second-period fall in making the finals, where he coasted past No. 2 Chad Wallace of Nebraska-Omaha 8-4 for his 23^rd straight win. Lawal ended with a 39-2 record while racking up an astounding 233 takedowns.

Saferite entered the tournament ranked sixth, but advanced to the finals with 13-7, 5-3 and 6-3 wins. He fell to second-rated Brandon Newill of Pittsburgh-Johnston in the championship match.

Henning, ranked third, had two lopsided wins in making the semifinals before losing to No. 2 Tyler Jones of South Dakota State. The junior rebounded with a tough 1-0 win and 10-1 major decision to take the bronze medal.

Barreras, a three-time All-American at Adams State before coming to UCO, was ranked No. 1 entering the tournament. He was upset in the first round, but bounced back with four straight wins before falling in the consolation finals.

It all added up to the end of a long – by UCO standards – championship drought.

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