Wrestling 11/27/2020 9:00:00 AM Mike Kirk

Friday Feature: Upsets Spark Title Run

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EDMOND – Central Oklahoma entered the 2006-07 wrestling season loaded with experienced veterans, returning nine starters from a team that finished fourth in the NCAA Division II national tournament the previous year.

The Bronchos had back five All-Americans – 125-pounder Shane Caruthers, 133 Earl Jones, 141 Kyle Evans, 149 Shea Timothy and heavyweight Chris Finn – plus three national qualifiers in 157 Jason Leavitt, 184 Jared Hess and 197 Heath Jolley. Add in two All-Americans from 2005 – 133 Jared Henning and heavyweight Josh LeadingFox – and it was easy to see why UCO entered the season ranked No. 1.

"We've got great depth at most weights and if guys don't go to the next level we've got the ability to make changes," 25th-year head coach David James said in the media guide's preseason outlook. "If we're going to win the national championship, we've got to have guys step up or they're not going to be in there."

There were indeed some lineup changes during the season and plenty of individuals made the improvement required to make the Bronchos a legitimate contender. There were a few down moments, but in the end UCO would finish on top of the Division II heap in capturing its 15^th national championship.

Central competed in four open tournaments and went 15-4 in duals, including tough losses to Division I teams Oklahoma (20-18) and Boise State (18-16). The Bronchos also fell to Nebraska-Omaha (20-16) during a third-place finish in the Division II National Duals in losing their No. 1 ranking and were routed by top-rated Nebraska-Kearney (24-9) during a late-season road trip.

But that loss fueled a closing surge that carried UCO to the national title. James' crew bounced back the next night to topple UNO 22-14 and finished the dual season the following weekend at home with dominating 39-0 and 44-0 shutouts.

The rejuvenated Bronchos overwhelmed the Midwest Regional field in Ashland, Ohio, finishing 51.5 points ahead of Wisconsin-Parkside to claim their 17^th regional crown in 18 years while qualifying all 10 individuals for the national tournament.

Evans, Timothy, 165 Justin Wood, Hess, Jolley and LeadingFox won titles, while Leavitt took third. Tyler Zukerman (125), Henning and Daniel Morrison (174) all squeaked in with fourth-place showings – and then ended up combing for 34 points in the national tournament.

"We're certainly excited," James said in the Vista's regional wrap-up. "We're taking all 10 guys and that was the goal. We've put ourselves in good position."

Central was ranked third behind UNK and Minnesota State-Mankato going into the NCAA Division II Championships that were held in Kearney, Neb., which seemingly gave the Lopers an advantage in what figured to be a close race.

But this UCO team would not be denied.

The Bronchos pulled off several stunning first-round wins in starting the tournament 9-1 and never trailed. UCO finished with 13 upsets – including three each by Zukerman, Henning and Jolley – and had a school record-tying eight All-Americans to hold off UNK 124.5-108.5. The Lopers also ended with eight All-Americans, including two champions.

Evans was the team's lone gold medalist, while Zukerman, Henning, Leavitt and LeadingFox all made the finals in finishing as runners-up. Hess came in third, Timothy fourth and Jolley fifth.

There was still no seeding in the national tournament, with first-round pairings determined by regional finishes where a regional champion faced a fourth-place finisher from another and a runner-up went against a third-placer. There were national rankings, though several of UCO's placers made those meaningless.

Evans held the only No. 1 ranking for the Bronchos and the junior star made that hold up with the first of his two national championships. Evans opened with back-to-back major decisions, then pulled out a tough 4-2 overtime win over unranked Doug Surra of West Liberty State in the semifinals. He cruised past Shippensburg's third-rated Steve Fittery 7-1 in the title bout to cap off a perfect 39-0 campaign in becoming the first UCO wrestler to finish a full season undefeated.

The unrated Zukerman started Central's upset parade as the true freshman knocked off three ranked opponents in marching to the finals. He started with a third-period fall over No. 8 Payne Lint of Mercyhurst, followed with a 5-1 win over No. 4 Tyler Mumbulo of Upper Iowa and routed No. 2 Arsenia Barksdale of Adams State 10-2 before falling to No. 1 Trevor Charboneau of UNK 5-2 in the finals.

Henning, also unranked, had an even more remarkable path to the finals. The senior shocked the partisan crowd shorty after the tournament started with a 7-5 overtime upset of top-rated and defending champion Brett Allgood of UNK, then had an 8-5 victory over No. 6 Brandon Reasy of Pittsburgh-Johnstown and a 6-4 win over No. 2 Andy Uhl of Findlay. Henning nearly finished off a perfect run, but dropped a tough 1-0 finals decision to No. 4 Joe Kemmerer of Kutztown.

The third-ranked Leavitt opened with easy 11-3 and 8-3 wins, then knocked off No. 2 Brad Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside 4-3 in advancing to the finals. The junior was denied a national championship with a heartbreaking 2-1 tiebreaker setback to top-rated Tony Guerra of Findlay.

LeadingFox rounded out UCO's finalists, though he didn't need an upset to get there. The second-ranked senior opened with an 8-4 win, trimmed No. 4 Andrew Ubben of Fort Hays State 3-2 in the quarterfinals and followed with a 6-0 shutout before losing to No. 1 Tervel Dlagnev of UNK in the finals.

Hess had a strong third-place showing after entering with the No. 4 ranking. The senior started with tight 3-1 and 3-2 wins before falling in the semifinals to No. 2 and eventual champion Jared Deaguero of Adams State. Hess bounced back to beat No. 3 Matt Farrell of UNK 4-1 and No. 1 Mike Corcetti of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 3-2, with his consolation finals win clinching the team title for the Bronchos.

Timothy became a three-time All-American with his fourth-place finish. The third-ranked senior rolled into the semifinals with 9-0 and 7-0 shutouts, then lost to No. 2 and eventual winner Todd Meneely of UNO. Timothy pulled out a 5-4 victory in his first consolation match before falling to No. 1 Jason Rhoden of MSU-Mankato.

The unranked Jolley pulled off a series of upsets, starting with a 4-0 first-round win over No. 8 Ben Janike of MSU-Mankato. The junior dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 6 Michael Fowler of UPJ in the quarterfinals, came back in the consolations with a 6-2 win and second-period fall over No. 2 Derek Brunson of North Carolina-Pembroke and then lost to No. 4 Nate Buys of Augustana. Jolley upended top-rated Casey Woodall of Adams State 3-2 in the tiebreaker to take fifth.

UCO's other two qualifiers both went 1-2 in scoring points to aid the championship cause. Morrison had a 4-2 upset of second-ranked Tommy Clark of West Liberty State during the first-round blitz that put the Bronchos in control, while Wood scored a consolation fall.

"It's a great feeling and I couldn't be more proud of my team," James said to the Oklahoman after the tournament. "We came ready to wrestle and everybody went out and laid it on the line."

That they did. And it ended with UCO's 15^th national championship since 1979.

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