Gray Wins Regional Title As Bronchos Finish Runner-up

HAYS, Kan. (March 1) – Heath Gray captured his second straight 184-pound individual title and Central Oklahoma had eight other top-four placers in finishing runner-up at the NCAA Division II Regional IV Tournament Sunday at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

The No. 5-ranked Bronchos ended with 122.5 points, just 3.5 behind No. 2 McKendree in what was a tight team race all day. No. 7 Lindenwood was third in the 11-team field with 114 points, followed by No. 14 Fort Hays State (103) and Maryville (96.5).

UCO qualified six individuals for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, set for March 13-14 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Joining Gray will be runners-up Cody Karstetter (133), Ty Lucas (157) and Dalton Abney (197) along with third-place finishers Brik Filippo (149) and Zachary Moore (165).

Tanner Cole (125), Nate Keim (141) and Tre'Vaughn Craig (174) all took fourth in coming up just short of earning the top-three finish needed to advance.

"We had a really good tournament, though it wasn't a great final round for us," said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team went 3-6 in the placement matches. "We won some close matches, but we also lost a lot of tough ones. I'm really proud of the way our guys battled today.

"We've got six good guys going to the national tournament and we're going to work hard the next couple of weeks getting ready."

The top-ranked Gray trimmed McKendree's Dan Fillipek 3-1 in the title bout to claim his second consecutive regional crown. The two traded escapes in the first two periods, then Gray fought off a Fillipek takedown try in the final minute before broke the deadlock on a takedown with 15 seconds remaining.

Gray improved to 29-1 while stretching his winning streak to 28 in a row.

The junior star followed a first-round bye with two easy victories to make the finals. He built a 13-2 lead in the quarterfinals before scoring a fall at the 4:18 mark and then had three takedowns and a four-point near-fall in a 13-7 semifinal triumph.

Karstetter cruised into the finals with a trio of lopsided wins before dropping a tight 3-2 finals decision to Tanner Hitchcock of Lindenwood, with Hitchcock's second-period takedown the difference in the match.

The eighth-ranked senior had three takedowns and three near-falls in a 16-1 first-round technical fall, then picked up a 9-1 major decision before posting a 9-2 victory in the semifinals behind a six-point move late in the first period.

Lucas also won three matches in advancing to the title match, including a last-second victory in the semifinals.

The sophomore had three takedowns in a methodical 7-3 first-round decision, then used a four-point move in the final seconds of the second period to notch a tough 6-3 win before prevailing 9-8 in a wild semifinal battle on a takedown with 20 seconds remaining.

Lucas fell 3-1 in overtime to Newman's Kameron Frame in the gold medal showdown. The two traded escapes in regulation before Frame got the winning takedown with five seconds left in the first sudden-victory period.

Abney drew an opening-round bye and then wasn't tested in his next two outings.

The redshirt freshman needed just 1:06 to record a quarterfinal fall before notching three takedowns and racking up nearly five minutes riding time in a 9-1 major decision.

Abney, ranked fifth nationally, fell to No. 1 Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree 5-0 in the finals.

Filippo cruised 7-2 in the first round and rolled to an 11-3 major decision in the quarterfinals behind a four-takedown attack before falling in the semis. He bounced back with a wild 10-9 win in the consolation semifinals, pulling out that dramatic victory on a reverse with two seconds left.

The sophomore secured his national tournament berth with a 3-0 shutout of Maryvillle's Tyler Stegall in the consolation finals, scoring the only points on a first-period takedown and a second-period escape.

Moore -- who spent most of the season battling with Filippo for the starting spot at 149 before moving all the way to 165 for the regional -- had an adventurous path to the bronze medal.

The senior started the day with a second-period fall and then dropped a hard-fought 3-2 battle to top-ranked Nick Foster of McKendree before coming back with three consolation wins. Moore started that journey with a first-period fall, followed with a 14-4 major decision and then claimed a 3-1 overtime decision on a takedown 23 seconds into the sudden-victory period.

Moore had even more heroics in the consolation finals to earn his national tournament spot, striking for a takedown with just two seconds left in the first sudden-victory period to pull out a 4-2 win over Bellarmine's Eric Beck to take third.

Cole had a first-round bye and then was shocked in the quarterfinals before bouncing back with two wins to make the consolation finals. He started with an easy 7-1 victory, then held on for a tight 3-1 triumph over returning All-American Tyler Kreith of Maryville.

The fourth-ranked sophomore had a tough task in the consolation finals in going against defending national champion and No. 2-rated Carlos Jacquez and dropped a 6-3 decision to finish fourth for the second straight year.

Keim opened the tournament with a 15-0 technical fall before dropping a 4-3 quarterfinal decision to Drury's Peter Kuster. He rebounded with three wins -- a 12-4 major decision, a 6-5 win decided on a riding time point and an 8-5 victory behind a six-point third-period outburst to make the consolation finals.

The sophomore took on Kuster again in the third-place bout and came up on the short end of a 5-2 decision in coming up short of making his second straight trip to the national tournament. It was Keim's fourth loss this season to Kuster.

Craig coasted 12-5 in the quarterfinals after drawing a first-round bye and then lost in the semifinals. He came back strong in the consolation semis, using four- and six-point moves in the first period to take control en route to a 16-5 major decision.

The sophomore came up short in advancing to the national meet with a hard-fought 4-3 loss to third-ranked Josh Jones of McKendree in the consolation finals.

TEAM STANDINGS: 1, McKendree 126; 2, Central Oklahoma 122.5; 3, Lindenwood 114; 4, Fort Hays State 103; 5, Maryville 96.5; 6, Newman 90.5; 7, Bellarmine 44; 8, Drury 42.5; 9, Ouachita Baptist 20; 10, Central Missouri 17.5; 11, Kentucky Wesleyan 0.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
133 – Tanner Hitchcock, Lindenwood, dec. Cody Karstetter, UCO, 3-2.
157 – Kameron Frame, Newman, dec. Ty Lucas, UCO, 3-1 (SV1).
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Dan Fillipek, McKendree, 3-1.
197 – Ryan Vasbinder, McKendree, dec. Dalton Abney, UCO, 5-0.

CONSOLATION FINALS
125 – Carlos Jacquez, Lindenwood, dec. Tanner Cole, UCO, 6-3.
141 – Peter Kuster, Drury, dec. Nate Keim, UCO, 5-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, dec. Tyler Stegall, Maryville, 3-0.
165 – Zachary Moore, UCO, dec. Eric Beck, Bellarmine, 4-2 (SV1).
174 – Josh Jones, McKendree, dec. Tre'Vaughn Craig, UCO, 4-3.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
133 – Karstetter, UCO, tech. fall. Chris Hansen, Drury, 16-1.
141 – Keim, UCO, tech. fall Baylor Smith, Newman, 15-0.
149 – Filippo, UCO, dec. Mitch Collica, Bellarmine, 7-2.
157 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Tristan Porsch, FHSU, 7-3.
165 – Moore, UCO, pinned, Conrad Vajnar, FHSU, 4:53.
Hvy – Arriola, UCO, dec. AJ Cooper, FHSU, 4-3.

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
125 – Mason Turner, FHSU, tech. fall Cole, UCO, 18-2.
133 – Karstetter, UCO, major dec. Dy'Juan Carney, FHSU, 9-1.
141 – Peter Kuster, Drury, dec. Keim, UCO, 4-3.
149 – Filippo, UCO, major dec. Tyler Stegall, Maryville, 11-3.
157 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Nate Trepanier, Lindenwood, 6-3.
165 – Nick Foster, McKendree, dec. Moore, UCO, 3-2.
174 – Craig, UCO, dec. JD Johnson, Newman, 12-5.
184 – Gray, UCO, pinned Zion Vasquez, UCM, 4:18.
197 – Abney, UCO, pinned Joe Brady, UCM, 1:06.
Hvy – Logan Radik, Maryville, major dec. Arriola, UCO, 10-1.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
133 – Karstetter, UCO, dec. John Feeney, UCM, 9-2.
149 – Jwuan Edmond, McKendree, dec. Filippo, UCO, 13-8.
157 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Devan Hendricks, Bellarmine, 9-8.
174 – Abner Romero, Lindenwood, pinned Craig, UCO, 0:37.
184 – Gray, UCO, dec. Bailey Kelly, Maryville, 13-7.
197 – Abney, UCO, major dec. Jordan Davis, FHSU, 9-1.

CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND
141 – Keim, UCO, major dec. Robert Otero, Ouachita Baptist, 12-4.
165 – Moore, UCO, pinned Christian Carney, OBU, 1:37.
Hvy – Johnny Green, OBU, dec. Arriola, UCO, 2-1.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
125 – Cole, UCO, dec. Adam Bender, Kentucky Wesleyan, 7-1.
141 – Keim, UCO, dec. Alex Waggoner, Maryville, 6-5.
165 – Moore, UCO, major dec. John Ridle, UCM, 14-4.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
125 – Cole, UCO, dec. Tyler Kreith, Maryville, 3-1.
141 – Keim, UCO, dec. Gage Branson, Bellarmine, 8-5.
149 – Filippo, UCO, dec. Kevin Kissane, Newman, 10-9.
165 – Moore, UCO, dec. Kendall Frame, Newman, 3-1 (SV1).
174 – Craig, UCO, major dec. Bret Heil, Maryville, 16-3.

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Players Mentioned

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

Tanner Cole: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Zachary Moore: 5' 6"; Senior

Tre'Vaughn Craig: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

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

Tanner Cole
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter
: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Zachary Moore
: 5' 6"; Senior

Tre'Vaughn Craig
: 5' 11"; Sophomore