Wrestling 3/10/2020 9:45:00 PM

Bronchos Head To National Tournament

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No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma will send six individuals to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships that will be held Friday and Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Making the trip for the Bronchos will be senior 133 Cody Karstetter, sophomore 149 Brik Filippo, sophomore 157 Ty Lucas, senior 165 Zachary Moore, junior 184 Heath Gray and redshirt freshman 197 Dalton Abney. Gray is a returning All-American, while the other five will be making their first national tournament appearance.

First-round action begins at 11 a.m. Friday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, with the quarterfinals and first two rounds of consolation action starting at 5 p.m. The tournament resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with the semifinals and completion of all consolation matches and the championship finals start at 7 p.m.

"Our guys are ready to go and they're excited about the opportunity they have to compete for a national championship," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We just want each individual to go out and worry about themselves and the team stuff will take care of itself.

"We want to come back with six All-Americans and I think we have a great chance to do that. Our guys have worked hard all year long to get to this point, so now it's time to leave it all on the mat."

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: Eighteen individuals qualified at each of the 10 weights for a total of 180 qualifiers, with 51 teams from around the country having at least one.

Two-time defending champion and top-ranked St. Cloud State leads the field with nine qualifiers. No. 2 McKendree, No. 3 Pittsburgh-Johnstown and No. 23 Gannon have eight apiece, while No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 10 Ashland are each sending seven individuals.

UCO is one of four teams with six qualifers.

The top-three individuals – 30 total – from each of six regions around the country advanced to the national tournament.

ABOUT UCO'S INDIVIDUALS: Here's a brief look at each of Central's six national tournament qualifiers:

CODY KARSTETTER, Sr. Tulsa, Okla: Enters the national tournament with a 13-5 record, including an 8-3 mark at 133 ... Was the back-up 125-pounder before taking over starting berth at 133 in January … Qualified for nationals with runner-up finish in the Regional IV Tournament, winning his first three matches by a combined 34-4 margin before falling 3-2 in the finals to Lindenwood's Tanner Hitchcock … Will go against No. 2 seed Garrett Vos of St. Cloud State in the first round … Runner-up at the season-opening Oklahoma City Open at 125.

BRIK FILIPPO, So., Tuttle, Okla: Qualified for nationals with third-place finish in the Regional IV Tournament, going 4-1 in that event … Won his first two matches before falling in the semifinals, but rebounded with two consolation wins to earn national berth … Faces the winner of the preliminary match between Minnesota State-Mankato's third-seeded Kyle Rathman and Newberry's Damian Penichet in the first round at nationals … Is 19-9 on the season with nine bonus-point wins ... Shared starting spot at 149 during regular season with Zachary Moore … Was runner-up at the Oklahoma City Open and placed eighth at the Midwest Classic… Went 22-8 last year and lost two overtime matches at the regional in finishing fourth to just miss out on national tournament berth.

TY LUCAS So., Ardmore, Okla.: Enters national tournament as the No. 5 seed and will go against Baltazar Gonzalez of American International in the first round … Earned first national tournament berth with Regional IV Tournament runner-up finish ... Went 3-1 there, winning three decisions to make the finals before losing 3-1 sudden-victory decision to Newman's Kameron Frame … Is 19-8 on the season and has won 11 of his last 13 matches and 16 of last 19 … Was runner-up at the Midwest Classic, falling 7-4 in the finals to Trey Grine of Tiffin, who is the No. 1 seed for the national tournament … Went 17-6 last season and lost two overtime matches in finishing sixth at the regional.

ZACHARY MOORE, Sr., Oklahoma City: Bumped up from 149 to 165 for the regional and earned national tournament spot with third-place finish in the Regional IV Tournament after going 5-1 ... Won first-round fall at regionals before falling 3-2 to top-ranked Nick Foster of McKendree in the quarterfinals, then rebounded with four consolation wins to take third … Had a fall, major decision and two sudden-victory decisions, winning 3-1 and 4-2 in his last two matches … Faces Coker's Corey Christie in the preliminary round at nationals … Is 26-8 on the season with team-high 14 falls … Eleven of those falls were in the first period, including four in the first 30 seconds … Battled with Brik Filippo for starting berth at 149 all season while also seeing action at 157 before jumping to 165 for the regional … Placed third in the Jet Open at 149 and fourth in the Fort Hays State Open at 157 … … In first year with the Bronchos after transferring from West Virginia, where he had 40-39 career record while competing at 149 and 157.

HEATH GRAY, Jr., Chandler, Okla.: The No. 1 seed after capturing second straight Regional IV Tournament title two weeks ago … Enters nationals with 29-1 record that includes 21 bonus-point wins (12 major decisions, six technical falls, three falls) and is riding a 28-match winning streak … Won regional title with second-period fall, 13-7 semifinal win and 3-1 finals victory … Will take on North Carolina-Pembroke's Brandon Sloop in the first round … Lone loss this season was in first round of Oklahoma City Open to Oklahoma State's Dakota Geer … Rebounded from that loss with four straight bonus wins to take third … Named Outstanding Wrestler at the Midwest Classic after going 5-0 with five bonus win and also captured Lindenwood Open title … Won regional and finished third nationally last year to end 36-2 season … Lost in national semifinals to Notre Dame's Tony Vezzetti before rebounding with two consolation wins … Has 65-3 record with 42 bonus wins in two-year UCO career.

DALTON ABNEY, RS Fr., Tulsa, Okla.: Making national tournament debut after finishing runner-up in the Regional IV Tournament … Went 2-1 there, winning a first-period fall and 9-1 major decision to make the finals before falling to top-ranked and No. 1 seed Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree … Seeded sixth for the national tournament and faces Nolan Funk of Colorado School of Mines in the opening round … Beat Funk 5-4 in the first round of the NWCA Division II National Duals back in January … Has a 13-2 record for the season, which includes five falls – all in the first period -- and two major decisions ... Missed freshman season to knee injury last year and didn't make his UCO debut until January while still recovering … Captured titles at the Viking-Warrior Open and Jet Open … Won his first 11 matches before suffering lone loss to Vasbinder in Feb. 12 dual.

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Players Mentioned

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

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Zachary Moore: 5' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Cody Karstetter
: 5' 7"; Senior; 133

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Zachary Moore
: 5' 6"; Senior