Wrestling 2/26/2021 12:20:00 PM

Bronchos To Host Wrestling Regional

No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma begins its quest for the NCAA Division II national wrestling championship Sunday when the Bronchos host the Super Regional IV Tournament at Hamilton Field House.

The 10-team, one-day tournament begins at 12 p.m. and will run all day, with two breaks scheduled. The championship and consolation finals will start at approximately 8:30 p.m., with any second-place challenge matches to follow.

Twenty-five individuals will advance from the regional to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 12-13 in St. Louis, Mo. The top-two placers at each weight along with five third-place wildcard selections will make up the qualifiers.

Spectators will be allowed on a pass-list basis only due to safety and health protocols and NO tickets will be sold at the gate. Click here for the tournament page, which includes links to watch the tournament through trackwrestling.com and a spectator information letter.

Six super regional tournaments are being held around the country this weekend, with Super Regional IV easily the toughest of those. Seven of the 10 teams are ranked in the top 25, including three in the top six.

Ranked teams besides UCO are No. 2 Lindenwood, No. 5 McKendree, No. 15 Fort Hays State, No 17 Drury, No. 22 Maryville and No. 23 Newman. Central Missouri, Kentucky Wesleyan and Ouachita Baptist round out the field.

There will also be 25 ranked individuals in the tournament, including five No. 1s – Fort Hays State's Mason Turner at 125 pounds, Lindenwood's Gavin Londoff at 149, LU's Abner Romero at 174, UCO's Heath Gray at 184 and McKendree's Ryan Vasbinder at 197.

McKendree is the defending champion, edging out the Bronchos by 3.5 points last year in Hays, Kan. UCO qualified six for the 2020 national tournament, which ended up being canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic the day before it was to start.

"Our guys have been working really hard and they're excited about getting to compete," fifth-year head coach Todd Steidley said. "This is an incredibly hard regional and we need to be ready to wrestle hard for seven full minutes every time we step on the mat.

"It's been a long year for everybody. There have been some starts and stops, but I'm proud of the way our guys have stayed focused on the task at hand. Hopefully we come out Sunday and wrestle the way we're capable of."

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO, which hasn't competed since Jan. 23, outscored five Division II opponents 217-21 in duals while also beating Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 37-3 in an exhibition. The Bronchos won 45 of 50 individual matches in those five duals.

A look at Central's lineup: 125 - Paxton Rosen, Jr. (4-0); 133 - Tanner Cole, Jr. (1-0); 141 - Nate Keim, Jr. (4-1); 149: Gabe Johnson, Fr. (4-1); 157 - Ty Lucas, Jr. (5-1); 165 - Dayton Garrett, Sr. (2-0); 174 - Wyatt Jordan, Sr. (6-0); 184 - Heath Gray, Sr. (6-0); 197 - Dalton Abney, So. (5-0); Hvy - Braden Morgan, RS Fr. (2-2).

The top-ranked Gray is one of five individuals UCO has listed in the top 12 at their respective weight. Abney is No. 3, Jordan No. 7, Lucas No. 9 and Garrett No. 11.

Gray is a two-time defending regional champion at 184 and was the Super Regional IV Wrestler of the Year in 2019-20 before also earning the national Division II Wrestler of the Year award. The two-time All-American is 6-0 with six bonus-point wins and is riding a 34-match winning streak.

Abney was the regional runner-up last year and ended up being named an NWCA All-American after the national tournament was canceled. He has three falls and a technical fall among his five wins this season.

Lucas was also a regional runner-up and All-American last year and will be making his third regional tournament appearance.

Cole, a fourth-place regional finisher at 125 each of the past two years, will be making his debut at 133 in the regional. He has yet to wrestle this year, picking up a forfeit in his only appearance.

Jordan finished sixth in the regional for UCO at 165 two years ago before sitting out the 2019-20 campaign. He's earned bonus points in all six of his wins this season.

Keim placed fourth in the regional last year after taking second in 2018-19 when he qualified for the national tournament.

Rosen, Johnson, Garrett and Morgan will be competing in their first regional tournament.

RANKED WRESTLERS IN THE REGIONAL: There are at least two ranked individuals in each of the 10 weights for Super Regional IV.

125 – No. 1 Mason Turner, Fort Hays State and No. 11 Christian Mejia, McKendree
133 – No. 6 Tanner Hitchcock, Lindenwood and No. 7 Tyler Kreith, Maryville
141 – No. 2 Colby Smith, Lindenwood; No. 5 Peter Kuster, Drury and No. 8 Devin Schwartzkopf, McKendree
149 – No. 1 Gavin Londoff, Lindenwood and No. 9 Tyler Stegall, Maryville
157 – No. 3 Ronnie Gentile, Lindenwood; No. 4 Nate Smalling, McKendree; No. 9 Ty Lucas, Central Oklahoma and No. 12 John Ridle, Central Missouri
165 – No. 2 Kameron Frame, Newman and No. 11 Dayton Garrett, Central Oklahoma
174 – No. 1 Abner Romero, Lindenwood; No. 4 Josh Jones, McKendree and No. 7 Wyatt Jordan, Central Oklahoma
184 – No. 1 Heath Gray, Central Oklahoma; No. 4 Dan Filipek, McKendree and No. 7 Bailey Kelly, Maryville
197 – No. 1 Ryan Vasbinder, McKendree and No. 3 Dalton Abney, Central Oklahoma
Hvy – No. 3 Jared Rennick, Drury and No. 8 A.J. Cooper, Fort Hays State

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 197

Tanner Cole: 5' 6"; Junior

Dayton Garrett: 5' 10"; Senior; 165

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Senior; 184

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Junior; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Junior; 157

Braden Morgan: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

Wyatt Jordan: 5' 11"; Senior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Freshman

Paxton Rosen: 5' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 197

Tanner Cole
: 5' 6"; Junior

Dayton Garrett
: 5' 10"; Senior; 165

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Senior; 184

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Junior; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Junior; 157

Braden Morgan
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

Wyatt Jordan
: 5' 11"; Senior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Paxton Rosen
: 5' 3"; Junior