Bronchos Crown Three Regional Champs

BRACKETS

EDMOND (Feb. 28) – Paxton Rosen, Ty Lucas and Heath Gray captured championships to lead No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma in the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV Tournament Sunday at Hamilton Field House.

Rosen took the title at 125 pounds, Lucas won at 157 and Gray claimed his third straight regional crown at 184, with the Bronchos also getting runner-up finishes from 133 Tanner Cole, 149 Gabe Johnson and 197 Dalton Abney. Wyatt Jordan took third at 174, while 141 Nate Keim, 165 Dayton Garrett and heavyweight Braden Morgan all placed fourth.

Rosen, Lucas, Gray, Cole, Johnson and Abney earned automatic berths into the NCAA Division II Wresting Championships, set for March 12-13 in St. Louis, Mo. Wyatt is expected to receive one of five wildcard bids available.

Team scores were not official due to technical difficulties, though UCO will finish in the top three along with No. 2 Lindenwood and No. 5 McKendree.

"Our kids wrestled hard today and I'm proud of the way they competed," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It was a long day with a lot of tough matches. We gutted out some tough wins we had to have, though we also lost a few."

Rosen rolled into the finals with two easy wins, racking up five takedowns in a 13-3 major decision in the first round before knocking off top-ranked Mason Turner of Fort Hays State 8-2 in the semifinals. Rosen struck for three takedowns against Turner and piled up nearly five minutes riding time in a dominating performance.

The junior transfer capped his perfect day with a 4-0 shutout in the finals over McKendree's Christian Mejia. Rosen struck for a takedown in the opening minute, added an escape to start the second stanza and tacked on a riding time point at the end of the match after a scoreless third period.

Lucas started the day with a methodical 5-2 first-round win before advancing to the finals with a 1-0 upset of No. 3 Ronald Gentile of Lindenwood in the semis, with Lucas scoring the only point of the match on an escape to open the second period.

The ninth-ranked junior and returning All-American claimed the gold medal with a gritty 5-2 triumph over Fort Hays State's Anthony Scantlin. Lucas scored the only two takedowns of the match, getting the clinching one with 38 seconds remaining.

Gray wasn't tested in making the finals as the reigning Division II Wrestler of the Year posted a pair of bonus wins. The top-ranked senior four takedowns and two near-falls in 17-2 technical fall to start the day, then added three more takedowns and a near-fall in a 13-2 major decision in the semis.

Gray toppled No. 4 Dan Filipek of McKendree 4-1 to pick up his third straight regional crown. It was the 37th straight win for Gray, who scored the only offensive points on a first-period takedown before the two traded escapes in the final two periods and Gray added a riding time point.

Johnson made the finals with a pair of low-scoring decisions, opening with a 4-0 shutout before upending No. 9-rated Tyler Stegall of Maryville 4-1 in the semis. The freshman broke a 1-1 tie against Stegall on a takedown in the last 45 seconds and controlled him the rest of the way to take on a riding time point.

Johnson battled Lindenwood's top-ranked Gavin Londoff to a 1-1 stalemate through regulation in the finals and nearly threw Londoff for a winning takedown in sudden-victory before Londoff came out on top to prevail 3-1.

Abney marched into the finals with a pair of falls, one in the first period and one in the third. The third-ranked sophomore needed just 1:47 to end his opening-round match, then was up 4-0 late in his semifinal bout when he reversed Fort Hays State's Tereus Henry to his back and got the pin with 19 seconds left.

Abney lost in the finals to No. 1 Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree 2-0, with Vasbinder getting an escape in the second period and then adding a riding time point after controlling Abney in the final stanza. It's the second straight year Abney fell to Vasbinder in the regional finals.

Cole had four near-falls in cruising to a 16-0 first-period technical fall in the opening round, then dropped a tough 3-2 semifinal decision to sixth-rated Tanner Hitchcock of Lindenwood.

The junior bounced back with a quick first-period fall in the consolation semifinals and then used a pair of takedowns to post a 5-1 victory in the consolation finals. Cole then used a third-period surge – scoring four points in the final 50 seconds -- to rally past Maryville's Tyler Kreith 6-3 in the second-place challenge match to earn an automatic national tournament berth.

Jordan notched an easy 6-1 victory in the first round, then lost 6-3 to No. 3 Josh Jones of McKendree in the semis.

The seventh-ranked senior overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win 8-3 in the consolation semifinals before downing Fort Hays State's Marty Verhaeghe 8-2 to capture third, taking control of that match with an early takedown and four-point near-fall.

Keim started the tournament with a third-period fall before falling to Lindenwood's No. 2-ranked Colby Smith 9-1 in the semis.

The junior bounced back with a hard-fought 3-2 consolation semifinal triumph before losing a 5-2 verdict to Drury's fifth-rated Peter Kuster in finishing fourth.

Garrett had three takedowns in an 8-3 first-round win before getting upset in the semifinals. The 11th-ranked senior rebounded with a 12-1 major decision in the consolation semis, but lost to No. 2 Kameron Frame of Newman in the bronze medal match.

Morgan suffered UCO's only quarterfinal loss, falling 3-2 to No. 8 A.J. Cooper of Fort Hays State. The redshirt freshman bounced back with a 6-1 win in his first consolation bout and then used a pair of four-point near-falls in the final period to post a 12-3 major decision, but lost 7-3 in the bronze medal bout.

Championship Finals
125 – Paxton Rosen, UCO, dec. Christian Mejia, McKendree, 4-0.
149 – Gavin Londoff, Lindenwood, dec. Gabe Johnson, UCO, 3-1 (SV).
157 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Anthony Scantlin, Fort Hays State, 5-2.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, dec. Dan Fillipek, McKendree, 4-1.
197 – Ryan Vasbinder, McKendree, dec. Dalton Abney, UCO, 2-0.

Consolation Finals
133 – Tanner Cole, UCO, dec. Brock Norman, McKendree, 5-1.
141 – Peter Kuster, Drury, dec. Nate Keim, UCO, 5-2.
165 – Kameron Frame, Newman, major dec. Dayton Garrett, UCO, 14-3.
174 – Wyatt Jordan, UCO, dec. Marty Verhaeghe, Fort Hays State, 8-2.
Hvy – Ian Kuehl, McKendree, dec. Braden Morgan, UCO, 7-3.

Second-Place Challenges
133 – Cole, UCO, dec. Tyler Kreith, Maryville, 6-3.

Championship Semifinals
125 – Rosen, UCO, dec. Mason Turner, Fort Hays State, 8-2.
133 – Tanner Hitchcock, Lindenwood, dec. Cole, UCO, 3-2.
141 – Colby Smith, Lindenwood, major dec. Nate Keim, UCO, 9-1.
149 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Tyler Stegall, Maryville, 4-1.
157 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Ronald Gentile, Lindenwood, 1-0.
165 – Nate Trepanier, Lindenwood, dec. Garrett, UCO, 5-1.
174 – Josh Jones, McKendree, dec. Jordan, UCO, 6-3.
184 – Gray, UCO, major dec. Kyle Dickhaus, Lindenwood, 13-2.
197 – Abney, UCO, pinned Tereus Henry, Fort Hays State, 6:41.

Championship Quarterfinals
125 – Rosen, UCO, major dec. Noah Yeamans, Ouachita Baptist, 13-3.
133 – Cole, UCO, tech. fall Evan Kennedy, Ouachita Baptist, 16-0.
141 – Keim, UCO, pinned Tyler Lawley, Newman, 5:36.
149 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Nathan Callaway, McKendree, 4-0.
157 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Ben Stahlman, Drury, 5-2.
165 – Garrett, UCO, dec. Cody Hicks, Fort Hays State, 8-3.
174 – Jordan, UCO, dec. JD Johnson, Newman, 6-1.
184 – Gray, UCO, tech. fall Bryce Faworski, Central Missouri, 17-2.
197 – Abney, UCO, pinned Ryan Cochran, Ouachita Baptist, 1:47.
Hvy – A.J. Cooper, Fort Hays State, dec. Braden Morgan, UCO, 3-2.

Championship Pigtails
157 – Lucas, UCO, major dec. Michael Peters, Maryville, 10-0.

Consolation Quarterfinals
Hvy – Morgan, UCO, dec. Logan Radik, Maryville, 6-1.

Consolation Semifinals
133 – Cole, UCO, pinned Jake Patch, Newman, 1:13.
141 – Keim, UCO, dec. Taylor Jokerst, Maryville, 3-2.
165 – Garrett, UCO, major dec. Caleb Knobel, Maryville, 12-1.
174 – Jordan, UCO, dec. Bret Heil, Maryville, 8-3.
Hvy – Morgan, UCO, major dec. Michael Kramer, Lindenwood, 12-3.

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