Bronchos Open Bid For National Duals Title Thursday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 5) -- Top-ranked Central Oklahoma resumes the 2021-22 campaign after a lengthy break Thursday when the Bronchos take on No. 9 Findlay in the first round of the NWCA Division II National Duals.

UCO, 3-0 in duals, and the Roughnecks (1-0) tangle at 8 a.m. (Central time) at the Kentucky International Convention Center. The Bronchos -- who haven't competed since capturing the prestigious Midwest Classic title on Dec. 18-19 -- will meet the Mercyhurst-Colorado Mesa winner or loser in their second match.

The double-elimination tournament continues throughout the day Thursday, then resumes Friday morning and wraps up with afternoon placement matches. Fifteen teams will compete, including six ranked in the top 25 – UCO, No. 2 St. Cloud State, No. 3 McKendree, No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 8 Indianapolis and No. 9 Findlay.

Twenty-four teams were originally scheduled to attend, but nine schools withdrew in the past few days due to health and safety reasons.

"A lot of teams have backed out, but it's still going to be a super-tough event with most of the top teams," said head coach Todd Steidley, who is 63-11 in his sixth year at the helm. "It's going to be a great challenge for our guys and we're looking forward to it.

"We can't look past anybody and just have to focus on the team in front of us each round. Obviously one of our goals this season was to win this event and that's the mentality we have going in."

The Bronchos will face several obstacles in their bid to win the NWCA Division II National Duals title for the first time since 2002. Most notable is the presence of No. 2 St. Cloud State, which enters the tournament riding an incredible NCAA Division II-record 74-match winning streak.

The Huskies have won the last three national dual crowns (last year's was canceled) along with the last three NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships titles (the 2020 tournament was canceled). SCSU's last dual loss was a 22-17 setback to Indianapolis on Jan. 14, 2017.

UCO finished third in the last NWCA Division II Duals that were contested in 2020. The Bronchos won their first two matches, then dropped a 22-12 semifinal decision to St. Cloud State before beating Nebraska-Kearney 18-13 for third.

THE LINEUP: Central is taking 15 individuals for the tournament:

125 – Paxton Rosen, Jr. (14-3) and Studd Morris, So. (10-4); 133 – Tanner Cole, Jr. (9-2); 141 – Nate Keim, Jr. (13-3) and Peter Rolle, RS Fr. (13-6); 149 – Brik Filippo, Jr. (14-2); 157 – Ty Lucas, Jr. (8-0) and Gabe Johnson, Fr. (17-2); 165 – Anthony DesVigne, So. (11-5) and Hunter Jump, RS Fr. (13-3); 174 – DesVigne and Jump; 184 – Heath Gray, Sr. (2-0) and Alex Kauffman, Jr. (19-3); 197 – Dalton Abney, So. (10-0); Hvy – Braden Morgan, RS Fr. (14-6) and Christian Arriola, So. (11-7).

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO tops the Division II rankings on the strength of three No. 1 individuals -- 133 Tanner Cole, 184 Heath Gray and 197 Dalton Abney.

The Bronchos have four other individuals ranked in the top eight, with 149 Brik Filippo and 157 Ty Lucas both third, 141 Nate Keim fourth and 125 Paxton Rosen eighth.

The Division poll awards points according to individual rankings, with UCO's three No. 1s enough to hold off St. Cloud State. The Huskies have eight wrestlers in the top eight, led by top-rated 141 Joey Bianchini.

Gray, the defending national champion, is slated to return to action this week for the first time since Nov. 14. The senior star has won 43 straight matches and owns an incredible 80-3 career record with 52 bonus wins.

Abney was UCO's lone champion at the Midwest Classic and is 10-0 with five bonus wins, including four falls. He's 33-4 for his career.

Cole and Lucas will be back in the lineup after both missed the Midwest Classic to illness. Cole is 9-2 with five bonus victories, while Lucas is 8-0 with three major decisions.

Alex Kauffman, who filled in at 184 while Gray was out, is 19-3 with 10 bonus wins and had a clutch third-place finish at the Midwest Classic. He beat two individuals ranked in the top 10 in that tournament.

The Bronchos will be without starting 174 Kalin Winkler this week. UCO will be forced to bump one of its two 165-pounders – Anthony DesVigne and Hunter Jump -- up a weight in every dual.

Keim and Filippo both had key runner-up finishes at the Midwest in jumping up in the latest rankings. Keim went from 10th to fourth and Filippo from seventh to third.

ABOUT FINDLAY: The Roughnecks edged No. 4 West Liberty 19-18 in their only dual and finished eighth in the Midwest Classic that UCO won.

UF crowned two champions at the Midwest in 141 Branson Proudlock and 157 James Wimer.

Proudlock trimmed UCO's Nate Keim 4-3 in the finals and is ranked second in the country. Top-ranked and defending national champion Wimer was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler after cruising to four easy wins.

The Bronchos own a 4-0 lead in the series. The teams last met in the first round of the 2014 NWCA Division II National Duals, with UCO claiming a 29-9 victory.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

Christian Arriola: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman; 285

Tanner Cole: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Freshman

Braden Morgan: 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

Christian Arriola
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman; 285

Tanner Cole
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Freshman

Braden Morgan
: 6' 2"; Freshman