Dominating Day Puts UCO In Control At Midwest

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 17) – A fast start along with a host of quarterfinal upsets has Central Oklahoma in control of the team race at the 43rd Midwest Classic.

The No. 3-ranked and defending champion Bronchos won their first 22 matches Saturday – earning bonus points in 17 of those – and ended up pushing eight wrestlers into the semifinals to seize command of the big 43-team field. UCO ended the day 28-2 with 19 bonus victories.

Making the semis were 125 Studd Morris, 133 Dylan Lucas, 149 Brik Filippo, 157 Gabe Johnson, 174 Tre'Vaughn Craig, 184 Anthony DesVigne, 197 Dalton Abney and Hvy Shawn Streck. Nate Keim (141) and Ty Lucas (165) are still alive in the consolations.

Lucas, Filippo, Johnson, Craig and DesVigne all knocked off top-three seeds in the quarters, with Morris, Filippo, Craig and DesVigne each winning in overtime.

UCO finished the dominating day with 107 points for a massive 42.5-point lead over No. 6-ranked Pittsburgh-Johnstown. No. 22 Mary is third with 54 points, followed by No. 4 Lander (53) and Upper Iowa (45). The tournament resumes at 8:30 Sunday and runs until its conclusion.

"Our guys wrestled their butts off today," said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team scored 106.5 points in winning last year's tournament. "We had a great day, winning a lot of bonus matches and also getting some huge overtime wins in the quarterfinals.

"I saw some stuff we've been working on that showed today and I was proud of that. We can't let up tomorrow and need to keep moving guys forward."

Morris opened Central's dominating start with a first-period pin, followed with an easy 11-2 major decision and then pulled out a thrilling 9-7 sudden-death victory over Lander's seventh-seeded James Joplin in the quarterfinals.

The second-seeded Morris will face Brendon Garcia of Adams State. The unseeded Garcia pulled off two upsets in making the semis.

Lucas notched three bonus wins on the day, none bigger than a stunning quarterfinal fall. The eighth-seeded sophomore opened with easy 16-0 and 14-4 routs, then pinned top-seeded Collin Metzger in just 1:33.

Lucas will take on fifth-seeded Eric Bartos of Mercyhurst in the semis.

Filippo breezed into the quarterfinals with a first-period fall and 16-3 major decision before pulling off a sensational semifinal comeback. The seventh-seeded senior fell behind 6-0 in the opening minute to second-seeded Darick Lapaglia of Central Missouri and still trailed by that margin entering the final period.

But Filippo rallied in the final two minutes to tie the match at 7-7, then got the winning takedown early in the sudden-victory period for a thrilling 9-7 win. Filippo will go against Gannon's third-seeded Nick Young in the semis.

The sixth-seeded Johnson started off with an 18-2 technical fall, then earned an 8-4 victory in the second round before capping his day with a second-period pin of third-seeded Logan Bailey of Indianapolis.

The redshirt freshman will face Pitt-Johnstown's second-seeded Nate Smith in the semifinals.

The unseeded Craig pulled out a tough 8-5 first-round win, followed with a second-period fall over the No. 8 seed and then knocked off top-seeded Dillon Walker of Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals. Craig earned that upset on the strength of a 21-second riding time advantage after the two were tied 2-2 following a sudden-victory period and two tiebreaker periods.

The senior will go against McKendree's Zeke Waltz in Sunday's semis, who also pulled off two upsets on the first day.

DesVigne had no trouble in his first two matches with a 20-2 technical fall and 10-2 major decision over the No. 7 seed before secured UCO's fifth quarterfinal upset. The unseeded junior toppled Wisconsin-Parkside's second-seeded Reece Worachek 3-1 on a takedown midway through the first sudden-victory period.

DesVigne will meet third-seeded Logan Hall of Lander in the semis.

Abney didn't give up a point in marching into the semis. The defending national champion and No. 1 seed had a 14-0 major decision in the opening round, then posted 4-0 and 6-0 shutouts in stretching his winning streak to 37 in a row.

Abney will go against fourth-seeded Anderson Salisbury of Colorado Mines in the semifinals.

Streck overwhelmed three straight opponents in rolling into the semis. The top-seeded junior started with a first-period fall, piled up a big lead before ending his second match in the second stanza and then breezed to a 16-4 quarterfinal drubbing.

Unseeded Johnny Green of Ouachita Baptist will be Steck's semifinal opponent.

Keim and Ty Lucas both lost in the quarterfinals after each won their first two matches.

The seventh-seeded Keim had a pair of falls, then dropped a 6-3 decision to old nemesis and No. 2 seed Peter Kuster of Drury. The unseeded Lucas had easy 10-0 and 11-5 wins before falling to top-seeded Shane Gantz of Wisconsin-Parkside, who ended a tense battle with a fall at the overtime buzzer.

MIDWEST CLASSIC
CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, pinned Porter Finstad, Lincoln Memorial, 1:15.
133 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, tech. fall Franky Medina, King, 16-0 (5:21).
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, pinned Harold Robinson, Mount Olive, 3:50.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, pinned Easton Norris, Quincy, 2:53.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, tech. fall Logan Simpson, Lincoln Memorial, 18-2 (6:03).
165 – Ty Lucas, UCO, major dec. Nicholas Krauss, Lincoln Memorial, 10-0.
174 – Tre'Vaughn Craig, UCO, dec. Samuel Loera, Adams State, 8-5.
184 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, tech. fall Aidan Peterson, Indianapolis, 20-2 (3:46).
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, major dec. Marvelous Rutledge, Notre Dame, 14-0.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, pinned De'Leon Freeman, Newman, 1:58.

SECOND ROUND
125 – Morris, UCO, major dec. Noah Yeamans, Ouachita Baptist, 11-2.
133 – Lucas, UCO, major dec. Kaleem Heard, Limestone, 14-4.
141 – Keim, UCO, pinned Grayston DiBlasi, Colorado Mines, 4:56.
149 – Filippo, UCO, major dec. Teague Dilbeck, Colorado Mines, 16-3.
157 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Ryan Wilson, Western Colorado, 8-4.
165 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Hunter Mullin, Western Colorado, 11-5.
174 – Craig, UCO, pinned Bret Heil, Maryville, 4:16.
184 – DesVigne, UCO, major dec. Joey Williams, Maryville, 10-2.
197 – Abney, UCO, dec. Logan Kvien, McKendree, 4-0.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, pinned Clayton Ours, Tiffin, 5:44.

QUARTERFINALS
125 – Morris, UCO, dec. James Joplin, Lander, 9-7 (SV1).
133 – Lucas, UCO, pinned Collin Metzger, Colorado Mesa, 1:33.
141 – Peter Kuster, Drury, dec. Keim, UCO, 6-3.
149 – Filippo, UCO, dec. Darick Lapaglia, Central Missouri, 9-7 (SV1).
157 – Johnson, UCO, pinned Logan Bailey, Indy, 4:51.
165 – Shane Gantz, Wisconsin-Parkside, dec. Lucas, UCO, 3-2 (TB1).
174 – Craig, UCO, dec. Dillon Walker, Mercyhurst, 2-2 (TB1 – 21-second riding time advantage).
184 – DesVigne, UCO, dec. Reece Worachek, Wisconsin-Parkside, 3-1 (SV1).
197 – Abney, UCO, dec. Chase Stegall, Maryville, 6-0.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, major dec. Hunter Harnish, Mercyhurst, 16-4.

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Tre'Vaughn Craig: 5' 11"; Senior

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Junior

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Senior; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Senior; 157

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Junior

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Dylan Lucas: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Tre'Vaughn Craig
: 5' 11"; Senior

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Junior

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Senior; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Senior; 157

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Junior

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Sophomore