Bronchos Second After First Day At National Tourney

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (March 11) – Alex Kauffman and Shawn Streck pulled out overtime wins to lead five Central Oklahoma individuals into the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Friday night at Chaifetz Arena.

Kauffman (174 pounds) and Streck (285) both prevailed 3-1 on takedowns in the first 30 seconds of the sudden-victory period to advance. The No. 2-ranked Bronchos also pushed 149 Brik Filippo, 184 Heath Gray and 197 Dalton Abney into the semis, while 125 Paxton Rosen is still alive in the consolation bracket.

UCO suffered two big losses when top-seeded 133 Tanner Cole and fifth-seeded 157 Ty Lucas were eliminated.

The Bronchos are second in the team race with 52 points, 14 behind top-rated Nebraska-Kearney. No. 3 St. Cloud State (42.5) is third and No. 4 West Liberty (35.5) fourth.

Final-day action begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the semifinals and conclusion of all consolation matches. The Championship finals are set for 7 p.m. Saturday.

"We lost a few tough matches, but we also won a couple that could have gone either way," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We've got six guys still in the tournament and need to keep moving them forward to have any chance of catching Kearney.

"Our guys battled hard. Every match is a dog fight, but it's the national tournament and that's to be expected. I know we'll come out tomorrow ready to get after it."

The unseeded Kauffman was Central's catalyst in first-day action, pulling off back-to-back upsets.

Kauffman scored a late six-point move to notch a stunning 10-2 major decision of second-seeded Cade Mueller of Augustana in the first round, then downed off No. 7 Joseph Petrella of Gannon 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

Kauffman clinched his opening-match stunner in the final five seconds, turning Mueller's last-gasp takedown try into a takedown of his own and then adding a four-point near-fall and riding-time point to secure the bonus-point win.

His quarterfinal battle with Petrella went to overtime deadlocked 1-1, but Kauffman ended it 27 seconds into the sudden-victory period on a takedown at the edge. Kauffman will face third-seeded Andrew Sams of Indianapolis in the semifinals.

Streck had the lone preliminary round match for UCO and cruised to a 15-3 major decision behind a six-takedown attack. The third-seeded sophomore followed with a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Weston Hunt of Colorado Mines – last year's national runner-up – on the strength of a second-period takedown.

It was another low-scoring tussle in the quarterfinals as Streck and Nebraska-Kearney's sixth-seeded Lee Herrington traded escapes in regulation. Streck struck for the winning takedown 30 seconds into the sudden-victory period and will take on No. 2 Darrell Mason of Minnesota State-Mankato in the semis.

Filippo moved into the semifinals with a pair of decisions. The second-seeded junior opened with a methodical 6-2 behind a pair of takedowns, then used a takedown with two seconds left in the opening period to trim Central Missouri's Darick Lapagila 2-1.

Filippo will face fourth-seeded Noah Hermosillo of Adams State in Saturday's semifinals.

Gray began defense of his national title with two lopsided wins.

The second-seeded senior had six takedowns in a 14-4 first-round rout -- getting the final one with 18 seconds left to earn an extra team point, -- and then had three more along with nearly four minutes riding time in a 9-1 quarterfinal romp.

Gray will meet UNK's third-seeded Billy Higgins in the semifinals. Higgins ended Gray's 50-match winning streak in UCO's dual victory over the Lopers a month ago.

Abney didn't give up a point in advancing to the semis. The top-seeded sophomore opened with a 4-0 triumph, then racked up more than four minutes riding time in a 5-0 quarterfinal shutout to remain unbeaten (24-0).

Abney will take on fifth-seeded Nicholas Mason of Tiffin in the semis.

Rosen opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Jaxson Rohman of Augustana, taking a 3-0 lead on a takedown in the final minute of the third period before giving up a late escape.

The second-seeded junior gave up a first-period takedown in his quarterfinal battle with unseeded Tyshawn White of Wisconsin-Parkside and wasn't able to recover in a 3-2 loss.

Rosen pulled out a third-period comeback to remain alive, overcoming a 5-2 deficit with an escape, takedown, penalty point and riding time point to beat No. 7 Jacob Dunlop of Gannon 7-5.

Lucas racked up five takedowns in a 12-4 major decision to start the day, then fell 6-5 in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Baltazar Gonzalez of American International.

Gonzalez's takedown with 39 seconds left broke a 4-4 tie and Lucas was unable to come up with a takedown of his own after getting a quick escape.

Lucas jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in his first consolation match against Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Nathan Smith, but Smith rallied to win 10-6 in ousting Lucas from the tournament.

Cole dropped into the consolations with a stunning 3-2 first-round setback to Lake Erie's Corey Gamet.

Gamet scored a first-period takedown to take a 2-0 lead, but Cole tied it with an escape later in the period and to start the second. Cole was close to securing a riding time point in the final stanza when Gamet got loose to go ahead 3-2 and he held on for the upset.

Cole bounced back with a 6-1 win in his first consolation point before being eliminated with a 3-0 loss to second-seeded Wesley Dawkins of UNK.

NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS
CHAMPIONSHIP PRELIMINARY ROUND
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, major dec. Juan Holmes, Limestone, 15-3.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
125 – Paxton Rosen, UCO, dec. Jaxson Rohman, Augustana, 3-1.
133 – Corey Gamet, Lake Erie, dec. Tanner Cole, UCO, 3-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, dec. Jordan Watters, West Liberty, 6-2.
157 – Ty Lucas, UCO, major dec. Chance Esmont, Ashland, 12-4.
174 – Alex Kauffman, UCO, major dec. Cade Mueller, Augustana, 10-2.
184 – Heath Gray, UCO, major dec. Cole Houser, Glenville State, 13-4.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Bryce Walker, North Carolina-Pembroke, 4-0.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, dec. Weston Hunt, Colorado Mines, 3-2.

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
125 – Tyshawn White, Shippensburg, dec. Rosen, UCO, 3-2.
149 – Filippo, UCO, dec. Darick Lapagila, Central Missouri, 2-1.
157 – Baltazar Gonzalez, American International, dec. Lucas, UCO, 6-5.
174 – Kauffman, UCO, dec. Joseph Petrella, Gannon, 3-1 (SV).
184 – Gray, UCO, major dec. Reece Worachek, Wisconsin-Parkside, 9-1.
197 – Abney, UCO, dec. Walker Uhl, Ashland, 5-0.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, dec. Lee Herrington, Nebraska-Kearney, 3-1 (SV).

CONSOLATION FIRST ROUND
133 – Cole, UCO, dec. Collin Metzger, Colorado Mesa, 6-1.

CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND
125 – Rosen, UCO, dec. Jacob Dunlop, Gannon, 7-5.
133 – Wesley Dawkins, UNK, dec. Cole, UCO, 3-0.

157 – Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, dec. Lucas, UCO, 10-6.

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Players Mentioned

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

Tanner Cole: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Paxton Rosen: 5' 3"; Junior

Alex Kauffman: 5' 10"; Junior

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 285

Players Mentioned

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

Tanner Cole
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 149

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 157

Paxton Rosen
: 5' 3"; Junior

Alex Kauffman
: 5' 10"; Junior

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 285