How About This Modern-Era All-Time UCO Wrestling Team!

Trying to choose an all-time team for any sports team is always difficult, but it's even harder when you're dealing with a Central Oklahoma wrestling program that has enjoyed such amazing success over the past 50 years.

UCO reinstated its wrestling program in 1972 after a 25-year hiatus and the Bronchos have captured 15 national championships in the 50 years since – eight in NAIA and seven in NCAA Division II. There have been another 19 top-four finishes, including seven runner-up showings.

Filtering through the dozens of national champions and hundreds of All-Americans who took the mat for the Bronchos to come up with a 30-member team – three at each weight -- was a monumental task indeed.

Does this three-time finalist go over that two-champ champion here? How do you pick between a pair of three-time winners there? And what about the weight that had a trio of two-time champions, all with the credentials to be the first-teamer?

There were some easy choices and there were many more hard ones, but there is no contesting the strength of this squad. Nearly 1,100 career wins, 21 national titles and 37 All-America finishes attest to the quality of the first team alone.

So, in celebration of the program's 50-year anniversary of reinstatement, here is the Modern Era All-Time UCO Team.

118-25: Randy Zellner earned the first-team nod by a narrow margin after an 8-1-2-2 career from 1990-94 that saw him finish with 132 career wins. A three-time regional champion who helped the Bronchos to three straight Division II team titles, Zellner won a national title as a sophomore before losing narrow finals decisions the next years.

Mark Dodgen was a close second after 1-3-1 national finishes from 1999-03. He won three regional titles, had a 78-16 career record with 33 falls and was part of two national championship teams.

Shawn Fleming (7-2-1) won 120 matches from 1986-90 and was the third-team pick. Jeff Robinett (5-2-3), Kent Taylor (3-4-3), Brock Moore (8-3-3) and Keith Kizarr (3-2) were honorable mentions.

126-33: The top three have a combined nine national titles, but there was a clear-cut winner in four-time champion Cole Province. One of just five Division II wrestlers to have four titles, Province racked up 130 career wins from 2000-04 and led UCO to a pair of team titles. He also won four regional titles and went 66-1 his final two years.

It was a tight race for second between a pair of two-time national champs, with Brian Melchiori coming out on top. Melchiori claimed Division II titles in 1994 and '95 with finals falls both times, won the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational as a senior and finished his two-year career with a 70-16 record.

And how's this for the third choice – two-time national champ Terry Henry. All Henry did was go 46-6-1 and capture NAIA championships in 1974 and '75 in his two years with the Bronchos. Honorable mention went to Matt Goodson (3-5-1) and Casy Rowell (5-5-1).

134-41: A pair of four-time All-Americans and two-time champions battled it out here, with the first-team pick one who impacted the program unlike any other individual. David James had 3-2-1-1 national tournament finishes from 1976-80, amassing a glittering 116-16 career record. He led the Bronchos to their first-ever national team title in 1979 and later became head coach. D.J. compiled a 396-144-5 dual record while guiding UCO to 12 of its 15 national titles during an unparalleled 34-year career from 1982-2016.

Kyle Evans is the second-team pick after a fantastic career from 2004-08, finishing with a 125-20 record. He had national finishes of 6-2-1-1, went a staggering 71-2 his final two seasons and led UCO to its last national team title in 2007. Evans was also a four-time regional champ.

Third-team honors go to Joe Starzenski after winning 100 matches with 3-2-1 national finishes in a career that went from 1982-86. He also had the unique distinction of wrestling on four national championship teams. Honorable mention goes to Mike Keim (2-1), Jeff Gowens (2-3-3) and Darren Huff (2-2).

142-49: It was a close contest between a pair of three-time champions, but Ronnie James follows his brother in the all-time lineup. James went 1-1-1-3 in the NAIA national tournament from 1980-84, losing his bid for a fourth national crown with a quarterfinal upset as a senior before bouncing back to take third. He finished 122-16-1 for his career and helped the Bronchos to three national team titles.

Jerry Best is the second-team selection after capturing three gold medals of his own in 1994-95-96. A four-time high school state champion, Best went 77-13 for his career and helped UCO to a pair of team titles.

The third-team choice is Todd Drake, a three-time regional champion who had 3-3-1 national finishes from 1989-93 in winning 121 career matches. Honorable mention goes to Todd Steidley (1-2), Gable Sullivan (6-2-2) and Shea Timothy (7-6-4).

150-57: For the third straight weight it's a product of Del City High School who fills the top spot, this time with Johnny Nimmo the undisputed pick. Nimmo never won a state title, but he's one of just 16 four-time national champions on the collegiate level. Nimmo earned NAIA titles in 1987-88-89 before pulling out an improbable last-second finals victory as a senior in 1990 to win his fourth championship in UCO's first year of Division II competition. Nimmo finished with 131 career wins – including a perfect 88-0 mark against NAIA opponents – and 55 falls.

The second-team pick is Cory Dauphin, who had 6-1-2 national finishes while winning 124 matches in a career that went from 2010-14. Dauphin owns the school record for consecutive wins at 54.

Kevin Freeman placed 2-3-2 in the national tournament from 1984-88 to earn the third-team nod. Shawn Bateman (2-1) and Jody Marple (2-3) were honorable mention choices.

158-65: It was an incredibly close race for the No. 1 spot between four viable candidates, but Shawn Silvis emerged on top. Silvis had 1-1-2 national tournaments finishes from 2000-04, helped the Bronchos to back-to-back team titles in 2002 'and 03 and racked up 131 career wins.

Chris Watson is No. 2 after collecting 130 wins from 2011-15 with 4-2-1 national finishes. He went a perfect 42-0 as a senior in earning national tournament Outstanding Wrestler honors and was also named the Division II Wrestler of the Year.

Mark Cunningham was the third-team pick, placing 6-2-1-7 and winning 113 matches from 1993-97. Honorable mention goes to Jack O'Connor (1-2-6).

167-74: One of the most impressive weights in the lineup, with each of the top three a four-time All-American and two-time national champion. Coming out No. 1 is Bill Mitchell, who had a 92-11 career record from 1973-76 for a .893 winning percentage that is second-best in school history. He had 1-2-2 NAIA national finishes and won the Division II title as a senior after a runner-up NAIA finish when UCO competed in both national tournaments.

The second-team pick is Howard Moore, who placed 7-1-2-1 from 1990-92. He won as an unseeded sophomore in 1990, lost in the finals to a four-time champion the next year and clinched UCO's first Division II team championship with his finals win as a senior.

Keith Cunningham is the third-team selection and all he did was win a school-record 141 matches during his career from 1990-94. He led the Bronchos to three team titles with national finishes of 1-1-2 and was an overtime finals loss as a senior from being No. 1 at this loaded weight.

Honorable mention goes to Gary Astle (7-6-4), Howard Seay (2-5) and Brett Beams (2-5).

177-84: Another loaded weight with a trio of two-time champions in the mix, but Heath Gray earns the nod for the top spot. Gray completed his four-year career in March and had 3-1-1 national tournament finishes, with the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the cancellation of the 2020 national tournament preventing him from winning a third title. Gray was ranked No. 1 entering the national tourney that season and ended up being named Division II Wrestler of the Year and an All-American by the NWCA. A four-time regional champion, Gray finished his illustrious career with an astounding 94-4 record for a school-record .959 winning percentage and won 50 consecutive matches at one point.

Coming in a close second was Benny Coleman, who placed 1-4-2-1 from 1980-84. He won the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational during his senior season and was also named Outstanding Wrestler at the national tournament. Coleman racked up a 101-18 career record and helped the Bronchos to three national team titles.

The third-team pick is Bill Ameen, who claimed NAIA titles in 1981 and '82 in his only two years at UCO. Edwin Lorne (5-1) and Jeff Henning (3-3) were honorable mention choices.

190-97: Once again a really tough call, but a current standout with two years still remaining earned the top spot. Dalton Abney is on track to become UCO's first-ever five-time All-American after capturing the national championship in March to cap a perfect 26-0 season. Abney dropped a 1-0 decision in last year's finals to finish as runner-up and was named an NWCA All-American in 2020 when the national tournament was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in an extra year of eligibility. Abney is 49-4 for his career.

Finishing a close second was Greg Oplotnik, who had 5-1-3 national finishes from 1987-91 while winning 111 career matches. Oplotnik breezed to the national title as a junior before suffering a semifinal upset in a third-place senior finish.

The third-team pick is Muhammed Lawal, a three-time regional champion with 2-1 national finishes from 1999-02. Lawal went 39-2 with 30 bonus-point wins in cruising to the national title as a junior, then transferred to Oklahoma State for his senior season and was a third-place Division I national placer. Honorable mention went to Chad Humphrey (5-3).

Heavyweight: Rounding out our Modern Era Team is Dustin Finn, UCO's only three-time heavyweight All-American. Finn -- also an offensive line starter in football for the Bronchos -- had 2-2-3 national tournament finishes while winning 89 matches with 35 falls from 2007-10. He lost narrow finals decisions in both 2008 and '09 to undefeated wrestlers. This is the only weight where UCO hasn't crowned an individual national champion.

Josh LeadingFox is the second-team choice. He won 100 career matches and finished 5-2 in the national tournament from 2003-07, helping the Bronchos claim their last team title with his runner-up showing as a senior.

The third-team choice is Jeff Pease, who became the school's first heavyweight national finalist in 1995 in helping UCO win its fourth straight team title before coming in seventh the next year. Honorable mention is Richard Long (4-4).

Let the debates begin!

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Players Mentioned

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

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Junior; 184

Players Mentioned

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

Heath Gray
: 5' 11"; Junior; 184