Wrestling 1/3/2023 9:31:00 AM

No. 1 UCO Ready For National Duals

Top-ranked Central Oklahoma returns to the mat this weekend when the Bronchos make the long trip to Louisville, Ky. to defend their title at the NWCA Division II National Duals.

UCO, 3-0 in duals and riding a 22-match winning streak, opens the 16-team, double-elimination tournament at 9 a.m. Friday against Augustana (4-3) at the Kentucky Expo Center. The Bronchos will go again at 11 a.m. against the winner or loser of the Gannon-Indianapolis dual.

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"It was nice to get a little break, but the guys have been working hard since we got back in the room," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We know it's going to be a tough weekend and we're looking forward to getting back at it.

"This is a great event and enables us to see a lot of teams we don't normally get a chance to compete against. Obviously there are going to be a lot of really good teams there, starting with Augustana, and our guys have to be ready to go."

UCO hasn't competed since running away with the Midwest Classic crown Dec. 16-17 in Indianapolis. The Bronchos had a week off for the Christmas holidays before returning to practice Dec. 27.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL DUALS: Fourteen of the 16 teams in the field are ranked in the top 25, including the top five.

Other first-round pairings are: No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney vs. Newberry, No. 3 St. Cloud State vs. No. 18 Mercyhurst, No. 4 West Liberty vs. No. 16 Colorado Mesa, No. 5 Lander vs. No. 14 Fort Hays State, No. 9 Upper Iowa vs. No. 12 McKendree, No. 11 Mary vs. No. 24 Ashland and No. 12 Indianapolis vs. No. 14 Gannon.

All first-round matches are at 9 a.m., followed by quarterfinal and opening consolation bouts at 11 a.m. with another round of consolations at 3 p.m.

The tournament resumes Saturday with the consolation semifinals at 8 a.m. and championship semifinals at 10 a.m. Fifth- and seventh-place matches will be at noon, followed by first- and third-place bouts at 2 p.m.

UCO went 4-0 in winning last year's title, beating St. Cloud State 19-14 in the finals to end the Huskies' NCAA-record 77-match winning streak.

The National Duals started as the Showdown Duals in 1993-94 and the Bronchos have participated in 26 of 29 tournaments since then, having finished in the top-six 23 times.

UCO has an 81-30 record in the tournament with five championships (1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2022). The Bronchos also have five runner-up showings (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004).

UCO LINEUP: Teams are allowed to weigh in up to 17 individuals this weekend, with the Bronchos scheduled to take 16 wrestlers to the event.

125 – Studd Morris, Jr. (19-3) and Garrett Steidley, RS Fr. (12-6); 133 – Dylan Lucas, So. (13-1); 141 – Nate Keim, Sr. (12-6), Ryder Ramsey, RS Fr. (17-3) and Josh Taylor, RS Fr. (11-3); 149 – Brik Filippo, Sr. (13-5); 157 – Gabe Johnson, RS Fr. (17-4); 165 – Ty Lucas, Sr. (10-5); 174 – Anthony DesVigne, Jr. (17-3); 184 – Alex Kauffman, Sr. (0-0) and Kohner Gallagher, RS Fr. (11-7); 197 – Dalton Abney, Jr. (13-0) and Emmanuel Skillings, RS Fr. (0-0); Hvy – Shawn Streck, Jr. (11-0) and Christian Arriola, Jr. (12-3).

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO will be looking for its 600th all-time win this weekend, entering the tournament with a 599-251-11 record in its 70th season of competition.

The Bronchos haven't lost a dual since falling to McKendree 20-12 on Feb. 12, 2020. UCO ended that season with a win, then went 5-0 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign and 13-0 last year.

Central has rolled to three easy wins this season to stretch its winning streak to 22 in a row, outscoring Division II rivals Northern State, Drury and Newman a combined 105-18. The longest winning streak in school history is 28, which went from late in the 2015-16 season until early in the 2017-18 campaign.

The Bronchos took over the No. 1 ranking in Division II after dominating the field at the 43-team Midwest Classic in their last outing, scoring a tournament-record 178.5 points in finishing 83.5 points ahead of runner-up Pittsburgh-Johnstown.

All 10 UCO individuals finished in the top six, with 133 Dylan Lucas, 197 Dalton Abney and Hvy Shawn Streck winning titles and Lucas earning Outstanding Wrestler honors after going 5-0 with five bonus-point wins. The Bronchos also got runner-up finishes from 157 Gabe Johnson and 184 Anthony DesVigne, while 165 Ty Lucas came in third.

DesVigne is scheduled to drop down to 174 this weekend as returning All-American Alex Kauffman is back to take over at 184. Kauffman was a sixth-place national place at 174 last season.

Abney continues to be ranked No. 1, with D. Lucas, Johnson and Streck all No. 2. Ty Lucas and DesVigne are both ranked fourth, though DesVigne is listed at 184 where he has spent the majority of the season.

UCO also has 149 Brik Filippo (sixth), 141 Nate Keim (ninth) and 125 Studd Morris (10th) in the individual rankings.

Abney (13-0) and Streck (11-0) are unbeaten on the season, while D. Lucas is 13-1. Lucas has 10 bonus wins, Streck eight and Abney six, with Abney now riding a 39-match winning streak.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS: Augustana returned six national qualifiers from last year's team that finished runner-up in Super Region V and 30th in the national tournament.

The Vikings were ranked fifth in the preseason NWCA Division II poll, but have since fallen out of the top 25. Augie is 4-3 in duals, having lost to two Division I teams (South Dakota State and Minnesota) and Division II's No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney (31-14).

Jaxon Rohman is ranked fifth at 125 and Miles Fitzgerald seventh at 157 to lead the Vikings. Both are returning national qualifiers along with 133 Jack Huffman, 165 Tyler Wagener, 184 Cade Mueller and Hvy Steven Hajas.

UCO owns a 7-2 series lead over Augie, with a 3-2 advantage in the National Duals. The Bronchos won 22-21 in 1999, 21-13 in 2007 and 19-16 in 2015, while the Vikings prevailed 27-12 in 2005 and 16-15 in 2012.

REUNION SET: All former wrestlers, coaches, managers and trainers are invited to the UCO Wrestling Reunion on Jan. 15. The Bronchos host Colorado State-Pueblo at 2 p.m. that day.

Members of the 1992-93 and 2002-03 national championship teams will be recognized at halftime of the dual and a reception for all attendees will be held in the Hamilton Field House practice gym following the match.

Click here to register for the event.

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Christian Arriola: 6' 3"; Junior; 285

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Junior

Brik Filippo: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Alex Kauffman: 5' 10"; Senior

Nate Keim: 5' 7"; Senior; 141

Ty Lucas: 5' 9"; Senior; 157

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Junior

Ryder Ramsey: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Christian Arriola
: 6' 3"; Junior; 285

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Junior

Brik Filippo
: 5' 8"; Senior; 149

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Alex Kauffman
: 5' 10"; Senior

Nate Keim
: 5' 7"; Senior; 141

Ty Lucas
: 5' 9"; Senior; 157

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Junior

Ryder Ramsey
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman