Bronchos Advance To National Duals Semifinals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 6) – Nate Keim and Shawn Streck cruised to a pair of bonus-point wins to power top-ranked Central Oklahoma into the semifinals of NWCA Division II National Duals Friday at the Kentucky Expo Center.

Keim had a technical fall at 141 pounds and Streck a major decision at heavyweight as the defending champion Bronchos trimmed unrated Augustana 22-12 in the first round, with both scoring major decision in a 25-9 rout of No. 12 Indianapolis in the quarterfinals.

UCO improved to 5-0 on the season in pushing its winning streak to 24 straight while also recording the 600th win in program history against Augie. The Bronchos – now 601-251-11 in their 70th season -- advanced to Saturday's 10 a.m. semifinals against No. 4 West Liberty.

No. 3 St. Cloud State and No. 11 Mary will meet in the other semifinal after Mary upset No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney 21-12. The two semifinal winners wrestle for the tournament title at 2 p.m., with the two losers meeting for third at the same time.

"We came out pretty flat in the first match, but I thought we wrestled a lot better in the second one," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It's not suppose to be easy in an event like this and it certainly wasn't. We found a way to get it done in beating two good teams and we're moving on

"West Liberty is fired up and has a lot of momentum. They won on criteria and they're excited. We're going to have to be ready to go."

The Vikings gave UCO a fight in the opening round.

Augie's second-ranked Jaxon Rohman trimmed No. 10 Studd Morris 5-3 at 125 to give the Vikings and early 3-0 lead, but UCO won the next four matches to surge in front.

Dylan Lucas started that streak at 133, scoring a takedown and a pair of two-point near-falls in the opening period for an 8-0 lead. The second-ranked sophomore piled up more than five minutes riding time in a 9-1 major decision.

Keim followed coasted to a 15-0 technical fall in the next match, grabbing a 10-0 lead after the first three minutes with a takedown and two four-point near-falls. The ninth-ranked senior ended the match with an escape early in the final stanza.

Sixth-rated Brik Filippo had four takedowns in an 11-8 victory at 149, then Gabe Johnson prevailed 8-2 in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 157 to push UCO's lead to 15-3.

The second-ranked Johnson had no trouble against No. 7 Miles Fitzgerald, scoring takedowns in all three periods and adding a riding time point for an easy 8-2 decision.

Augie won the next three matches to pull within 15-12, but the Bronchos had Dalton Abney and Streck in the last two weights.

The top-ranked Abney had two takedowns, a reverse and more than three minutes riding time in a methodical 7-1 triumph at 197.

Streck was relentless on his feet, racking up six of his nine takedowns in the opening period on his way to a dominating 20-8 major decision to end the dual

Morris opened the Indy dual with a 5-0 shutout, but the Greyhounds pulled even when No. 8 Breyden Bailey knocked off the second-ranked D. Lucas 6-2 at 133.

Keim quickly put the Bronchos back in front with another dominating effort. He had two reverses, a takedown and two-point near-fall along with more than three minutes riding time in a 9-0 major decision for his second shutout of the day.

Filippo followed with a 13-3 major decision, scoring three takedowns and a four-point near-fall, then Johnson came out on top in a big showdown with No. 3 Logan Bailey.

The redshirt freshman gave up an early takedown, but quickly escaped and got a takedown of his own. Bailey got loose to tie it only to have Johnson swoop in for a takedown with two seconds left to take a 5-3 lead after the first period.

Johnson escaped in the second stanza, then rode Bailey the entire third period to add a riding time point for a convincing 7-3 victory.

No. 8 Jack Eiteljorge nipped fourth-rated Ty Lucas 3-2 on a riding time point at 165 to cut UCO's lead to 14-6 before the Bronchos cruised in the next two bouts to clinch the dual.

Anthony DesVigne had two takedowns and a pair of four-point near-falls in a 14-1 major decision at 174, then Alex Kauffman breezed to a 7-1 victory.

Indy scored a big upset at 197 when No. 11 Derek Blubaugh knocked off Abney in overtime, ending Abney's 40-match winning streak. The two were deadlocked 1-1 after regulation, with Blubaugh coming out on top in a scramble on the edge of the mat to get a takedown and near-fall late in the two-minute sudden-victory period for a 7-1 triumph.

The second-ranked Streck capped the dual with another overwhelming performance. This time the agile big man recorded nine takedowns in a 20-6 romp, giving him 18 takedowns on the day.

UCO 22, Augustana 12
125 – Jaxon Rohman, Augie, dec. Studd Morris, 5-3.
133 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, major dec. John Babineau, 9-1.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, tech. fall Kage Lenger, 15-0 (5:12).
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, dec. Connor Simmonds, 11-8.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Miles Fitzgerald, 8-2.
165 – Tyler Wagener, Augie, dec. Ty Lucas, 3-2.
174 – Kolby Kost, Augie, dec. Anthony DesVigne, 10-4.
184 – Cade Mueller, Augie, dec. Alex Kauffman, 5-0.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Max Ramberg, 7-1.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, major dec. Edward Hajas, 20-8.

UCO 25, Indianapolis 9
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, dec. Noah Cantu, 5-0.
133 – Breyden Bailey, Indy, dec. Dylan Lucas, 6-2.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, major dec. Brayden Lowry, 9-0.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, major dec. Jackson Hoover, 13-3.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Logan Bailey, 7-3.
165 – Jack Eiteljorge, Indy, dec. Ty Lucas, 6-4.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, major dec. Owen Butler, 14-1.
184 – Alex Kauffman, UCO, dec. Clint Kyle, 7-1.
197 – Derek Blubaugh, Indy, dec. Dalton Abney, 7-1 (SV-1).
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, major dec. Jay Thompson, 20-6.

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

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

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Dylan Lucas: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

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

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Sophomore