No. 1 Bronchos Clobber No. 4 West Liberty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 7) – Gabe Johnson and Shawn Streck had first-period falls in battles of ranked individuals to highlight top-ranked Central Oklahoma's 38-3 throttling of No. 4 West Liberty State in the semifinals of NWCA Division II National Duals Saturday morning at the Kentucky Expo Center.

The second-ranked Johnson needed just 1:27 to pin No. 6 Jamar Williams at 157 pounds, while the second-rated Streck decked No. 6 Francesco Borsellino two seconds ahead of the opening-period buzzer at heavyweight.

The Bronchos also got bonus-point wins from 125 Studd Morris, 149 Brik Filippo and 197 Dalton Abney in overwhelming the Hilltoppers. UCO had a 18-1 takedown advantage in the dual and scored eight penalty points, six for stalling.

Central moved to 6-0 with its 25th consecutive win in advancing to the 2 p.m. finals against No. 3 St. Cloud State, which beat No. 11 Mary 26-6. It's a rematch of last year's title bout, won by the Bronchos 19-14.

"We wrestled well in every phase," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We were aggressive on our feet, did a good job getting off bottom and controlled things on the mat. The guys came out really focused and did a great job.

"It will be a big challenge against St. Cloud. They've got a great team and they'll be gunning for us after we beat them last year. It should be a great dual."

Morris got UCO off to a big start with a 17-2 technical fall, scoring four takedowns, a near-fall and reverse in the lopsided win.

The Bronchos lost their only match of the dual at 133 where No. 2 Dylan Lucas fell 6-5 to sixth-ranked Vincent Scollo. Lucas appeared to get the winning takedown on the edge of the mat with one second remaining, but match officials waved off the two points after a video review.

It was all UCO after that.

Nate Keim won his third match of the weekend with a 4-1 decision at 141 and Filippo followed with an 11-0 shutout. The sixth-rated Filippo had two takedowns, a near-fall and three penalty points in the major decision.

Johnson then continued an impressive tournament performance with his third straight win over a ranked opponent. He beat the Nos. 3 and 7 wrestlers Friday, then struck for a quick takedown and near-fall against Williams before ending it at the 1:27 mark.

Ty Lucas pulled out a hard-fought 4-2 victory in the first tiebreaker at 157 behind a last-second takedown, then Anthony DesVigne had a pair of takedowns in a 7-3 triumph at 174.

Alex Kauffman also had two takedowns in a 5-2 win at 184 and the top-ranked Abney breezed to a 17-1 technical fall. Abney, who had a 40-match winning streak snapped Friday afternoon against Indianapolis, had three takedowns, two near-falls and a reverse in getting back on track.

Streck capped the rout with his third consecutive bonus win of the weekend. He got a takedown with a minute remaining in the opening stanza and was close to riding out the period when Borsellino got lose with seven seconds left only to have Streck whip him to his back for the fall at 2:58.

UCO 38, West Liberty State 3
125 –Studd Morris, UCO, tech. fall Alexander Crane, 17-2.
133 – Vincent Scollo, WLSU, dec. Dylan Lucas, 6-5.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, dec. Khyvon Grace, 4-1.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, major dec. Jacob Simpson, 11-0.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, pinned Jamar Williams, 1:27.
165 – Ty Lucas, UC, dec. Alec Cook, 4-2 (TB-1).
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Chase Morgan, 7-3.
184 – Alex Kauffman, UCO dec. Chance Morgan, 5-2.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, tech. fall Drake Kendrex, 17-1.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, pinned Francesco Borsellino, 2:58.

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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