Wrestling 1/7/2023 4:25:00 PM

UCO Falls In National Duals Finals To St. Cloud

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 7) – A potential overtime win that turned into a devastating loss by fall and an injury that severely handicapped a returning national champion was simply too much for Central Oklahoma to overcome in NWCA Division II National Duals finals Saturday afternoon.

The top-ranked Bronchos fell to No. 3 St. Cloud State 19-16 in a hotly-contested match that saw several dramatic momentum swings, with the biggest coming in the opening weight at 125 pounds.

UCO's 10th-ranked Studd Morris was deadlocked 4-4 with No. 6 Paxton Creese late in the two-minute sudden victory period and appeared close to securing a winning takedown. But Creese hit a roll to come out on top and trapped Morris on his back, getting the fall at the 8:31 mark.

The Bronchos overcame that 6-0 deficit to get within 15-13 heading into the final two weights when misfortunate hit again.

This time top-ranked and defending national champion Dalton Abney suffered a severe ankle injury as he was close to an opening-period takedown. The hobbled Abney completed the match basically on one leg in losing a 9-0 major decision to No. 4 Dominic Murphy.

That gave St. Cloud a 19-13 lead, though UCO could have still tied the dual and won on criteria with a fall at heavyweight. Second-rated Shawn Streck did all he could in a 10-3 rout, but SCSU's Elijah Novak managed to stay off his back.

The Huskies ended UCO's 25-match winning streak in avenging a loss in last year's finals, when the Bronchos snapped SCSU's NCAA-record 77-match winning streak with a 19-14 win.

"We had a lot of chances to win the dual and just came up a little short," head coach Todd Steidley said. "I thought our guys fought hard, but we lost a few matches that could have gone either way and Dalton's injury certainly didn't help our situation.

"Overall it was a good weekend for us. We started a little slow yesterday and got better every round. It's a disappointing loss for us, but we'll get back to work and keep moving forward."

Dylan Lucas had the lone bonus-point win for UCO with a major decision at 133, while 141 Nate Keim, 165 Ty Lucas, 184 Alex Kauffman and Streck also won.

The second-ranked D. Lucas had three takedowns, a near-fall and reverse in a 12-3 rout of No. 12 Caleb Meekins, securing the bonus point on a takedown with 30 seconds left.

Keim followed with a 9-4 victory to give the Bronchos a 7-6 lead. The ninth-ranked senior scored three takedowns and controlled No. 8 Alyeus Craig the entire third period in polishing off a perfect 4-0 weekend.

UCO lost one-point decisions at the next two weights to fall behind for good.

Sixth-rated Brik Filippo couldn't come up with a last-second takedown in a tough 9-8 setback to No. 4 Joey Biarchini at 149, then No. 2 Gabe Johnson lost 6-5 on a riding-time point to fourth-rated Nick Novak.

Fourth-ranked Ty Lucas got the Bronchos back on track with a tight 3-1 victory over No. 10 Anthony Herrera at 165 before Anthony DesVigne lost a 7-3 decision to No. 1 Abner Romero.

Kauffman had a pair of first-period takedowns in an 8-5 win at 184 that pulled UCO within 15-13 to set the stage for a dramatic comeback, but Abney's injury foiled that.

Streck capped a dominating weekend with his 10-3 triumph, recording four takedowns. The big man racked up 24 takedowns in four easy wins over the weekend in improving to 15-0.

UCO is back in action next Sunday, Jan. 15, when the Bronchos host Colorado State-Pueblo for a 2 p.m. dual at Hamilton Field House.

St. Cloud State 19, UCO 16
125 – Paxton Creese, SCSU, pinned Studd Morris, 8:29 (SV-1).
133 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, major dec. Caleb Meekins, 12-3.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, dec. Alyeus Craig, 9-4.
149 – Joey Biarchini, SCSU, dec. Brik Filippo, 9-8.
157 – Nick Novak, SCSU, dec. Gabe Johnson, 6-5.
165 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Anthony Herrera, 3-1.
174 – Abner Romero, SCSU, dec. Anthony DesVigne, 7-3.
184 – Alex Kauffman, UCO, dec. Bryce Fitzpatrick, 8-5.
197 – Dominic Murphy, SCSU, major dec. Dalton Abney, 9-0.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, dec. Elijah Novak, 10-3.

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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