Wrestling 2/26/2023 8:17:00 PM

Regional Romp!

EDMOND (Feb. 26) – Nate Keim got past an old nemesis to claim the 141-pound title and lead a parade of seven individual champions that carried top-ranked Central Oklahoma to a runaway victory in the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV Tournament Sunday at Hamilton Field House.

Keim avenged three earlier losses this season to Drury's Peter Kuster with a 3-2 finals victory, while 125 Studd Morris, 133 Dylan Lucas, 157 Gabe Johnson, 174 Anthony DesVigne, 197 Dalton Abney and Hvy Shawn Streck joined him on the top of the podium. It's UCO's most regional champions since 2002.

The Bronchos also got runner-up finishes from 165 Ty Lucas and 184 Alex Kauffman and a third-place effort from 149 Brik Filippo in a dominating performance that overwhelmed the 11-team field.

UCO went 32-3 on the day with 18 bonus-point wins and held a whopping 76-6 advantage in takedowns. The Bronchos racked up 169.5 points in capturing their third straight regional crown – and 22nd overall – to finish 38.5 points ahead of No. 8 Indianapolis.

All 10 individuals advanced to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 10-11 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's the first time the Bronchos have qualified their entire team since 2007 -- when UCO captured the last of its 15 national titles.

"Man, what a day," head coach Todd Steidley said. "I couldn't be more proud of our guys. They wrestled hard, they wrestled smart and they did what we came out to do, which was move all 10 guys on to the national tournament.

"We're going to celebrate this tonight, but then we'll put it behind us and move on. We have a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks to get ready for the next step and I know our guys are excited about that."

The top-seeded Morris breezed into the finals with three bonus wins. He started with a first-period pin, had five takedowns in a 14-2 major decision and then claimed a 10-2 major decision behind a four-takedown attack in the semifinals.

Morris, ranked eighth nationally, capped the day with a dramatic 3-1 finals win over McKendree's 10th-rated Christian Mejia. The two were deadlocked at 1-all when Morris struck for the winning takedown with just 10 seconds remaining to claim his 11th consecutive victory.

The second-seeded D. Lucas also advanced to the title bout in easy fashion, opening with a second-period fall before collecting three takedowns in an 8-0 shutout of third-seeded Ryan Ripplinger of McKendree.

Lucas completed his dominating day with an 8-0 major decision of Central Missouri's Tommy Frezza. Lucas had a takedown, four-point near-fall and an astounding 6:20 of riding time in the shutout.

Keim earned two decisions in making the finals. The third-seeded senior opened with a methodical 6-2 win and then knocked off No. 2 seed Taylor Jokerst of Maryville in thrilling fashion, winning 6-5 on a riding time point after getting a reverse with 16 seconds left to tie it.

Keim, ranked 10th nationally, ended the day with a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over the second-rated Kuster. Keim scored a takedown in the first 15 seconds of the match and the two traded escapes the final two periods as Keim held on for the upset and his 10th straight win.

The top-seeded and third-ranked Johnson wasted little time in his first match, scoring a 16-0 technical fall in just 1:33, and then clinched a 6-1 semifinal win over 10th-ranked Donavan Whitted of Maryville with a late takedown.

Johnson ended tournament with another shutout, blanking Newman's Jace Fisher 6-0. The redshirt freshman had first- and third-period takedowns around a second-period escape while adding a riding time point.

The top-seeded DesVigne had two takedowns in a 6-0 first-round shutout to start the day, then took Indianapolis' Owen Butler to his back and got the fall at the 3:49 mark in the semifinals.

DesVigne, ranked fifth nationally, claimed the gold medal with an easy 8-1 victory over McKendree's Zeke Waltz. DesVigne broke open a scoreless match with a two-point near-fall and takedown in the second period, then added another takedown in the final stanza.

Abney won three times in qualifying for the finals in his first action since suffering an ankle injury on Jan. 7. He posted a 17-2 technical fall and first-period pin in the first two rounds before blanking No. 8-ranked Logan Kvien of McKendree 4-0 in the semis.

The defending national champion and second-rated Abney earned his second straight regional title with a tough 2-0 win over No. 1 Derek Blubaugh of Indianapolis. Abney, who lost in overtime to Blubaugh during UCO's dual win over the Greyhounds at the NWCA Division II National Duals, had a third-period escape and added a riding time point

The top-seeded Streck wasn't tested in making the finals. He racked up an incredible 13 takedowns in the quarterfinals before getting the fall at 2:59, then had nine takedowns in a 21-7 major decision.

It was a tougher time in the finals for the top-ranked Streck, who trimmed Ouachita Baptist's No. 4 Johnny Green 2-1 in staying upbeaten (22-0). Green escaped in the second period to go up 1-0, but Streck tied it on a penalty point later in the period and got loose early in the third to go ahead 2-1.

T. Lucas won three times in making the finals, rolling to a 17-0 technical fall and 12-2 major decision in the first two rounds. The second-seeded senior needed extra time in the semifinals, pulling out a thrilling 3-1 victory over Drury's third-seeded Will Kuster on a takedown midway through the sudden victory period.

The eighth-ranked Lucas fell 3-1 in the finals to No. 5 Jack Eiteljorge of Indianapolis. Eiteljorge broke a 1-1 tie on a takedown with 25 seconds remaining.

Kauffman cruised to an 8-1 opening-round victory behind a three-takedown attack before edging Indianapolis' Aidan Petersen 3-2 in the semifinals. The top-seeded senior had a takedown in the first 30 seconds of that match, which turned out to be the difference.

The 10th-ranked Kauffman fell to No. 12 Josh Jones of McKendree 3-2 in the finals, with Jones' first-period takedown the difference.

Filippo opened the tournament in impressive fashion, outscoring his first two opponents a combined 32-0 in recording back-to-back technical falls.

The top-seeded senior got caught and pinned early in his semifinal bout, but bounced back impressively in the consolations. Filippo had a second-period fall in the consolation semis and then breezed to a 15-0 technical fall in taking third to earn a national tournament berth.

NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGIONAL IV TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, dec. Christian Mejia, McKendree, 3-1.
133 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, major dec. Tommy Frezza, Central Missouri, 8-0.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, dec. Peter Kuster, Drury, 3-2.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Jace Fisher, Newman, 6-0.
165 – Jack Eiteljorge, Indianapolis, dec. Ty Lucas, UCO, 3-1.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Zeke Waltz, McKendree, 8-1.
184 – Josh Jones, McKendree, dec. Alex Kauffman, UCO, 3-2.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Derek Blubaugh, Indianapolis, 2-0.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, dec. Johnny Green, Ouachita Baptist, 2-1.

CONSOLATION FINALS
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, tech. fall Jackson Hoover, Indianapolis, 15-0 (5:18).

CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
125 – Morris, UCO, pinned John Nguyen, UCM, 1:10.
149 – Filippo, UCO, tech. fall Leslie Davenport, William Jewell, 15-0 (5:19).
165 – T. Lucas, UCO, tech. fall Caden Moore, Kentucky Wesleyan, 17-0 (4:03).
197 – Abney, UCO, tech. fall Caleb McKerrow, Kentucky Wesleyan, 17-2 (3:48).

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
125 – Morris, UCO, major dec. Isaac Bourge, Quincy, 14-2.
133 – D. Lucas, UCO, pinned Nathan Wishne, William Jewell, 3:16.
141 – Keim, UCO, dec. Gabe Adams, Kentucky Wesleyan, 7-2.
149 – Filippo, UCO, tech. fall Zander Fields, Ouachita Baptist, 17-0 (5:00).
157 – Johnson, UCO, tech. fall John Jenkins, William Jewell, 16-0 (1:33).
165 – T. Lucas, UCO, major dec. Brady Marple, Ouachita Baptist, 123-2.
174 – DesVigne, UCO, dec. Austin Morgan, Central Missouri, 6-0.
184 – Kauffman, UCO, dec. Will Martin, Ouachita Baptist, 8-1.
197 – Abney, UCO, pinned Drayden McKerrow, Kentucky Wesleyan, 2:01.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, pinned De'Leon Freeman, Newman, 2:59.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
125 – Morris, UCO, major dec. Dylan Sheler, Newman, 10-2.
133 – D. Lucas, UCO, major dec. Ryan Ripplinger, McKendree, 8-0.
141 – Keim, UCO, dec. Taylor Jokerst, Maryville, 6-5.
149 – Phillip Sims, Quincy, pinned Filippo, UCO, 1:00.
157 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Donavon Whitted, Maryville, 3-1.
165 – T. Lucas, UCO, dec. Will Kuster, Drury, 3-1 (SV).
174 – DesVigne, UCO, pinned Owen Butler, Indy, 3:49.
184 – Kauffman, UCO, dec. Aidan Petersen, Indy, 3-2.
197 – Abney, UCO, dec. Logan Kvien, McKendree, 4-0.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, major dec. Cale Gray, Indy, 21-7.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
149 – Filippo, UCO, pinned Hunter Dietrich, Newman, 4:28.

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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