Bronchos Take Early Lead At National Tourney

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (March 10) – Dylan Lucas, Alex Kauffman and Dalton Abney notched first-round falls to spark Central Oklahoma to the early lead in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships that got underway Friday morning.

The top-ranked Bronchos went 9-2 in the opening session of the two-day tournament in scoring 16.5 points. No. 2 Lander and No. 6 West Liberty are tied for second with 11 points, followed by No. 8 Gannon (eight) and No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney (7.5).

UCO advanced eight wrestlers into Friday night's quarterfinals, with two more still alive in the consolation bracket. Joining Lucas (133), Kauffman (184) and Abney (197) in the quarters is 141 Nate Keim, 149 Brik Filippo, 165 Ty Lucas, 174 Anthony DesVigne and Hvy Shawn Streck, while 125 Studd Morris and 157 Gabe Johnson are in the consolations.

"We lost a couple, but it was a pretty good start for us," head coach Todd Steidley said. "Tonight's a big, big round. Our guys just need to stay focused on the next match and not look ahead or behind."

D. Lucas started quickly, striking for an early takedown and two-point near-fall before getting the pin just 1:59 into his first-round contest. The eighth-seeded Lucas takes on No. 1 Quentrevion Campbell of Chadron State in the quarterfinals.

Kauffman won two matches in the session. He prevailed 3-2 behind a second-period takedown in UCO's lone preliminary-round bout, then hooked up a cradle and pinned No. 8 seed Matt Weinberg of Kutztown at the 5:36 mark.

Kauffman faces No. 1 seed illy Higgins of UNK in the quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Abney began defense of his national title in impressive fashion, jumping out to an early 6-0 lead before getting his fifth fall of the season at 2:29. He will wrestle No. 8 Luke McGonigal of Mercyhurst in the quarters.

Keim had a pair of reverses and a takedown in a methodical 8-2 victory, while Filippo cruised 10-3 behind a four-takedown attack. The sixth-seeded Keim meets No. 3 Zackary Donathan of Tiffin and Filippo faces No. 1 Jacob Ealy of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in Friday night's session.

The seventh-seeded T. Lucas used a third-period takedown to earn a tough 3-2 win in moving into the quarters opposite No. 2 Alex Farenchak of Gannon. The fifth-seeded DesVigne won 7-3 and takes on No. 4 Cade Lindsey of Fort Hays State next.

Streck had three takedowns in a workmanlike 8-4 victory. The top-seeded junior improved to 23-0 in moving into the quarters against No. 8 Juan Edmond-Holmes of Lander.

Morris and Johnson both suffered upset losses in the first round.

The sixth-seeded Morris fell 2-0, but bounced back with a dominating 16-3 major decision in the consolation preliminaries to stay alive. The third-seeded Johnson fell into a 6-0 hole early and couldn't recover in a 9-3 loss to King's Trent Mahoney.

NCAA DIVISION II WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
CHAMPION PRELIMINARY ROUND
184 – Alex Kauffman, UCO, dec. Cade Mueller, Augustana, 3-2.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
125 – Brandon Mendoza, Tiffin, dec. Studd Morris, UCO, 2-0.
133 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, pinned Caleb Meekins, St. Cloud State, 1:59.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, dec. Grayston DiBlasi, Colorado School of Mines, 8-2.
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, dec. Jacob Simpson, West Liberty, 10-3.
157 – Trent Mahoney, King, dec. Gabe Johnson, UCO, 9-3.
165 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Mike Vernagallo, Mount Olive, 3-2.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Calan Staub, Mount Olive, 7-3.
184 – Kauffman, UCO, pinned Matt Weinberg, Kutztown, 5:36.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, pinned Jacob Noon, Tiffin, 2:29.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, dec. La'Ron Parks, Notre Dame, 8-4.

CONSOLATION PRELIMINARY
125 – Morris, UCO, major dec. Bready Carter, East Stroudsburg, 16-3.

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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