Wrestling 1/6/2024 5:24:00 PM

Bronchos Claim National Duals Title

Opening Upset Sparks UCO In Rout of Augustana

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Jan. 6) – Guy Clevenger's stunning upset in the opening match started an early barrage that carried Central Oklahoma to a 37-3 thumping of Augustana in the finals of the NWCA Division II Duals Saturday afternoon.

Clevenger shocked top-ranked Jaxson Rohman 1-0 at 125 pounds to give the No. 1 Bronchos early momentum, which continued when Shaun Muse and Dylan Lucas followed with back-to-back opening-minute falls. That made it 15-0 and the dual was all but over.

UCO won the first seven bouts go ahead 29-0 before dropping its lone decision at 184, then followed with two more wins to polish off a dominating performance against the No. 18 Vikings. Augie pulled off two upsets in making the finals, including a 17-16 semifinal victory over No. 3 Lander.

"We jumped out to an early start with the big win from Guy and Shaun got a fall at 133 and the whole momentum just picked up," said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team has won 38 of its last 39 matches. "The guys were excited about being in the finals of the national duals and just fed off each other.

"The team, the bench, did a great job of keeping everyone fired up. It was a great weekend for the Bronchos. Our guys wrestled really well and we got better every match."

The Bronchos improved to 6-0 with their 13th straight win in taking the duals title for the second time in three years. UCO won it in 2022, then lost in the finals to St. Cloud State last year.

UCO also got technical falls from 157 Gabe Johnson and Hvy Shawn Streck, while 149 Dylan Brown, 165 Hunter Jump, 174 Anthony DesVigne and 197 Dalton Abney all earned decisions.

Clevenger was the catalyst in the opening match.

The redshirt freshman, seeing his first action of the weekend, fought off a couple of Rohman takedown tries in the first period and then escaped 46 seconds into the second to go ahead 1-0. Rohman elected to go neutral in the final period and Clevenger came close to a couple of takedowns in the final two minutes to hold on for the big upset.

The Bronchos soon turned it into a rout.

Muse didn't waste time throwing Jack Huffman to his back and got the fall in just 33 seconds for his first collegiate win. Lucas struck for a quick takedown, then turned John Babineau for a pin at the 52-second mark.

Brown continued the onslaught with a hard-fought 4-3 win at 149, controlling Cael Larson the entire third period to earn the decisive riding time point. Johnson followed with a 16-1 technical fall behind three takedowns and two near-falls.

Jump had a pair of takedowns in an 8-2 victory and DesVigne the same in an 8-1 triumph as the lead grew to 29-0. Augie got its lone win at 184 where No. 7-ranked Cade Mueller edged third-rated Garrett Wells 5-3 on a third-period takedown.

UCO finished off the dual with its two defending national champions and there was no stopping them.

Abney took control with an early takedown and near-fall and cruised to an 8-3 win, then Streck finished it off with a 19-4 technical fall. Streck racked up six takedowns to end the match early in the third period for his fourth bonus-point win of the weekend.

UCO returns to action next Sunday, Jan. 14, hosting Maryville for a 2 p.m. contest at Hamilton Field House.

UCO 37, Augustana 3
125 – Guy Clevenger, UCO, dec. Jaxson Rohman, 1-0.
133 – Shaun Muse, UCO, pinned Jack Huffman, 0:33.
141 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, pinned John Babineau, 0:52.
149 – Dylan Brown, UCO, dec. Cael Larson, 4-3.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, tech. fall Connor Simmonds, 16-1 (5:16).
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Payton Anderson, 8-2.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Coy Gunderson, 8-1.
184 – Cade Mueller, Augie, dec. Garrett Wells, 5-3.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Max Ramberg, 8-3.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, tech. fall Max Balow, 19-4 (5:48).

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Junior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Sophomore

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Guy Clevenger: 5' 4"; Freshman

Dylan Lucas: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Shaun Muse: 5' 6"; Freshman

Garrett Wells: 5' 11"; Freshman

Dylan Brown: 5' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Junior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Sophomore

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Guy Clevenger
: 5' 4"; Freshman

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Shaun Muse
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Dylan Brown
: 5' 6"; Junior