UCO Jumps Into National Duals Finals

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Jan. 6) – Hunter Jump pulled out a wild win in his third straight overtime battle to spark top-ranked Central Oklahoma to a 24-10 come-from-behind triumph over No. 6 St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the NWCA Division II National Duals.

The Bronchos trailed 7-0 after the first two weights and 10-7 halfway through the dual before Jump knocked off No. 7 Anthony Herrera 13-6 in sudden-victory to jump-start a late rally. That tied it and UCO pulled away down the stretch, getting major decisions from 174 Anthony DesVigne and Hvy Shawn Streck along with decisions from 184 Garrett Wells and 197 Dalton Abney.

It was the 12th straight win for the Bronchos, now 5-0 on the season. UCO, which won this event in 2022 before finishing runner-u to SCSU last year, will face upstart Augustana in the 3 p.m. finals.

The 17th-ranked Vikings knocked off No. 3 Lander 17-16 in the other semifinal.

"The guys wrestled hard and we came out with a great win against a really good team," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We kept scraping and won some tough battles. Augustana is obviously wrestling well so we know it will be another hard match, but it's suppose to be hard in a tournament like this."

St. Cloud led 10-7 going into the 165-pound bout and was on the verge of increasing that lead when Hererra appeared close to a winning takedown midway through the sudden-victory period. But Jump had other plans.

The junior managed to stave off Hererra's near-takedown and came out on top in a mad scramble near the edge of the mat, adding a four-point near-fall to cap off the clutch 13-6 victory. It was the third OT match of the tournament for Jump, who lost 3-2 to No. 2 Chase Luensman of Upper Iowa and 4-1 to No. 4 Cory Peterson of McKendree in UCO's two Friday wins.

DesVigne followed Jump with a 14-4 major decision, scoring all 14 points in a furious third-period explosion to overcome a 4-1 deficit. The senior escaped early in the final stanza, struck for a five-point move to go ahead 7-4 and then tacked on two more near-falls along with a riding time point to close out the big turnaround.

Wells had a pair of takedowns in a 7-0 shutout at 184 that put UCO on top 17-10 and the top-ranked Abney clinched the dual with a hard-fought 5-2 win over No. 3 Dominic Murphy. A first-period takedown was the difference in that match as Abney picked up his 75th career win (75-6).

Streck capped the dual-ended surge with another dominating win, notching takedowns in each period for a 12-2 major decision.

UCO also got wins from 141 Dylan Lucas and 149 Dylan Brown in overcoming the early 7-0 deficit.

The second-ranked Lucas broke a scoreless tie on a reverse with 20 seconds left in the second period and tacked on a three-point near-fall midway through the third in a 5-0 shutout, while Brown used a pair of takedowns to record a big 8-0 major decision.

That tied it 7-7, but the Huskies went back ahead at 157 when top-ranked Nick Novak used a late takedown to clip No. 4 Gabe Johnson 4-1.

It was all UCO after that.

UCO 24, St. Cloud State 10
125 – Conor Knopick, SCSU, major dec. Garrett Steidley, 12-3.
133 – Sam Spencer, SCSU, dec. Shaun Muse, 5-2 (SV).
141 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, dec. Alyeus Craig, 5-0.
149 – Dylan Brown, UCO, major dec. Nolan Throne, 8-0.
157 – Nick Novak, SCSU, dec. Gabe Johnson, 4-1.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Anthony Hererra, 13-6 (SV).
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, major dec. Bryce Dagel, 14-4.
184 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Bryce Fitzpatrick, 7-0.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Dominic Murphy, 5-2.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, major dec. Elijah Novak, 12-2.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Junior; 197

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Junior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Sophomore

Garrett Steidley: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

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

Garrett Steidley
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Junior; 285

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Shaun Muse
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Dylan Brown
: 5' 6"; Junior