No. 2 Bronchos Hold Off No. 3 McKendree

UCO Earns 24th Straight Win With Hard-fought 19-18 Road Victory

LEBANON, Ill. – Barrett Haemker was a winner even in defeat as his plucky performance in the final match enabled No. 2-ranked Central Oklahoma to hold off No. 3 McKendree 19-18 in a thrilling battle between Division II powers Sunday afternoon.

The Bronchos led 12-0 after the first three weights, but McKendree won five of the final seven matches – two in overtime – to make it a tight finish. The Bearcats trailed 19-15 entering the heavyweight bout, with ninth-ranked Tyler Haynes owning a 50-pound advantage as a decided favorite over Haemker.

And Haynes won 10-5, though Haemker – wrestling his first match at heavyweight after competing at 184 throughout his career – showed great competitive fire in preventing Haynes from earning bonus points.

"I'm really proud of Barrett for the way he fought and scrapped," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We put him in a tough situation against a much bigger guy, but he did what he needed to do and held his own."

The narrow victory enabled UCO to complete a two-day road sweep of top-10 opponents. The Bronchos, who routed No. 8 Maryville 42-4 Saturday night, moved to 2-0 on the young season in winning their 24th consecutive dual.

Central got off to a fast start in taking the first three matches, getting an 11-4 win from 125 Studd Morris, a second-period fall from 133 Eli Kirk and a 5-3 win from 141 Dylan Lucas in a showdown of top-four individuals to go ahead 12-0.

The Bronchos won just two of the last seven matches, with 157 Gabe Johnson earning an 11-3 major decision for what turned out to be the winning team point and 184 Garrett Wells prevailing 8-5.

"We wrestled really well in some weights and were a little tentative at a few others, but that was a great team win against a really good team," Steidley said. "There were a couple of matches that could have gone either way and they won both of those.

"It's early and our guys know we've got a lot of work to do to get where we want to be."

Morris made his return to the mat after missing last season to a knee injury and wasn't tested in an 11-4 triumph. He scored three takedowns and was in line to pick up a major decision before giving up a late escape.

Kirk followed with his second fall in two days. The redshirt freshman escaped early in the second period to go ahead 4-1, then took Gunnar LeGrand to his back a minute later and ended the match at the 4:21 mark.

Lucas pushed UCO's lead to 12-0 with a gritty 5-3 victory over top-ranked Ronan Schuelke. The fourth-rated Lucas broke a 1-1 tie on a takedown with 1:41 left in the final period, giving up a penalty point and escape in the final seconds while adding a riding time point.

Johnson followed a McKendree fall at 149 with another dominating win. The defending national champion and top-ranked junior cruised to an 11-3 rout behind a three-takedown attack for his 17th straight win.

The Bearcats picked up overtime wins in the next two weights.

At 165, second-ranked Hunter Jump fell to No. 3 Cory Peterson 4-1 in sudden victory in a reversal of their national tournament consolation finals match last season. Jump was close to securing the winning takedown midway through the sudden victory period, but Peterson came out on top in a scramble to gain the win.

Zane Coleman then lost a 2-1 tiebreaker decision to fifth-rated Matt Ortiz at 174. The two traded escapes in regulation and there was no score in sudden victory, with Ortiz escaping early in the first 30-second tiebreaker period to go ahead 2-1 before riding Coleman throughout the second 30-second stanza.

Wells secured UCO's final win at 184. The fourth-ranked sophomore led 7-1 late in the match and released Zeke Waltz in an attempt to score another takedown for a major decision, but instead gave up a takedown in the final seconds.

Emmanuel Skillings dropped a tough 6-3 decision to No. 2 Logan Kvien at 197 as McKendree got within 19-15, but Haemker was able to keep Haynes and the Bearcats at bay.

UCO goes to Springfield, Mo. Saturday for the Drury Open before opening the home dual schedule Nov. 22 against MIAA foe Ouachita Baptist.

UCO 19, McKendree 18
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, dec. Jason Strope, 11-4.
133 – Eli Kirk, UCO, pinned Gunnar LeGrand, 4:21.
141 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, dec. Ronan Schuelke, 5-3.
149 – Joey Semerad, MU, pinned Bam West, 4:19.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, major dec. James Hoskinson, 11-3.
165 – Cory Peterson, MU, dec. Hunter Jump, 4-1 (SV).
174 – Matt Ortiz, MU, dec. Zane Coleman, 2-1 (TB1).
184 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Zeke Waltz, 8-5.
197 – Logan Kvien, MU, dec. Emmanuel Skillings, 6-3.
Hvy – Tyler Haynes, MU, dec. Barrett Haemker, 10-5.

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Players Mentioned

Zane Coleman: 5' 10"; Senior

Barrett Haemker: 5' 11"; Junior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Junior

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Senior

Eli Kirk: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman

Dylan Lucas: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Senior

Emmanuel Skillings: 6' 1"; Junior

Garrett Wells: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Bam West: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Zane Coleman
: 5' 10"; Senior

Barrett Haemker
: 5' 11"; Junior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Junior

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Senior

Eli Kirk
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Senior

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Senior

Emmanuel Skillings
: 6' 1"; Junior

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Bam West
: 5' 7"; Sophomore