Wrestling 3/2/2024 7:35:00 PM

Regional Champs...Again!

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 2) – Garrett Wells scored a late takedown to secure the 184-pound title in leading a parade of seven individual champions that carried Central Oklahoma to its fourth straight NCAA Division II Super Regional IV Tournament crown Saturday.

The fifth-ranked Wells edged No. 6 Damon Ashworth of Central Missouri 4-1 on a takedown with eight seconds remaining and was joined atop the podium by 141 Dylan Lucas, 149 Dylan Brown, 157 Gabe Johnson, 165 Hunter Jump, 174 Anthony DesVigne and 197 Dalton Abney. It's the second straight year UCO has crowned seven champions,

The Bronchos also got a runner-up showing from Hvy Shawn Streck in finishing with eight national qualifiers, while 125 Garrett Steidley and 133 Peter Rolle placed fourth to come up just short of the needed third-place finish. Central went 27-5 on the day with 12 bonus-point wins.

Top-ranked UCO tallied 160 points to edge No. 5 McKendree by nine points in claiming its 23rd regional title and the fourth in a row. Maryville took third in the 10-team tourney with 93.5 points, one ahead of Central Missouri.

The Bronchos go to Wichita, Kan. March 15-16 for the NCAA Division II Championships at Hartman Arena.

"I'm really proud of the guys for the way they battled today," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It was a total team effort and you don't win championships without contributions from everybody in the room.

"The goal was to qualify all 10 and we came up a little short of that with a couple of tough losses, but we also won some hard matches that we had to have. We'll work hard the next couple of weeks getting ready for the national tournament and I like the group we have going to Wichita."

Wells' dramatic win highlighted UCO's dominating finals performance.

The top-seeded redshirt freshman cruised into the title bout with two easy wins, scoring a second-period fall in his first match before notching three takedowns in an 11-3 major decision of McKendree's fourth-seeded Zeke Waltz of McKendree in the semifinals.

Wells broke a scoreless tie in the finals with a quick second-period escape, but Ashworth's escape in the third tied it. Wells came close to a couple of takedowns before finally striking for the winner with just eight ticks remaining and a video review upheld the call.

Lucas claimed his second straight regional title with a 4-2 upset of second-ranked Ronan Schuelke of McKendree. A first-period takedown was the difference in the match, with two Schuelke escapes and one by Lucas the only scoring after that.

Lucas advanced to the finals with a technical fall and tough semifinal win. The second-seeded junior racked up four takedowns and two near-falls in a 19-3 rout to start the day, then overcame an early 3-0 deficit in getting past No. 3 seed Blake Mulkey of Indianapolis 6-3 in the semis.

Brown and McKendree's Joey Semerad battled to a scoreless deadlock in the opening stanza before Brown took charge, scoring a takedown in each of the final two periods to prevail 8-2 for his 10th straight win.

The top-seeded junior had a pair of bonus wins in making the title match. Brown opened with a 10-0 major decision behind a first-period takedown and near-fall, then turned a second-period reverse into a fall at the 3:56 mark in avenging an early-season loss to Indianapolis' Jackson Hoover in the semis.

Johnson wasn't pushed in earning his second consecutive regional crown. The top-seeded sophomore scored four near-falls and two takedowns in just 2:19 to register a 19-1 technical fall in his first match before cruising to an 8-1 semifinal victory over fourth-seeded Jaylon Otero of Ouachita Baptist.

Johnson dominated his finals bout with Central Missouri's Anthony Erickson, tallying three takedowns and a near-fall in an easy 15-3 major decision for his 11th straight win.

Jump earned his first national tournament berth with a 5-1 finals triumph over Maryville's Cole Ritter, scoring the lone takedown midway through the first period.

The third-seeded junior received a medical forfeit in his first match to advance to the semifinals, where he knocked off No. 2 Jace Fisher of Newman 7-3. Jump scored two takedowns in the final 42 seconds to secure that tough win and avenge a December overtime loss to Fisher.

DesVigne had a dominating day, opening with two bonus wins before posting a no-doubt 7-2 finals decision. He struck for first- and second-period takedowns in easing past McKendree's Matt Ortiz for his second straight regional title.

The top-seeded senior needed a mere 1:21 to score a takedown and three near-falls in a 15-0 technical fall to open the day, then had a trio of takedowns in a 10-1 romp over Drury's fourth-seeded Ethan Smith in the semis.

Abney closed out his fifth straight regional finals appearance with a resounding 5-0 shutout of Indianapolis' Derek Blubaugh. The top-ranked Abney escaped early in the second period to take a 1-0 lead, scored a takedown after several near-misses with eight seconds left and then rode the second-rated Blubaugh the entre final stanza in earning his third consecutive title – all coming against Blubaugh.

Abney turned a quick takedown into a 39-second fall in his first match before pulling out a tight 4-3 semifinal win over McKendree's fourth-seeded Logan Kvien. The two-time defending national champion gave up his first takedown of the season with 50 seconds left in falling behind 3-2, but escaped with 33 seconds left to tie it and broke the deadlock with a riding time point.

Streck had a 41-match winning streak snapped in stunning fashion in the finals. The top-ranked senior appeared on his way to a third straight regional crown before giving up a takedown and near-fall in the final 10 seconds in dropping an 11-10 decision, the first offensive points he's given up this season.

Streck wasn't stressed in his first two matches. He tied UCO's single-season technical fall record in the quarterfinals with a 19-4 drubbing behind a six-takedown assault before striking for a quick takedown and getting his first pin of the season at the 1:51 mark in the semis.

Steidley dropped a tough 7-6 decision in the quarterfinals before bouncing back with two tight wins to make the consolation finals. He opened with a 3-0 shutout, then prevailed 6-4 behind a first-period takedown before dropping a tough 6-4 decision in finishing fourth.

The second-seeded Rolle scored a first-period fall in his first match, then nearly overcame an 11-0 deficit before dropping a wild 13-11 semifinal decision to third-seeded Evan Binder of Maryville.

Rolle bounced back with a second-period fall in the consolation semis, but came up short of earning a national tournament spot with a 7-4 setback in the consolation finals.

NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGIONAL IV TOURNAMENT
TEAM SCORES: 1, Central Oklahoma 160; 2, McKendree 151; 3, Maryville 93.5; 4, Central Missouri 92.5; 5, Indianapolis 85; 6, Ouachita Baptist 47; 7, Drury 45; 8, Quincy 40; 9, Newman 34; 10, Kentucky Wesleyan 32.5.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
141 – Dylan Lucas, UCO, dec. Ronan Schuelke, McKendree, 4-2.
149 – Dylan Brown, UCO, dec. Joey Semerad, McKendree, 8-2.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, major dec. Anthony Erickson, Central Missouri, 15-3.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Cole Ritter, Maryville, 5-1.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Matt Ortiz, McKendree, 7-2.
184 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Damon Ashworth, Central Missouri, 4-1.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Derek Blubaugh, Indianapolis, 5-0.
Hvy – Ryan Herman, Maryville, dec. Shawn Streck, UCO, 11-10.

CONSOLATION FINALS
125 – Jacob Tangpricha, Central Missouri, dec. Garrett Steidley, UCO, 6-4.
133 – James Anderson, Ouachita Baptist, dec. Peter Rolle, UCO, 7-4.

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
125 – Dylan Sheler, Newman, dec. Steidley, UCO, 7-6.
133 – Rolle, UCO, pinned Perry Lake, Quincy, 1:43.
141 – Lucas, UCO, tech. fall Sabian Russell, Quincy, 19-3 (6:04).
149 – Brown, UCO, major dec. Collin Reif, Maryville, 10-0.
157 – Johnson, UCO, tech. fall Bryce Kegley, Newman, 19-1 (2:19).
165 -- Jump, UCO, won by medical forfeit over Dawson Combest, Indianapolis.
174 – DesVigne, UCO, tech. fall Ricardo Adams, Quincy, 15-0 (1:21).
184 – Wells, UCO, pinned Drayden McKerrow, Kentucky Wesleyan, 4:20.
197 – Abney, UCO, pinned Callan Ivy, Quincy, 0:39.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, tech. fall Rio Gomez, Newman, 19-4 (4:18).

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
133 – Evan Binder, Maryville, dec. Rolle, UCO, 13-11.
141 – Lucas, UCO, dec. Blake Mulkey, Indianapolis, 6-3.
149 – Brown, UCO, pinned Jackson Hoover, Indianapolis, 3:56.
157 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Jaylon Otero, Ouachita Baptist, 8-1.
165 – Jump, UCO, dec. Jace Fisher, Newman, 7-3.
174 – DesVigne, UCO, major dec. Ethan Smith, Drury, 10-1.
184 – Wells, UCO, major dec. Zeke Waltz, 11-3.
197 – Abney, UCO, dec. Logan Kvien, McKendree, 4-3.
Hvy – Streck, UCO, pinned Don Paul, Ouachita Baptist, 1:51.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
125 – Steidley, UCO, dec. Isaac Bourge, Quincy, 3-0.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
125 – Steidley, UCO, dec. Nathan Smith, Indianapolis, 6-4.
133 – Rolle, UCO, pinned James Wright, Central Missouri, 4:45.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney: 6' 1"; Senior

Anthony DesVigne: 5' 11"; Senior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Junior

Dylan Lucas: 5' 6"; Junior

Peter Rolle: 5' 7"; Junior

Garrett Steidley: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Shawn Streck: 6' 1"; Senior

Garrett Wells: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Dylan Brown: 5' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Dalton Abney
: 6' 1"; Senior

Anthony DesVigne
: 5' 11"; Senior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Junior

Dylan Lucas
: 5' 6"; Junior

Peter Rolle
: 5' 7"; Junior

Garrett Steidley
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Shawn Streck
: 6' 1"; Senior

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

Dylan Brown
: 5' 6"; Junior