Bronchos Ready For National Duals

No. 2 Seed UCO Faces Mary In Friday's First Round

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 4-ranked Central Oklahoma resumes the 2024-25 season this weekend when the Bronchos trek to Iowa looking for their second straight NWCA Division II National Duals title.

UCO, 4-0 on the season, earned the No. 2 seed for the 16-team tournament at the UNI Dome on the Northern Iowa campus. The Bronchos open at 10 a.m. Friday against No. 11 Mary (1-2), then take on the winner or loser of the match between No. 2 Wisconsin-Parkside (4-1) and No. 14 Central Missouri (4-1) at noon.

UCO hasn't competed since finishing runner-up in the Midwest Classic Dec. 14-15 in Indianapolis. The Bronchos had a week off for the Christmas holidays before returning to practice Dec. 30.

"It was good to get a little break to let some of our guys heal up," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We've been working hard since we got back in the room to get ready for this weekend. We're looking forward to getting back at it and obviously it's going to be a big challenge with all the best teams there.

"This is a great event that will really push our guys. It's an opportunity to wrestle some teams we don't normally get a chance to compete against and every round is going to be tough. We'll have to be ready to go every time we step on the mat."

ABOUT THE NATIONAL DUALS: Fifteen of the 16 teams in the field are ranked in the top 25, including nine in the top 10. There are also 82 of the top 150 individuals in the tournament, including all 10 No. 1s.

St. Cloud State, which beat UCO in the 2023 finals, is the No. 1 seed. The Bronchos claimed the second seed, followed by Nebraska-Kearney, Glenville State, McKendree, Augustana, Wisconsin-Parkside and Tiffin. Seeds for the NWCA Division II National Duals don't reflect the national poll, which is a tournament-style ranking that gives points to the top 15 individuals at each weight.

Other first-round pairings are: No. 1 St. Cloud State (3-0) vs. King (4-2), No. 9 Tiffin (3-0) vs. No. 25 Maryville (1-2), No. 6 McKendree (2-1) vs. No. 10 West Liberty (4-0), No. 2 Glenville State (8-2) vs. No. 24 Upper Iowa (4-0), No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney (4-3) vs. No. 21 Indianapolis (0-1), No. 7 Augustana (2-3) vs. No. 12 Grand Valley State (2-1) and No. 2 Wisconsin-Parkside (4-1) vs. No. 14 Central Missouri (4-1).

All first-round matches are at 10 a.m., followed by quarterfinal and opening consolation bouts at 12 p.m. with another round of consolations at 4 p.m.

The tournament resumes Saturday with the consolation semifinals at 9 a.m. and championship semifinals at 11 a.m. Third, fifth- and seventh-place matches will be at 1 p.m., followed by the championship bout at 3 p.m.

UCO went 4-0 in winning last year's title. The Bronchos toppled Upper Iowa (28-9), McKendree (21-13) and St. Cloud State (24-10) in making the finals before routing Augustana 37-3 to claim the title.

The National Duals started as the Showdown Duals in 1993-94 and the Bronchos have participated in 28 of 31 tournaments since then, having finished in the top-six 25 times.

UCO has an 88-31 record in the tournament with six championships (1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2022, 2024). The Bronchos also have six runner-up showings (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2023).

UCO LINEUP: The Bronchos will take 17 wrestlers to the event.

125 –Studd Morris, Sr. (13-1) and Garrett Steidley, Jr. (3-0); 133 – Peter Rolle, Sr. (10-2) and Eli Kirk, RS Fr. (13-3); 141 – Dylan Lucas, sr. (6-2) and Josh Taylor, So. (12-0); 149 – Dylan Brown, Sr. (5-2); 157 – Gabe Johnson, Jr. (10-0); 165 – Hunter Jump, Sr. (6-3) and Bryce Dauphin, Jr. (10-3); 174 – Zane Coleman Sr. (12-5) and Tucker Waitman, RS Fr. (12-4); 184 – Garrett Wells, So. (10-1); 197 – Emmanuel Skillings, Jr. (9-3) and Barrett Haemker, Jr. (0-1) ; Hvy – Paul Sharp, So. (10-9) and Judson Rowland, So. (0-0).

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO is riding a 26-match winning streak that dates back to a 19-16 loss to St. Cloud State in the 2023 NWCA Division II National Duals finals. The Bronchos have won 51 of their last 52 duals.

UCO finished runner-up in the rugged Midwest Classic in mid-December in their last outing. Johnson went 5-0 in rolling to the 157-pound title to lead the Bronchos, while Morris and Wells both took third.

Lucas and Brown placed fifth, Jump came in sixth, and Rolle took seventh.

The Bronchos have seven individuals ranked at the top 10 – Johnson (first), Morris (fifth), Lucas (fifth), Wells (fifth), Brown (seventh), Jump (seventh) and Rolle (10th).

Morris leads the team in wins with 13 (13-1), including eight bonus wins. Morris was a regional champion and national qualifier in 2023 before missing last year to injury and is now 84-22 for his career.

Johnson is 10-0 with seven bonus wins. The defending national champion has won 25 straight matches and has a 75-15 career record.

REUNION SET: All former wrestlers, coaches, managers and trainers are invited to the UCO Wrestling Reunion on Feb. 7. The Bronchos host MIAA rival Nebraska-Kearney at 7 p.m. in the biggest home dual of the season.

Members of the 1984-85 and 1994-95 national championship teams will be recognized at halftime of the dual and a reception for all attendees will be held in the Hamilton Field House practice gym following the match.

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Brown: 5' 6"; Senior

Zane Coleman: 5' 10"; Senior

Bryce Dauphin: 5' 9"; Junior

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

Peter Rolle: 5' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Dylan Brown
: 5' 6"; Senior

Zane Coleman
: 5' 10"; Senior

Bryce Dauphin
: 5' 9"; Junior

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

Peter Rolle
: 5' 7"; Senior