No. 11-ranked Central Oklahoma continues its rugged early-season schedule this weekend when the Bronchos trek to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on No. 14 Augustana.
Match-time Sunday at the Elmen Center on the Augustana campus is 2 p.m.
UCO is 1-1 on the young season, while the Vikings are at Division I South Dakota State Friday before hosting the Bronchos.
"It's a long road trip and another tough dual for us, but we're looking forward to it," head coach Todd Steidley said. "Augustana has a great team and we know it's going to be a hostile environment will be another big challenge, which will be good for us."
The Vikings finished runner-up in last year's Division II national tournament, three places ahead of UCO. Augie is at Division I South Dakota State Friday night before hosting the Bronchos.
UCO will also send a group of individuals to the Drury Open Saturday. The Bronchos make their home debut Nov. 22 against No. 13 McKendree.
ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO opened the dual season Nov. 2 in Little Rock, Arkansas with a 47-0 drubbing of Division II's 25th-ranked Ouachita Baptist and a 27-11 loss to Division I's 22nd-rated Little Rock.
Three starters went 2-0 on the day – 133 Jason Henschel, 157 Gabe Johnson and 197 Garrett Wells.
Henschel led the way with a 10-5 win over OBU's top-ranked James Anderson before scoring an astounding 21 unanswered points in overcoming a 6-1 first-period deficit for a 22-6 technical fall against Little Rock.
Johnson followed a 50-second fall in the Ouachita dual with a 10-5 win against the Trojans. The top-ranked and two-time defending national champion has won 43 of his last 44 matches, including 15 straight.
Wells outscored his two opponents a combined 18-0. The two-time All-American rolled to a 13-0 major decision against OBU before posting a 5-0 win in the Little Rock dual.
Johnson and Wells will both face big tests against Augustana. Johnson is set to take on third-ranked Cael Larson, last year's 149-pound national champion, while Wells meets two-time All-American and No. 2-rated Max Ramberg.
Central owns a 9-2 series lead over the Vikings, including a 37-3 win in the 2024 NWCA Division II National Duals finals in their last meeting.
UCO LINEUP: Here's a look at UCO's probable lineup for Sunday's dual.
125 – Guy Clevenger, Jr. (1-1); 133 – Jason Henschel, Sr. (2-0); 141 – Josh Taylor, Jr. (0-0) or Shaun Muse, Jr. (1-1); 149 – Bam West, Jr. (1-1); 157 – Gabe Johnson, Sr. (2-0); 165 – Bryce Dauphin, Sr. (1-1) or Brady Benham, RS Fr. (4-1); 174 – Hunter Jump, Sr. (1-1); 184 – Branson Britten, Sr. (1-1); 197 – Garrett Wells, Jr. (2-0); Hvy – Judson Rowland, Jr. (0-0) or Ryan Nichols, So. (1-1).
