LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Jason Henschel, Gabe Johnson and Garrett Wells earned wins, but Central Oklahoma didn't have enough firepower to stay with Division I Little Rock Sunday afternoon at Jack Stephens Center.
The No. 11-ranked Bronchos fell 27-11 to the Trojans, who are ranked as high as 14th in Division I by one website and are No. 22 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll. It was UCO's first dual against a Division I opponent since Jan. 15, 2011.
Henschel had the biggest win with a come-from-behind 22-6 technical fall at 133 pounds, while Johnson claimed an 8-4 victory at 157 and Wells earned a 5-0 shutout at 197.
"Little Rock has a really good team and our guys wrestled hard, but we need to be better," said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team blitzed Division II's No. 25 Ouachita Baptist 47-0 before facing the Trojans in the dual opener. "We learned some things that will hopefully help us down the road."
Henschel trailed Jackson Tucker 6-1 after giving up two opening-period takedowns, but dominated in the final two frames. He foiled Tucker's strategy of taking down to start the second period with a two-point near-fall off a tilt, then nearly got a fall on the edge of the mat in adding four more points to go on top 7-6.
Henschel escaped quickly to start the final stanza and immediately struck for a single leg takedown, then piled it on from there. The senior added three more near-falls to finish off the 22-6 technical fall, securing the last one in the final eight seconds,
Johnson prevailed in a tough, physical battle with Jaivon Jones for his 15th straight win and the 43rd in 44 outings. The two-time national champion broke a scoreless deadlock on a slick single-leg takedown with nine seconds left in the first period, then escaped early in the second to go up 4-0.
Jones countered a Johnson takedown try to score one of his own with 49 seconds remaining to make it 4-3, with Johnson getting loose quickly to take a two-point lead into the final two minutes.
Jones escaped 15 seconds into the period to get within 5-4, but Johnson was up to the challenge and scored the clinching takedown on the edge of the mat with 46 seconds left and rode Jones the rest of the way.
Wells earned UCO's final win, blanking Michael Gasper 5-0. The two big men battled to a scoreless draw in the first period, with Wells taking the lead on an escape early in the second.
The junior then struck for the deciding score with 12 seconds left, securing the lone takedown of the match off a single leg shot to go up 4-0. Wells then controlled Gasper the entire third period to add a riding time point for the final score.
Wells made the move from 184 to 197 this season and didn't give up a point in his first two matches at the new weight after posting a 13-0 major decision in the OBU dual.
The Bronchos dropped a couple of tough decisions, with Hunter Jump falling 4-1 at 174 and Branson Britten losing 4-2 at 184.
Jump gave up a takedown with just four seconds left in the opening period and that was the difference in his match with Gunner Holland, while Brock DeiSignore scored a takedown off a wild scramble with Britten in the final 45 seconds of their match.
UCO doesn't return to action again for two weeks, with a large group of individuals set to compete in the Drury Open Nov. 15 while the starters go to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a dual against Augustana Nov. 16.
Little Rock 27, UCO 11
125 – Tyson Roach, LR, tech. Fall Guy Clevenger, 19-2 (3:15).
133 – Jason Henschel, UCO, tech. Fall Jackson Tucker, 22-6 (7:00).
141 – Brennan Van Hoecke, LR, major dec. Shaun Muse, 16-6.
149 – Brock Herman, LR tech. Fall Bam West, 20-4 (5:22).
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Jaivon Jones, 8-4.
165 – Matty Bianchi, LR, major dec. Bryce Dauphin, 10-2.
174 – Gunner Holland, LR, dec. Hunter Jump, 4-1.
184 - Brock DeiSignore, LR, dec. Branson Britten, 4-2.
197 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Michael Gasper, 5-0.
Hvy – Kaden Darwin, LR, dec. Ryan Nichols, 8-1.
