Wrestling 1/10/2026 6:59:00 PM

Bronchos Top Nebraska-Kearney For National Duals Title

Top-ranked UCO Beat the Lopers 22-12 For Their Third National Duals Crown in Five Years

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Cole Mayfield and Bryce Dauphin pulled out clutch last-second wins as top-ranked Central Oklahoma toppled No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney 22-12 to capture the NWCA Division II National Duals championship Saturday evening at the UNI-Dome.

UCO won seven of the 10 bouts, with Mayfield's 4-1 victory and Dauphin's 8-7 upset of fourth-ranked Trent Munoz helping stake the Bronchos to a big lead before fourth-rated Garrett Wells knocked off No. 1 Jackson Kinsella 5-1 at 197 to seal the deal.

It was UCO's third National Duals title in the last five years to go along with two runner-up finishes. The Bronchos improved to 9-1 with the 69th win in their last 72 outings.

"Our guys did an awesome job and I'm so proud of the whole team," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It was a total team effort, from the ones who stepped on the mat to the other guys here that supported them every step of the way.

"We showed a lot of grit and won a few matches against Kearney that could have flipped the dual. They have a great team and we knew it would be a tough battle, but our guys got the job done."

Jason Henschel had the lone bonus-point win for UCO with a major decision at 133, while 125 Eli Kirk, 157 Gabe Johnson and 174 Hunter Jump also won.

Kirk and Henschel provided yet another potent 1-2 punch in the first two weights as both polished off perfect 4-0 weekends with easy wins to give the Bronchos a quick 7-0 lead.

Kirk had a pair of takedowns, an escape and riding time point in an 8-1 victory, while the top-rated Henschel piled up more than four minutes riding time to go along with two takedowns and an escape in an 8-0 shutout.

The Lopers pulled out an overtime victory at 141, but UCO responded by taking the next four matches to open a 19-3 lead.

Mayfield started that streak, working his way to the winning takedown with three seconds left in breaking a 1-1 tie with Brady Collins. Johnson followed with his 100th career victory as the two-time defending national champion cruised past No. 8 Cael Robb 8-1.

Dauphin kept the momentum alive with his big upset. The senior came out on top of Munoz after a wild scramble for a takedown with 12 seconds left to take an 8-5 lead before giving up an escape and penalty point.

Jump followed with another key win, using a second-period escape to trim Otgonbayar Batsuuri 1-0 at 174. Batsuuri took neutral in the final period and Jump held off his late takedown tries to hold on and put UCO on top 19-3.

UNK got an upset of its own at 184 where ninth-ranked Kaden Hart scored an 11-2 major decision over No. 2 Branson Britten to give the Lopers a glimmer of hope, but Wells soon ended that.

Wells took Kinsella down midway through the first period and rode him the rest of the way, then controlled Kinsella for the entire second stanza. Wells got loose early in the third and easily held off Kinsella the rest of the way before giving up a late penalty point in the 5-1 win.

UNK's top-ranked Crew Howard earned a technical fall in the final match at heavyweight to arrange the final score.

The Bronchos return home to host No. 12 Grand Valley State at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lakes will take on Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at 5 p.m. before facing UCO for the first time.

UCO 22, Nebraska-Kearney 12
125 – Eli Kirk, UCO, dec. Caleb Coyle, 8-1.
133 – Jason Henschel, UCO, major dec. Zach Ourada, 8-0.
141 – Joseph Airola, UNK, dec. Josh Taylor, 4-1 (SV).
149 – Cole Mayfield, UCO, dec. Brady Collins, 4-1.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Cael Robb, 8-1.
165 – Bryce Dauphin, UCO, dec. Trent Munoz, 8-7.
174 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Otgonbayar Batsuuri, 1-0.
184 – Kaden Hart, UNK, major dec. Branson Britten, 11-2.
197 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Jackson Kinsella, 5-1.
Hvy – Crew Howard, UNK, technical fall Ryan Nichols, 18-3 (5:36).

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Dauphin: 5' 9"; Senior

Jason Henschel: 5' 10"; Senior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Senior

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Senior

Eli Kirk: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Josh Taylor: 5' 7"; Junior

Garrett Wells: 5' 11"; Junior

Branson Britten: 6' 0"; Senior

Cole Mayfield: 5' 9"; Freshman

Ryan Nichols: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Bryce Dauphin
: 5' 9"; Senior

Jason Henschel
: 5' 10"; Senior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Senior

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Senior

Eli Kirk
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Josh Taylor
: 5' 7"; Junior

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Junior

Branson Britten
: 6' 0"; Senior

Cole Mayfield
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Ryan Nichols
: 6' 0"; Sophomore