PUEBLO, Colo. -- Eli Kirk and Bam West scored first-period falls, Gabe Johnson added a record-breaking technical fall and Central Oklahoma scorched Colorado State-Pueblo 36-6 Sunday afternoon.
The Bronchos overcame a pair of early upsets to win their 11th straight dual in moving to 12-1 on the season and staying perfect (24-0) against the Thunderwolves. UCO opened its two-match road trip Saturday night with a 38-3 rout of New Mexico Highlands.
"Pueblo came at us pretty hard and we did a good job matching their aggressiveness and intensity," head coach Todd Steidley said. "It was a good win against a solid team. It's been a long trip and I'm proud of our guys for the way they battled through some things the past two days."
Kirk gave UCO a lead it would never relinquish with a quick pin in the opening match at 125 pounds and West followed two straight CSU-Pueblo upsets with a fast fall of his own at 149. Johnson then posted his 26th career technical fall at 157, breaking a tie with four-time All-American and two-time national champion Kyle Evans (2005-08).
The Bronchos also got a major decision from 174 Hunter Jump, while 165 Bryce Dauphin, 184 Branson Britten and Hvy Ryan Nichols earned wins and 184 Garrett Wells picked up an injury default victory.
Kirk needed just 1:05 to end his bout after striking for a quick takedown and two-point near-fall. The ThunderWolves answered with upsets in the next two weights to tie it.
Top-ranked Jason Henschel suffered his first loss after a 12-0 start with a 7-4 overtime setback to No. 11 Jacob Myers. Henschel came close to a go-ahead takedown twice in the final period, but Myers held him off and then got the win 35 seconds into the sudden-victory period.
CSU-Pueblo made it two in a row at 141 when No. 13 Eddie Bowman knocked off eighth-ranked Josh Taylor 7-6. Bowman took a 7-4 lead on a takedown with 25 seconds left, but Taylor got close with an escape and penalty point before Bowman held on.
It was all UCO after that.
West started a seven-match winning streak at 149, scoring two takedowns before decking Thales Rivas at the 1:48 mark. The top-ranked Johnson followed with a 17-1 thrashing of Hunter Richardson, building a 14-1 lead after one period and then ending it with his third takedown 45 seconds into the second stanza.
Dauphin's scrambling takedown just ahead of the first-period buzzer gave him a 7-4 lead and he was up 11-5 going to the final period before holding on for an 11-10 triumph. The fourth-ranked Jump used a late seven-point move to secure an extra team point with a 15-2 major decision for his eighth straight win.
Britten had a pair of takedowns in a 10-5 victory while Wells earned an injury default 30 seconds into his match after scoring the opening takedown. Britten and Wells, both ranked third nationally, each improved to 16-2 on the season.
Nichols prevailed 9-6 to cap the dual, overcoming a 4-2 third-period deficit with two takedowns in the final 58 seconds.
The Bronchos are back in Edmond to host Drury at 7 p.m. Friday in the next-to-last home dual of the season. UCO goes to No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State next week before finishing the regular season at home Feb. 15 against Central Missouri on Alumni Day.
UCO 36, Colorado State-Pueblo 6
125 – Eli Kirk, UCO, pinned Thomas Valdez, 1:05.
133 – Jacob Myers, CSU-P, dec. Jason Henschel, 7-4 (SV).
141 – Eddie Bowman, CSU-P, dec. Josh Taylor, 7-6.
149 – Bam West, UCO, pinned Thales Rivas, 1:48.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, technical fall Hunter Richardson, 17-1.
165 – Bryce Dauphin, UCO, dec. Deacon Pickett, 11-10.
174 – Hunter Jump, UCO, major dec. Solomon Arnds-Volcin, 15-2.
184 – Branson Britten, UCO, dec. Donn Greet, 10-5.
197 – Garrell Wells, UCO, by injury default over Remington Winmill, 0:30.
Hvy – Ryan Nichols, UCO, dec. Henry Sturn, 9-6.
