CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Jason Henschel's second-period fall and Gabe Johnson's dominating win in a battle of returning national champions catapulted top-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 8 Augustana 19-15 in the quarterfinals of the NWCA Division II National Duals Friday evening. 
 
The Bronchos blitzed No. 9 Ashland 36-11 in the first round before getting past the Vikings in advancing to Saturday's 11 a.m. semifinals against No. 6 Lander. UCO, now 7-1 on the season, will then wrestle for first or third against the winner or loser of the other semifinal showdown between No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 3 Wisconsin-Parkside. 
 
"I'm proud of the guys," head coach Todd Steidley said. "They battled hard and we beat two good teams today. We're going to have two more tough matches tomorrow, but that's the way it should be in this event and we're excited about the challenge." 
 
Henschel scored his second fall of the day at 133 pounds in the hard-fought win over Augie, while Johnson – the two-time defending champion at 157 -- cruised to a 9-1 major decision over reigning 149 winner Cael Larson. 
 
UCO also got wins from 125 Eli Kirk, 174 Hunter Jump and 184 Branson Britten in getting past the Vikings for the second time this season. The Bronchos won 28-12 on the road on Nov. 16, but Augie had four different wrestlers in the lineup this time around. 
 
Kirk gave the Bronchos a 3-0 lead in the opening bout with a 5-0 shutout. The sophomore swooped in for a takedown midway through the first period, controlled Christian Olsen the entire second stanza and added a third-period escape along with a riding time point. 

Henschel continued his stellar senior campaign with a third-period pin. He had takedowns in each of the first two periods, adding a four-point near-fall late in the second to take a 10-0 lead, then took Braiden Kort to his back in the third to get the fall at 5:40. 
 
Augie won the next two matches to get within 9-6 before Johnson prevailed in the battle of champions. 

The top-ranked senior turned a takedown into a four-point near-fall in the final 45 seconds of the first period for a commanding 7-0 lead. Johnson and Larson traded escapes in the final two periods, with Johnson tacking on a riding time point for the 9-1 major decision. 
 
Augie's Payton Handevidt edged Bryce Dauphin 5-2 at 165 on a takedown with 17 seconds left to get the Vikings within 13-9, but Jump and Britten came through with clutch wins in the next two weights to essentially seal the dual. 
 
Jump avenged an earlier loss to Coy Gunderson at 174 with a 5-0 shutout, while Britten held on for a 7-6 victory. 

Jump and Gunderson were scoreless after two periods, though Jump rode Gunderson the entire second stanza. Jump then escaped to start the final period, followed with a takedown at the 45-second mark and controlled Gunderson the rest of the way to add a riding time point. 
 
The second-ranked Britten trailed Charlie Petit 6-3 midway through the second period before escaping and getting a takedown with 24 seconds left to go on top 7-6. Petit elected to go neutral in the final period and Britten held off his last-second takedown try to hold on in pushing UCO's lead to 19-9. 
 
Augie won the final two matches as fourth-ranked Garrett Wells fell 7-0 to No. 2 Max Ramberg at 197 and Ryan Nichols lost 5-2 in the final match. 
 
The Bronchos picked up six bonus wins in rolling over Ashland in the first-ever meeting between the two, including back-to-back falls in the first two matches by Kirk and Henschel to establish quick control. 

UCO also got technical falls from Johnson and Jump, while 141 Josh Taylor and Wells added major decisions. Dauphin and Britten earned the other two wins. 
 
Kirk trailed 12th-ranked Luke Acuna 4-2 midway through the second period in the opening match at 125, but the sophomore struck for a takedown to take the lead and then quickly turned Acuna to get the fall at the 4:19 mark. 
 
The top-ranked Henschel didn't waste time taking charge at 133, getting a takedown just 12 seconds into the bout. He added three near-falls the rest of the period for a commanding 14-0 lead, then took Donovan Paes to his back early in the second for the pin at 3:19. 
 
Taylor used a seven-point move in the opening minute of the first period to grab control on his way to a 13-3 rout to put UCO on top 16-0 before the Eagles got a technical fall at 149. 
 
Johnson got the Bronchos back on track in dominating fashion, scoring a takedown and three near-falls to record a 15-0 technical fall before the first period ended. It was the first match since Dec. 3 for the top-ranked senior standout. 
 
Dauphin broke a 4-4 deadlock with an escape to open the third period, then got a clinching takedown with 1:01 left before controlling Nate Barrett the rest of the way to tack on a riding time point in a 9-4 victory. 
 
Jump had two takedowns, two reverses and two near-falls in his easy 17-2 drubbing for his 75th career win and Britten prevailed 4-2 behind a second-period takedown. 
 
Wells got UCO's final win as the fourth-ranked junior cruised past No. 8 Peyton Lemon 15-2. Wells, who beat Lemon 9-5 at the Midwest Classic in mid-December, had three takedowns and a near-fall in the rout. 
 
Ashland ended the dual with a fall at heavyweight, but the dual had long been decided. 

UCO 36, Ashland 11 
125 – Eli Kirk, UCO, pinned Luke Acuna, 4:19. 
133 – Jason Henschel, UCO, pinned Donovan Paes, 3:19. 
141 – Josh Taylor, UCO, major dec. Rylen Campbell, 13-3. 
149 – Hayden Kuhn, AU, technical fall Cole Mayfield, 15-0 (5:44). 
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, technical fall Fernando Lopez, 15-0 (2:52). 
165 – Bryce Dauphin, UCO, dec. Nate Barrett, 9-4. 
174 – Hunter Jump, UCO, technical fall Hayden Flynn, 17-2 (5:18). 
184 – Branson Britten, UCO, dec. Fletcher Rose, 4-2.
197 - Garrett Wells, UCO, major dec. Peyton Lemon, 15-2.
Hvy – Wyatt Bailey, AU, pinned Paul Sharp, 1:08. 
 
UCO 19, Augustana 15 
125 – Kirk, UCO, dec. Christian Olsen, 5-0. 
133 – Henschel, UCO, pinned Braiden Kort, 5:40. 
141 – Luke Koenen, Augie, dec. Taylor, 7-4. 
149 – Nolan Ambrose, Augie, dec. Bam West, 2-0. 
157 – Johnson, UCO, major dec. Cael Larson, 9-1. 
165 – Payton Handevidt, Augie, dec. Dauphin, 5-2. 
174 – Jump, UCO, dec. Coy Gunderson, 5-0. 
184 – Britten, UCO, dec. Charlie Petit, 7-6. 
197 – Max Ramberg, Augie, dec. Wells, 7-0. 
Hvy – Jaret Peterson, Augie, dec. Ryan Nichols, 5-2.