EDMOND – The biggest day of a long wrestling season arrives Sunday when No. 2-ranked Central Oklahoma hosts the all-important NCAA Division II Super Regional IV Championships.
First-round action begins at 10 a.m. at Hamilton Field House on the UCO campus and the 11-team, double-elimination tournament will run straight through. The first-, third- and fifth-place matches will start at 5 p.m.
The top three finishers at each of the 10 weights qualify for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships March 13-14 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Five other regional tournaments will be held Saturday, with 30 qualifiers advancing from each of those to create the 180-wrestler national tournament field.
"It doesn't matter what you've done up to this point, because everything comes down to this one day," 10th-year head coach Todd Steidley said. "Getting to the national tournament is the hardest part and we're in one of the toughest regionals so our guys will have to be ready every time they step on the mat.
"We're excited about being at home in front of our fans," Steidley continued. "Which I think will give us a boost. Our guys have worked hard all year preparing for this and they're ready to go. The main goal is to qualify all 10 guys and I think we can do that."
The Bronchos are looking for their sixth consecutive regional title and the 25th since joining Division II in 1990. UCO crowned four champions and qualified six individuals last season in finishing with 147.5 points, 11.5 ahead of McKendree.
This will be the eighth time Central has hosted a Division II regional. The Bronchos also hosted in 1993, 1998, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2023, winning the team title in all but 2014.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL
Three of the 11 teams are ranked in the top 25 – No. 2 UCO, No. 10 McKendree and No. 13 Central Missouri. Indianapolis, Newman, Maryville, Quincy and Thomas More all received points in the latest poll, with Drury, Kentucky Wesleyan and Ouachita Baptist rounding out the field.
"It's going to be a tough tournament like it always is," Steidley said. "There are some really good teams and a lot of tough individuals. Qualifiers from our region do well in the national tournament and I'm sure that will be the case again this year."
There are 27 ranked individuals in the tournament – including five at 133 – and five returning champions. UCO's Gabe Johnson (157) Hunter Jump (165, now 174) and Garrett Wells (184, now 197) along with Maryville 174 Cole Ritter and McKendree 197 Logan Kvien all captured titles last year at Central Missouri.
Ranked individuals at each weight: 125 – Nathan Smith, Indy (11); Eli Kirk, UCO (12). 133 – Jason Henschel, UCO (3); Thaddeus Long, McKendree (4); Jevin Foust, Newman (8); Aidan Sprague, Indy (9); Drew Stanfield, UCM (14). 141 – Josh Taylor, UCO (9); Ronan Schuelke, McKendree (10); James Wright, UCM (11); Cole Thomas, Thomas Moore (15). 149 – Sabian Russell, Quincy (11); Gavin Garcia, Indy (12). 157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO (1); Cale Hoskinson, McKendree (15). 165 – Sam Richardson, McKendree (3); Gage Bernall, UCM (7); Bryce Dauphin, UCO (12). 174 – Hunter Jump, UCO (3); Cole Ritter, Maryville (12); Zeke Waltz, McKendree (14). 184 – Damon Ashworth, UCM (1); Branson Britten, UCO (5); Darion Johnson, McKendree (6); 197 – Garrett Wells, UCO (3); Logan Kvien, McKendree (5). Hvy – Jonovan Smith, Maryville (11).
ABOUT THE BRONCHOS
UCO ended the dual season 16-1, with the lone loss a 27-11 setback to Division I Little Rock in the second match of the season.
The Bronchos beat seven top 20 teams during the season – No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney (22-12, 21-18), No. 3 Grand Valley State (30-21), No. 7 Augustana (28-12, 19-15), No. 10 McKendree (33-3), No. 12 Lander (30-6), No. 13 Central Missouri (37-7) and No. 16 Ashland (36-11).
UCO finished third at the prestigious Midwest Classic in December and went 4-0 to capture the NWCA Division II National Duals title, beating UNK 22-12 in the finals. The Bronchos claimed their sixth straight MIAA dual crown with a perfect 5-0 record.
The Bronchos have won 76 of their last 79 duals, the only losses in that span coming to St. Cloud State in the 2023 and 2025 NWCA Division II National Duals finals and Little Rock this season.
UCO's 10 regional starters finished the regular season with a combined 126-36 record, including 73 bonus-point wins.
Here's a look at each of Central's 10 regional participants.
125 Eli Kirk, So. – Ranked 12th nationally with 8-1 record that includes four bonus-point wins (two falls, one technical fall, one major decision) ... Should be seeded first or second this weekend ... Missed the first semester before making his debut in the NWCA Division II National Duals, going 4-0 there to help lead UCO to the team title ... Lone loss was 12-8 setback to No. 3 Jack Parker in a home dual ... Is 2-0 against regional opponents ... Competing in his first regional tournament ... Has 28-5 career record with 20 bonus wins.
133 Jason Henschel, Sr. – Ranked third nationally with 15-1 record and 11 bonus-point wins (six technical falls, three falls, two major decisions) ... Should be seeded first this weekend after going 6-0 against regional foes this season ... Opened season 12-0 before suffering lone loss to Colorado State-Pueblo's No. 6 Jacob Myers in overtime (7-4) ... Has averaged 12.2 points per match in 13 bouts that didn't end in a fall ... Two-time national junior college national runner-up before spending 2023-24 season at Northern State, going 16-7 there ... Went 1-2 at Super Regional V Tournament that season ... Has 31-8 career record in Division II with 23 bonus wins.
141 Josh Taylor, Sr. – Ranked ninth nationally with 10-4 record that includes six bonus-point victories (three falls, two technical falls, one major decision) ... Should be seeded first this weekend after going 5-0 vs. regional opponents this season ... Two of four losses have been against No. 2 Joseph Airola of Nebraska-Kearney, both in overtime ... Went 2-2 and placed fourth in Super Regional IV Tournament last year to just miss national tournament berth ... Has 47-13 career record with 25 bonus wins.
149 Bam West, Jr. – Enters regional with 5-5 record and three bonus-point wins (all falls), having been in-and-out of the lineup all season ... Went 2-1 against regional opponents and should be seeded fourth or fifth this weekend ... Has battled injuries throughout his career and has 17-12 career record with 11 bonus wins.
157 Gabe Johnson, Sr. – Senior star and two-time defending national champion who is ranked first nationally with 15-0 record, including 11 bonus-point wins (five technical falls, four falls, two major decisions) ... Should be seeded first and is looking to become just the fourth four-time regional champion in UCO's illustrious history ... Has averaged 12.9 points a match in 10 bouts that didn't end in a fall or forfeit ... Has won 56 of his last 57 matches, including 28 straight ... Is 5-0 with four bonus wins against regional opponents this season ... Competing in his fifth regional tournament and has 11-1 record in this event … Runner-up in 2021, then cruised to three easy wins in 2023, '24 and '25 in winning three straight titles … Has 25-1 record at Hamilton Field House, the lone loss coming in the 2021 regional finals ... Three-time All-American, finishing seventh in 2023 before winning the national championship the past two years … Ranks 19th on UCO's career wins list with 106-16 record and 58 bonus wins, including a school-record 26 technical falls.
165 Bryce Dauphin, Sr. – Ranked 12th nationally with 10-10 record that includes four bonus-point wins (two major decisions, one fall, one technical fall) ... Should be seeded third this weekend after going 5-2 against regional opponents this season ... Finished seventh in the rugged Midwest Classic, with losses coming against No. 5 Grant MacKay of Gannon and No. 11 Broady Hemauer of Wisconsin-Parkside ... Split two matches against No. 6 Trent Munoz of Nebraska-Kearney ... In his third year at UCO after spending two seasons at Division, I Wyoming ... Has 25-15 career record with the Bronchos with 10 bonus wins.
174 Hunter Jump, Sr. – Ranked third nationally with 18-4 record that includes 12 bonus-point wins (five falls, four technical falls, three major decisions) ... Should be seeded first and enters regional riding a 12-match winning streak, earning bonus points in nine of those ... Finished fifth in the prestigious Midwest Classic, with two losses in that tournament coming to No. 1 Josh Kenny of Grand Valley State and No. 2 DaJun Johnson of Wisconsin-Parkside ... Competing in his fourth regional tournament and has 9-2 record in this event ... Placed fourth in 2022 to just miss out on national tournament berth before winning back-to-back titles at 165 the past two seasons ... Third-place All-American in 2024 ... Has 85-27 career record with 46 bonus wins.
184 Branson Britten, Sr. - Ranked fifth nationally with 19-3 record that includes nine bonus-point wins (five technical falls, three major decisions, one fall) ... Should be seeded second this weekend after going 6-0 with five bonus wins against regional opponents ... Two of three losses have been to No. 4 Kaden Hart of Nebraska-Kearney, with the other a 4-2 setback in Little Rock dual ... Has won six of his last seven matches ... Captured title at prestigious Midwest Classic, capping 5-0 run to the gold medal with 8-1 finals victory over No. 3 Keegan Gehlausen of Chadron State ... Spent three years at Northern Colorado and one at Little Rock before coming to UCO this season as a graduate transfer.
197 Garrett Wells, Jr. – Ranked third nationally with 18-2 record that includes 10 bonus-point wins (five technical falls, three major decisions, two falls) ... Captured regional title at 184 the past two seasons and should be seeded first this weekend ... Has won six straight matches and 10 of his last 11 ... Placed third in the rugged Midwest Classic, with lone loss coming to No. 2 Nick Johnson of Glenville State ... Other loss was to top-ranked Max Ramberg of Augustana at the NWCA Division II National Duals ... Is 6-0 in two previous regional tournament appearances ... Two-time All-American, having finished sixth each of the past two seasons ... Owns 72-19 career record with 39 bonus wins.
285 Ryan Nichols, Soph. – Sophomore big man who should be seeded first or second this weekend after going 4-0 against regional opponents this season ... Is 8-6 overall with three bonus-point wins (two falls, one major decision) ... Has won four of his last five matches, the lone loss in that stretch coming against No. 1 Crew Howard of Nebraska-Kearney ... Spent two years at Oklahoma before coming to UCO, redshirting in 2023-24 before going 7-3 in backup role at 197 last season.
