SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Eight qualifiers, including two No. 1 seeds, should put Central Oklahoma in the thick of what promises to be a close team race at the 2026 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships this weekend.
The No. 2-ranked Bronchos bid for their 18th national title as one of seven teams with at least seven qualifiers. Five of UCO's individuals are seeded in the top six in 157 Gabe Johnson (first), 174 Hunter Jump (first), 133 Jason Henschel (third), 125 Eli Kirk (fifth) and 184 Branson Britten (sixth), while 141 Josh Taylor, 149 Bam West and 165 Bryce Dauphin are unseeded.
"It should be a great tournament," 10th-year head coach Todd Steidley said. "There are several teams capable of winning it and we're definitely one of those. Our guys are excited about the opportunity and they're ready to go."
Preliminary and first-round action begins at 10 a.m. at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, with the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations at 5 p.m. The tournament resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and conclusion of all consolation matches, then wraps up with the championship finals at 7 p.m.
"We've been training for this since September," Steidley said. "The guys have done a great job all year. They've worked hard and have done all the things we've asked of them.
"The only thing we can control is our effort, so we want our guys to focus on going hard for seven minutes every time they step on the mat. Don't look ahead and don't look back. Just take care of one match at a time."
ABOUT THE DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS: Region I champion and top-ranked Gannon along with Region II winner and No. 10 Lander have the most qualifiers with nine each.
Region III runner-up and No. 4 Grand Valley State joins Region IV champion UCO with eight qualifiers. Three teams advanced seven individuals - Region VI champion and No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney, Region V runner-up and No. 5 St. Cloud State and Region V winner and No. 7 Wisconsin-Parkside.
UNK and the Bronchos have claimed the last four national titles, with the Lopers winning in 2022 and '25 while UCO prevailed in 2023 and '24.
There are 18 individuals at each of the 10 weights for a total of 180 qualifiers.
UCO IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: The Bronchos have long had one of the most successful programs in the nation, having claimed 17 national championships - eight in NAIA (1979, '81, '82, '84, '85, '86, '87 and '89) and a record nine in NCAA Division II (1992, '93, '94, '95, '02, '03, '07, '23 and '24).
UCO has also had nine national runner-up finishes in four different divisions – AAU (1935), NCAA Division I (1936), NAIA (1974 and '88) and NCAA Division II (1990, '91, '96, '00 and '22).
The Bronchos have had 40 top four national tournament finishes in their 73-year history, including a string of 21 straight from 1984-2004.
UCO crowned one champion (Gabe Johnson) and had two other All-Americans last year (Peter Rolle and Garrett Wells) in finishing fifth.
ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO finished 16-1 in duals this season, including a 5-0 mark in winning a sixth consecutive Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown. The lone loss came to Division I Little Rock (27-11) in the second match of the season.
UCO went 4-0 to capture the NWCA Division II National Duals title, downing Nebraska-Kearney 22-12 in the finals. The Bronchos beat seven teams this season that are ranked in the top 17 in the final poll – No. 3 UNK, No. 4 Grand Valley State, No. 6 McKendree, T-No. 10 Lander, T-No. 10 Augustana, T-No. 12 Central Missouri and No. 17 Ashland.
Central claimed its sixth straight Super Regional IV championship March 1 in Edmond.
UCO had four regional champions along with two runners-ups, two third-place finishers, one fourth and one sixth. The top three placers at each weight advanced to the national tournament.
Only two of UCO's eight qualifiers have national tournament experience. Gabe Johnson is making his fifth appearance and Hunter Jump his third.
The eight qualifiers enter the final weekend with a combined 123-32 record, including 77 bonus-point wins.
Here's a look at each of UCO's eight national qualifiers:
125 Eli Kirk, So. – Seeded fifth with 11-1 record that includes seven bonus-point wins (three technical falls, two falls, two major decisions) ... Making first national tournament appearance and meets West Liberty's Logan Davis in the first round ... Rolled to Super Regional IV title with three easy wins after entering as the No. 2 seed, outscoring those opponents a combined 44-5 ... Opened with back-to-back technical falls (16-1, 18-3) before earning 10-1 major decision in the finals over Indianapolis' top-seeded Nathan Smith ... 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 third-seeded Jack Parker of Grand Valley State in a home dual ... Is 1-1 against national tournament qualifiers, beating Smith and losing to Parker ... Has 31-5 career record with 23 bonus wins.
133 Jason Henschel, Sr. – Seeded third with 18-1 record and 13 bonus-point wins (seven technical falls, three falls, three major decisions) ... Earned first national tournament bid with 3-0 run to the Super Regional IV title as the No. 1 seed ... Started with a 17-0 technical fall and 8-0 major decision before clipping McKendree's Thaddeus Long 9-6 in the finals ... Is 8-1 against six national qualifiers this season, owning two wins over the fourth-seeded Long and one over No. 5 James Joplin of Lander ... Also beat Nebraska-Kearney's Zach Ourada (twice), Central Missouri's Drew Stanfield (twice) and Lander's James Joplin ... Lone loss this season came in overtime (7-4) against eighth-seeded Jacob Myers of Colorado State-Pueblo ... Takes on Minnesota State's Chase Beckett in the first round ... Has averaged 12.1 points a match in 16 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 34-8 career record in Division II with 25 bonus wins.
141 Josh Taylor, Sr. – Ranked ninth nationally but not seeded in the top eight for nationals with 12-5 record that includes seven bonus-point victories (four falls, two technical falls, one major decision) ... Earned first national tournament berth with Super Regional IV runner-up showing after entering as the No. 1 seed ... Had second-period fall and 5-1 win before dropping 4-2 finals decision to second-seeded James Wright of Central Missouri ... Is 3-3 against four national tournament qualifiers this season, losing twice to fifth-seeded Joseph Airola of Nebraska-Kearney (both in OT) and splitting with the sixth-seeded Wright ... Also beat Landers's Elijah Lusk and McKendree's Ronan Schuelke ... Opens national tournament against No. 2 seed Jake Niffenegger of Gannon ... Went 2-2 and placed fourth in Super Regional IV Tournament last year to just miss national tournament berth ... Has 49-14 career record with 26 bonus wins.
149 Bam West, Jr. – Enters national tournament with 8-6 record and four bonus-point wins (all falls), having been in-and-out of the lineup all season ... Punched first national tournament ticket with clutch third-place finish in Super Regional IV tournament ... Dropped 5-4 decision in first round before rebounding with three consolation victories ... Started that run with a 39-second fall, then won 7-4 and 5-0 decisions to secure national berth ... Met one national tournament qualifier during the season, beating Lander's Isham Peace ... Takes on third-seeded Cody Thompson of Colorado School of Mines in first round ... Has battled injuries throughout his career and has 20-13 career record with 12 bonus wins.
157 Gabe Johnson, Sr. – Senior star and two-time defending national champion who is seeded first with 19-0 record and 14 bonus-point wins (eight technical falls, four falls, two major decisions) ... Became just the fourth four-time regional champion in UCO's illustrious history in the Super Regional IV tourney with a 4-0 run to the title ... Opened with three straight technical falls (15-0, 17-0, 17-1) before earning 14-8 finals win ... Has averaged 13.7 points a match in 14 bouts that haven't ended in a fall or forfeit ... Has won 60 of his last 61 matches, including 32 straight ... Is 4-0 against national qualifiers this season, beating Lander's Reid Noble, Grand Valley State's Maclain Morency, Indianapolis' Michael Ortega and Maryville's Nicolas Zamora ... Meets San Francisco State's Basil Othman in the first round ... Competing in his fifth national tournament and looking to become UCO's 12th four-time All-American and third three-time national champion ... Is 11-4 in four previous appearances … Went 0-2 as true freshman in 2021, was seventh-place All-American with 3-2 record in 2023 and went 4-0 each of the past two years in capturing back-to-back national titles ... Ranks 19th on UCO's career wins list with 110-16 record and 61 bonus wins, including a school-record 29 technical falls.
165 Bryce Dauphin, Sr. – Ranked 10th nationally but not seeded in top eight with 13-11 record that includes six bonus-point wins (three major decisions, two falls, one technical fall) ... Earned first national tournament bid with runner-up finish in Super Regional IV tournament ... Entered as the third seed and opened with first-period fall and 11-2 major decision before knocking off second-seeded Gage Bernall of Central Missouri 3-2 in the semifinals ... Dropped tough 4-2 finals decision to top-seeded Sam Richardson of McKendree ... Has met six of the eight national seeds and is 4-8 against nine national qualifiers ... Owns wins over Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Trent Hoover and Ashland's Nate Barrett while splitting two matches with fifth-seeded Trent Munoz of Nebraska-Kearney and the seventh-seeded Bernall ... Has lost twice to the third-seeded Richardson and also dropped close decisions to No. 2 David Hunsberger of Lander, No. 4 Grant MacKay of Gannon, No. 6 Ivan Smith of New Mexico Highlands and No. 8 Brody Hemauer of Wisconsin-Parkside ...Opens national tournament against Hunsberger, the two-time defending national champion ... In his third year with the Bronchos after spending two seasons at Division I Wyoming ... Has 28-16 career record at UCO with 12 bonus wins.
174 Hunter Jump, Sr. – Seeded first with 22-4 record that includes 13 bonus-point wins (five falls, four technical falls, four major decisions) ... Captured third straight Super Regional IV title ... Was the No. 1 seed there and went 4-0, making the finals with 5-3, 14-2 and 6-0 wins before topping defending national champion and second-seeded Cole Ritter of Maryville 6-3... Enters national tourney riding a career-long 16-match winning streak, earning bonus points in 10 of those ... Went 7-2 against five national qualifiers this season, with three of those seeded in the top four ... Beat Ritter, No. 3 Otgonbayar Batsuuri of Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri's Anthony Erickson twice while splitting with No. 2 Coy Gunderson of Augustana ... Also owns a win over Lander's Maxwell Kiel and lost to No. 4 Josh Kenny of Grand Valley State ... Opens the national tournament against St. Cloud State's Bryce Dagel ... Has a 4-4 record in two national tournament appearances, going 4-2 in finishing third to earn All-America honors in 2024 before losing two straight last year ... Has 89-27 career record with 47 bonus wins.
184 Branson Britten, Sr. - Seeded sixth with 23-4 record that includes 11 bonus-point wins (seven technical falls, four major decisions, one fall) ... Earned first national tournament berth with third-place finish in Super Regional IV tournament ... Was seeded second and opened with 18-0 and 17-1 technical falls before dropping 3-2 semifinal decision to third-seeded Darion Johnson of McKendree ... Rebounded with 18-1 technical fall and 10-1 major decision to claim third and stamp ticket to nationals ... Has met eight national tournament qualifiers this season, including five of the top eight seeds, and is 8-3 in those matches ... Beat second-seeded Keegan Gehihausen of Chadron State, split with the third-seeded Johnson, lost twice to No. 5 Kaden Hart of Nebraska-Kearney, beat No. 7 Patrick Johnson of Gannon and beat No. 8 Dylan Kohn of Lander ... Also owns two wins over Ashland's Fletcher Rose along with victories over Augustana's Charlie Petit and Grand Valley State's Bradley Mayse ... Opens the tournament against Mount Olive's Jack Mackiernan ... Captured title at prestigious Midwest Classic, capping 5-0 run to the gold medal with 8-1 finals victory over Gehlausen ... Spent three years at Northern Colorado and one at Little Rock before coming to UCO this season as a graduate transfer.
