SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Gabe Johnson cemented his claim as one of the best in Central Oklahoma's storied history Saturday night by capturing his third straight 157-pound title at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
Johnson finished off a perfect (23-0) senior campaign with a 2-2 tiebreaker triumph over St. Cloud State's previously unbeaten Joel Jesuroga, earning the win with a 12-second riding time advantage.
The No. 2-ranked Bronchos also got a runner-up finish from 174 Hunter Jump while 133 Jason Henschel finished third and 125 Eli Kirk fourth. UCO ended up fourth In a tight team race with 76 points.
Nebraska-Kearney – which lost two duals to the Bronchos this season – finished with 83 points to win its second team title in a row followed by No. 7 Wisconsin-Parkside (78), No. 6 McKendree (76.5), UCO and No. 10 Lander (64.5).
Johnson and Jesuroga squared off in a low-scoring struggle for the third time in the last two seasons, including their second consecutive finals showdown. And like the previous two meetings, this one required extra time.
Neither wrestler got close to a takedown in regulation while trading escapes and it was the same in the two-minute sudden victory period. Johnson then rode Jesuroga for 18 seconds in the first 30-second tiebreaker before needing just four seconds to get loose.
That 12-second difference ended up deciding the outcome as Johnson became just the third three-time national champion and 12th four-time All-American in UCO's 74-year history. He ended his spectacular career with a 114-16 record and won 64 of his last 65 matches, including the last 36 straight.
"I'm just grateful to Coach (Todd) Steidley and Coach (Scott) Chenoweth," an emotional Johnson said afterwards. "They're amazing coaches. It's crazy just thinking about how far I've come as a person, as a wrestler.
"I owe UCO everything. Coming here changed my life. It's amazing."
Johnson picked up an extra award after the tournament when he was named Division II's Most Dominant Wrestler for 2025-26. He finished 23-0 with 16 bonus-point wins.
"I'm not sure what else I can say about Gabe Johnson," head coach Todd Steidley said. "He's an amazing wrestler and an incredible young man who is a credit to our program and university. He deserves all the success with the work he's put in."
Jump fell short in his championship bid with a 7-3 loss to Nebraska-Kearney's Otgonbayar Batsuuri, who scored a takedown 30 seconds into the match and a clinching one late in the match when he countered Jump's desperation try.
Jump finished his senior season 25-5 and ended with a 92-28 record as a two-time All-American.
"We weren't sure Hunter was going to come back this season and we're happy he made the decision he did," Steidley said. "He worked so hard all year and won a lot of big matches for us. Being a two-time All-American and national runner-up is nothing to be ashamed of."
Johnson made the finals with a methodical 8-1 semifinal triumph over Wisconsin-Parkside's Easton Worachek. Johnson had takedowns in the first and third periods along with an escape and riding time point to cruising to the title bout.
Jump got to the finals by the slimmest margins, trimming Lander's Maxwell Kiel 1-0 in the semis.
Neither wrestler came close to scoring in the first period and it was the same in the second after Kiel chose neutral. Jump broke the deadlock with a quick escape to open the third and easily fended off Kiel the rest of the way.
Henschel was locked in a tight semifinal battle with Jacob Strausbaugh of Mary early in the second period when Strausbaugh came out on top of a scramble and got a fall.
The third-seeded senior bounced back with two straight consolation wins to claim the bronze medal. He clinched a 12-7 victory over Glenville State's Zachary Parker with a late takedown before topped St. Cloud State's Dominic Ducato 5-0 behind a takedown, escape and riding time point.
Henschel finished his final season 22-2 with 14 bonus-point wins.
Kirk rolled to two more lopsided wins to continue his impressive consolation bracket run before falling in the third-place match. He ended up winning five matches on the back win, earning bonus points in all five.
The fifth-seeded sophomore scored a second period fall over Chadron State's Quade Smith and then got the last of his three takedowns with three seconds left to secure a 10-2 major decision over No. 1 seed Isaiah Gomez of Adams State in the consolation semis.
Kirk fell to West Liberty's Logan Davis for the second time in the consolation finals. Davis won 4-3 in Friday's first round and 4-2 in the third-place match behind a final minute takedown.
Kirk finished the season 16-3 with 12 bonus wins.
"I thought Eli and Jason showed a lot of resilience in the way they bounced back from tough losses to finish how they did," Steidley said. "Eli scored a bunch of points for us on the back end and Jason won two tough matches to come back and get third."
NCAA DIVISION II WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Joel Jesuroga, St. Cloud State, 2-2 (TB-2)
174 – Otgonbayar Batsuuri, Nebraska-Kearney, dec. Hunter Jump, UCO, 7-3.
CONSOLATION FINALS
125 – Logan Davis, West Liberty, dec. Eli Kirk, UCO, 4-2.
133 – Jason Henschel, UCO, dec. Dominic Ducato, St. Cloud State, 5-0.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
133 – Jacob Strausbaugh, Mary, pinned Henschel, UCO, 3:44.
157 – Johnson, UCO, dec. Easton Worachek, Wisconsin-Parkside, 8-1.
174 – Jump, UCO, dec. Maxwell Kiel, Lander, 1-0.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
125 – Kirk, UCO, pinned Quade Smith, Chadron State, 4:58.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
125 – Kirk, UCO, major dec. Isaiah Gomez, Adams State, 10-2.
133 – Henschel, UCO, dec. Zachary Parker, Glenville State, 12-7.
