SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Gabe Johnson, Jason Henschel and Garrett Wells picked up bonus-point wins to lead No. 11-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 14 Augustana 28-12 Sunday afternoon at the Elmen Center.
The Bronchos won seven of the 10 matches in beating their second ranked Division II opponent in two tries this season. UCO, now 2-1, will face another one Saturday in its home debut against No. 13 McKendree.
Johnson scored a second-period pin at 157 pounds, while Henschel (133) and Wells (197) both cruised to dominating technical falls. The Bronchos also got wins from 125 Guy Clevenger, 141 Josh Taylor, 184 Branson Britten and Hvy Judson Rowland.
“It was a tough dual like we knew it would be,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “We wrestled pretty well in spots and struggled in some areas, but that’s not unusual this early in the season.
“I thought our guys wrestled hard for the most part. We have a lot of room for improvement and just need to keep working at getting better every day.”
UCO jumped to an 11-0 lead by taking the first three matches,
Clevenger opened the dual with a methodical 8-2 victory, sandwiching first- and third-period takedowns around a second-period reverse. Henschel followed with a 17-0 romp, posting four near-falls after opening the match with a takedown to end it early in the second period.
Taylor pulled out a gutsy 2-1 overtime win, prevailing on an escape in the second tiebreaker period, before the Vikings pulled within 11-6 on a fall at 149.
Johnson answered back with his second fall in three matches. The two-time national champion had a pair of first-period takedowns in building a 6-1 lead, escaped early in the second and took Logan Butzon to his back to score the fall at the 4:21 mark for his 16th straight win.
Augie won the next two matches to cut UCO’s lead to 17-12, but the Bronchos closed the dual with three straight victories.
Britten had two takedowns and two reverses in an 11-6 decision, Wells rolled to a 19-3 drubbing and Rowland rode a second-period takedown to a 4-1 victory. Wells had four of his six takedowns in the third period to get the technical fall with just 28 seconds left.
The teams wrestled three extra matches, with 141 Shaun Muse, 165 Brady Benham and Hvy Ryan Nichols all picking up wins.
UCO 28, Augustana 12
125 – Guy Clevenger, UCO, dec. Christian Olsen, 8-2.
133 – Jason Henschel, UCO, technical fall Owen Hansen, 17-0 (3:32).
141 – Josh Taylor, UCO, dec. Luke Koenen, 2-1 (TB).
149 – Nolan Ambrose, Augie, pinned Bam West, 5:22.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, pinned Logan Butzon, 4:21.
165 – Payton Handevidt, Augie, dec. Bryce Dauphin, 7-2.
174 – Coy Gunderson, Augie, dec. Hunter Jump, 12-9.
184 – Branson Britten, UCO, dec. Owen Wasley, 11-6.
197 – Garrett Wells, UCO, technical fall Sam McEnelly, 19-3 (6:32).
Hvy – Judson Rowland, UCO, dec. Jaret Peterson, 4-1.
Extra Matches
141 – Shaun Muse, UCO, dec. Alex Mentzer, 4-2.
165 – Brady Benham, UCO, dec. Cash Raymond, 8-6.
Hvy – Ryan Nichols, UCO, dec. Max Balow, 2-0.
