INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Defense became offense and paved the way for a second straight gold medal for Central Oklahoma’s Gabe Johnson Saturday night at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
Johnson fought off a takedown try by St. Cloud State’s Joel Jesuroga and turned it into the winning takedown, scoring with 35 seconds left in the sudden-victory period for a 4-1 triumph at 157 pounds.
TWO-TIME NCAA CHAMPION!
— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII) March 16, 2025
Gabe Johnson wins at 157 lbs for the @ucoathletics!#D2Wrestle | #MakeItYours pic.twitter.com/Jnls4eU55a
The hard-fought win avenged a 4-1 overtime loss to Jesuroga earlier this season and made Johnson the 20th multiple national champion in UCO’s illustrious history.
“My defense came into play,” Johnson said. “I don’t usually let guys get to my legs, but it worked out for me there.
“There wasn’t any pressure. I knew I had done it before, so my mindset was to just go do it. All it takes is me wrestling hard the whole match and believing in myself. It feels good.”
The Bronchos also got a runner-up finish from 133 Peter Rolle and sixth-place showing from 184 Garrett Wells to come in fifth in the team race. It marked the 41st top-five national finish in the 72-year history of the program.
Top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney ran away with the team title, finishing with 115 points. No. 5 Augustana was second with 63, followed by No. 2 St. Cloud State (57.5), No. 8 Lander (56) and No. 3 UCO (55.5).
“I couldn’t be more proud of Gabe for the poise he showed the entire tournament,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “He wrestled great all weekend and beat a really good kid tonight. He stayed patient and didn’t force anything.
“And I’m really happy for Peter. He showed what he was made of this weekend. I know he’s disappointed about tonight, but he had a great season for us and being a national runner-up isn’t anything to be ashamed of.”
Rolle dropped a 10-4 finals decision to third-seeded Reece Barnhardt, who became Mary’s first-ever national champion. Barnhardt struck for the first takedown in the opening period, but Rolle escaped quickly and took a 4-3 lead on a takedown with 45 seconds left.
Barnhardt good loose 15 seconds to tie it, then rode Rolle the entire second stanza while picking up a penalty point to go ahead before putting it away with an escape and takedown in the final period.
Rolle had an 11-match winning streak snapped with the loss and finished his senior campaign with a 21-4 record that included 14 bonus-point wins.
“Coming back for a sixth year was hard, but I put a lot of work into it,” said Rolle, who redshirted his first year at UCO in 2019-20 and received an extra season because of COVID. “There were a lot of sacrifices. It’s a tough way to finish, but I’m proud of what I was able to do this year.”
Johnson gave the Bronchos an individual champion for the fifth straight year. He and Jesuroga both came close to takedowns during regulation, but the only scoring came on escapes as the two went to OT tied at 1-1.
Then came Johnson’s defense-to-offense winning takedown and a celebration.
The junior star ended the season with a 13-match winning streak and finished 26-1 with 17 bonus wins.
Johnson moved into the title bout with a first-period fall over Owen Cline of Colorado Mesa in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals, whipping Cline to his back and getting the pin in just 47 seconds.
Rolle made the finals with a gritty 4-3 win over Ouachita Baptist’s James Anderson. Rolle struck for a takedown just 28 seconds into the match and it was a defensive standoff after that.
Anderson escaped later in the period and then again 30 seconds into the second stanza to pull within 3-2. Rolle got loose with 1:15 left in the final period to go up 4-2 and gave up a stalling point with 15 seconds left to claim his third win over the season over Anderson.
Wells won four straight consolation matches after falling in Friday morning’s opening round to earn All-America status for the second time.
The sixth-seeded Wells claimed three of those wins Friday, then used a last-second takedown to secure a 10-2 major decision in Saturday morning’s consolation quarterfinals.
Wells tweaked a knee in a consolation semifinal loss and was limited in a 5-2 setback to third-seeded Cade Mueller of Augustana in finishing sixth.
NCAA DIVISION II WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
133 – Reece Barnhardt, Mary, dec. Peter Rolle, UCO, 10-4.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Joel Jesuroga, St. Cloud State, 4-1 (SV).
FIFTH-PLACE MATCH
184 – Cade Mueller, Augustana, dec. Garrett Wells, UCO, 5-2.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIINALS
133 – Peter Rolle, UCO, dec. James Anderson, Ouachita Baptist, 4-3.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, pinned Owen Cline, Colorado Mesa, 0:47.
CONSOLATION SEMFINALS
184 – Matt Weinberg, Kutztown, tech. fall Wells, UCO, 16-1.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
184 – Wells, UCO, dec. Kyle Homel, Glenville State, 10-2.
