Mike Kirk
EDMOND (Jan. 14) – Shaun Muse’s 34-second fall highlighted an early Central Oklahoma barrage that buried Maryville and the top-ranked Bronchos cruised to a 42-4 drubbing Sunday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.
None of the first four matches made it to the second period as UCO opened with three falls and a technical fall to grab a commanding 23-0 lead. The Bronchos tacked on three more bonus wins the rest of the way in overwhelming the Saints, who were coming off a 23-22 upset of No. 10 McKendree.
“We came out ready to wrestle today,” said head coach Todd Steidley, whose team improved to 7-0 with its 14th straight win. “Maryville had a big win the other day so we knew what they’re capable of, but our guys were aggressive from the start and that paid off for us.
“I’m happy with the way we performed today. We got better in practice this week and that’s what we have to continue to focus on moving forward.”
Guy Clevenger got the Bronchos going in the opening match at 125 pounds, following a quick takedown with four near-falls in scoring a 15-0 technical fall at the 2:49 mark and Muse didn’t waste time in his 133-pound bout.
The redshirt freshman powered 10th-ranked Evan Binder to his back 25 seconds into the match and got the fall nine seconds later in notching his second straight opening-minute fall.
Second-ranked Dylan Lucas kept the onslaught going at 141, turning an early takedown into a fall at 2:13, and Bam West had two takedowns before getting a pin at 1:37 at 149. That made it 23-0 and it was all over.
Fourth-rated Gabe Johnson racked up five takedowns and a near-fall at 157 to continue UCO’s dominance with a 20-2 technical fall that ended in the third period, then Hunter Jump followed with an overtime win in the most dramatic match of the day.
Jump trailed Cole Ritter 6-1 after one period and was still down 8-5 in the wanning seconds of the match before striking for a tying takedown at the buzzer, with the call holding up after a video review. Jump countered Ritter’s near takedown early in the sudden-victory period and turned it into a takedown and four-point near-fall of his own to come out on top 15-8….
