SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Four champions highlighted a dominating performance by No. 2 -ranked Central Oklahoma at the Drury Open Saturday.
Winning titles for the two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Bronchos were 125 Studd Morris, 133 Peter Rolle, 141 Josh Taylor and 197 Emmanuel Skillings, with Rolle and Taylor both knocking off ranked opponents during the all-day event.
UCO – which took 21 individuals to the tournament — had 13 other placers, with three of those competing unattached. The Bronchos went 75-25 on the day with 47 bonus-point wins.
Jaxon Randall (165) and Bryce Dauphin (174) had runner-up finishes, while 125 Eli Kirk, 174 Zane Coleman and 184 Seth Sarasua placed third and 165 Aidan Boline fourth. Grant Gober (157) and Tucker Waitman (174) earned consolation titles and Dominik Benedetto was consolation runner-up at 141.
UCO had three unattached entries place at 141 in Adam Maki (second), Easton Taylor (third) and Kasen Miller (sixth).
“Our guys got in a lot of mat time and we had a pretty good day,” said head coach Todd Steidley. “We wrestled pretty well overall. It was good for our younger kids and some of our regulars were able to get some needed matches.”
Morris, a national qualifier in 2022-23 who missed last season to injury, overwhelmed the field at 125. The senior went 4-0 with three bonus-point wins, including a 44-second fall in the finals over Maryville’s Sam Shafer.
Rolle was equally as dominant at 133. The senior had four bonus wins in a 5-0 day, including three first-period falls. He upset fifth-ranked James Anderson of Ouachita Baptist in the finals, cruising to a 9-2 victory.
Josh Tayor also went 5-0, including a 6-3 quarterfinal upset over seventh-rated Kody Ketchum of Maryville 6-3. He topped a pair of teammates in the final two rounds, trimming E. Taylor 4-1 in sudden victory in the semifinals before edging Maki 4-3 in the title bout.
Skillings won three matches on the day. The junior followed a first-round bye with a major decision, then won 4-3 in the semifinals before turning back OBU’s Brooks Schrimsher 11-7 for the gold medal.
Maki had three bonus wins and a 9-6 victory in making the finals before falling to J. Taylor. Randall did the same with three straight bonus wins and a 13-7 semifinal win prior to a finals defeat.
Dauphin also went 4-1 on the day, posting two major decisions before dropping a tough 4-1 finals decision to Maryville’s Cole Ritter, who is ranked fourth at 165.
Kirk, E. Taylor and Sarasua all had 5-1 records on the day, with Taylor and Sarasua claiming four bonus wins and Kirk three. Coleman went 4-1 with a fall and technical fall.
The Bronchos make their home debut Friday, hosting Ouachita Baptist Friday night in the MIAA opener.
UCO RESULTS
125 – Studd Morris (1st): Tech. fall Shad Cano, Ouachita Baptist, 17-1; pinned Diego Barajas, Maryville, 2:34; dec. Lugman Masud, Missouri, 7-1; pinned Sam Shafer, Maryville, 0:44.
133 – Eli Kirk (3rd): Dec. Drew Stanfield, Missouri, 7-2; pinned Roberto Lopez, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 2:19; major dec. Evan Benitiz, McKendree, 14-0; lost James Anderson OBU, 5-3; tech. fall Clyde Adams, Ozarks, 17-1; dec. Javin Douglas, 3-0.
133 – Peter Rolle (1st): Pinned Tucker Kazienko, Tarleton State, 1:32; tech. fall Joseph Castelline, Fort Hays State, 15-0; pinned Clyde Adams, 1:17; dec. James Anderson, OBU, 9-2.
141 – Josh Taylor (1st): Pinned Abdul Hashim, OBU, 1:26; major dec. Anthony Dicks, TSU, 12-0; dec Kody Ketchum, Maryville, 6-3; dec. Easton Taylor, UCO (Unatt.), 4-1 SV; dec. Adam Maki, UCO (Unatt.), 4-3.
141 – Dominik Benedetto (Consolation 2nd): Lost to Cole Minnick, UALR, 9-8; tech. fall Evan Coble, Neosho, 16-1; tech. fall Benjamin Beaty, Ozarks, 17-2; major dec. Anthony Dicks, TSU, 11-3; tech. fall Ashton Keller, Schreiner, 22-6; lost to Lucas Laux, Maryville, 11-9.
141 – Dailey Jennings: Tech. fall Jaqwan Tillman, Central Christian, 17-2; tech. fall Luke Adams, Ozarks, 23-8; lost fall to Easton Taylor, UCO (Unatt.), 2:27; lost to Kody Ketchum, Maryville, 12-6.
149 – Jaxon Keoltzow: lost to Caiden Saaverda, Unatt., 8-7; pinned Caden Smith, Neosho, 2:01; won disqualification over Garrison Sartain, Unatt.; lost medical forfeit to Julian Bando, Schreiner.
149 – Bam West: Won injury default over Jacob Adams, UALR, 1:55; dec. Collin Reif, Maryville, 10-6; lost injury default to Zeke Seltzer, Missouri, 0:21.
157 – Grant Gober (Consolation 1st): Lost to Jaylon Otero, OBU, 4-1; pinned Alexander Ferrell, Maryville, 1:28; pinned Justin Brassell, Central Christian, 2:11; dec. Kadence Roop, NEO, 8-3; dec. Javier Gutierrez, Maryville, 7-2.
165 – Jaxon Randall (2nd): Tech. fall Joe Beck, Drury, 17-2; pinned Michael Gilreath, Ozarks, 1:11; pinned William Wilson, OBU, 0:29; dec. Gaven Bremenkamp, Drury; lost tech. fall to Will Kuster, Drury, 20-4.
165 – Aidan Boline (4th): Mador dec. Kaiden Antonace, TSU, 11-3; lost tech. fall to Will Kuster, Drury, 21-5; major dec. Airamis Mendoza, Ozarks, 17-6; major dec. Gavin Bremenkomp, Drury, 10-1; lost major dec. to Finn Shepard, TSU, 16-4.
174 – Bryce Dauphin (2nd): Dec. El Zar, Maryville, 9-2; major dec. Chandler Fortney, NEO, 17-7; dec. Jeremiah Halter, Drury, 10-4; major dec. Evan Morris, Maryville, 12-4; lost to Cole Ritter, Maryville, 4-1.
174 – Zane Coleman (3rd): Tech. fall Gabriel Sheikh, Ozarks, 17-1; pinned Jagger Caldwell, NEO, 0:52; lost major dec. to Cole Ritter, Maryville, 14-6; dec. Jeremiah Halter, Drury, 4-1; dec. Evan Morris, Maryville 6-3.
174 – Tucker Waitman (Consolation 1st): Lost to Evan Morris, Maryville, 13-8; pinned Cooper Lock, TSU, 1:01; tech. fall Luke Brooks, OBU, 15-0; dec. Eli Zar, Maryville, 9-6.
184 – Seth Sarasua (3rd): Pinned Levi Morris, Drury, 3:34; tech. fall Nehemiah Hayes, NEO, 18-1; lost major dec. to Branson Britten, UALR, 13-2; major dec. Henry Martin, OBU, 13-3; dec. Trey Bennett, NEO, 7-4; major dec. Dalton Litzsinger, Maryville, 9-1.
197 – Emmanuel Skillings (1st): Major dec. Samuel Murphy, NEO, 11-2; dec. Parker Henry, OBU, 4-3; dec. Brooks Schrimsher, OBU, 11-7.
Hvy – Paul Sharp: Lost to Jarrett Stoner, Missouri, 4-3; pinned Hild Rj, OBU, 3:15; pinned Briar Goodwin, NEO, 4:39; pinned Jadaan Anderson, Ozarks, 3:13; lost fall to Eben Crain, NEO, 1:59.
UNATTACHED UCO RESULTS
141 – Adam Maki (2nd): Tech. fall Corbin McIntier, NEO, 18-3; major dec. Nathan Wishne, Drury, 13-1; major dec. Kason Miller, UCO (Unattached), 14-5; dec. Cole Minnick, Arkansas-Little Rock, 9-6; lost to Josh Taylor, UCO, 4-3.
141 – Easton Taylor (3rd): Tech. fall Lucas Laux, Maryville, 18-2; pinned Kason Mitchell, Carl Albert, 1:08; pinned Dailey Jennings, UCO, 2:27; lost to Josh Taylor, UCO, 4-1 SV; pinned Kasen Miller, UCO (Unatt.), 2:36; dec. Kody Ketchum, Maryville, 4-1.
141 – Kasen Miller (6th): Dec. Ashton Keller, Schreiner, 10-9; pinned Seth Cano, OBU, 1:08; lost major dec. to Adam Maki, UCO (Unattached), 14-5; won forfeit over Hudson Hackbarth, Maryville; lost fall to Easton Taylor, UCO (Unattached), 2:36; lost fall to Cole Minnick, UALR, 1:23.
165 – Evan Johnson: Lost fall to Finn Shepard, TSU, 2:17; lost fall to Griffin Bohanan, Fort Hays State, 1:16.
