MANHEIM, Pa. – Central Oklahoma will have a trio of top-two seeds in next week’s NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships as the two-time defending champion Bronchos moved up one spot to No. 3 in the final rankings released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association Friday.
Nebraska-Kearney moved ahead of previous No. 1 St. Cloud State 92-87 in the poll that awarded points to the top 10 individuals at each weight. UCO came in third with 71 points, with Grand Valley State (56), Augustana (53), McKendree (47), Glenville State (46), Lander (43) Tiffin (43) and Lake Erie (36) rounding out the top 10.
The final individual rankings reflect the seeds for the national tournament, with Peter Rolle earning the No. 1 position at 133 pounds for the Bronchos. Studd Morris (125) and Gabe Johnson (157) are both seeded second, while 165 Hunter Jump is fifth, 184 Garrett Wells is sixth and 149 Dylan Brown is unseeded.
“We don’t have as many qualifiers as a lot of teams, but I have a great confidence in the six guys we’re taking,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “It should be a great tournament and I think several teams have a chance, including us. We just need to go wrestle like we’re capable of and see what happens.”
UNK is the only team in the field that qualified its full 10-man team, one more than No. 13 Gannon. No. 2 SCSU, No. 8 Lander and No. 20 Ashland each have eight qualifiers, while No. 7 Glenville State and No. 5 McKendree advanced seven and UCO and No. 12 Indianapolis six.
There are 18 individuals at each of the 10 weights for a total of 180 qualifiers.
Brown drew the only preliminary bout for the Bronchos. A fourth-place national placer last year, Brown (15-5) will meet Kutztown’s James Ryan (22-7) in one of 20 preliminary matches.
Morris (25-2) went 2-2 in the 2023 national tournament before missing last year to injury and will take on Ashland’s Luke Acuna in the first round. Rolle (18-3) is set to meet Belmont Abbey’s Elijah Boyd (16-5) in his first-ever national tournament match.
Johnson (22-1) will begin his quest for a second straight national title against Gannon’s Ethan Richner (17-8), while Jump (17-5) opens against Kutztown’s Bailey Gimbor (25-2) and Wells (18-4) faces Fairmont State’s Austin Gibson (4-1). Jump finished third and Wells sixth last year in their first national tournament appearances.
The NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships begin next Friday, March 14, at 11 a.m. (Oklahoma time), with preliminary- and first-round matches, followed by the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations at 6 p.m. The tournament resumes Saturday at 11 a.m. with the semifinals and conclusion of all consolation matches, then wraps up with the championship finals at 8 p.m.
