Mike Kirk
WICHITA, Kan. (March 15) – Dylan Lucas and Shawn Streck earned bonus-point wins to lead Central Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Friday morning at Hartman Arena.
The top-ranked and defending champion Bronchos have 10 points and are tied for third with St. Cloud State in the team standings. No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney leads with 15 points, 2.5 ahead of No. 2 Lander.
UCO won seven of its eight opening-round matches, with Lucas scoring a second-period fall at 141 pounds and Streck a major decision at heavyweight. Dylan Brown (149), Gabe Johnson (157), Hunter Jump (165), Anthony DesVigne and Dalton Abney (197) also advanced, while 184 Garrett Wells was upset in dropping into the consolation bracket.
Quarterfinal action and two rounds of consolation matches are on tap Friday evening at 5 p.m.
“We looked a little timid in a few spots and didn’t push the action like we needed to, but it was still a pretty good round,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “Win and advance is the first order of business and we were able to do that for the most part.
“It’s obviously a big round tonight. It’s going to be a tight team race and we need to keep pushing guys forward.”
Lucas looked sharp in his debut in picking up his sixth fall of the season. The junior had a takedown 42 seconds into the bout and led 3-1 after the first period, then opened the second period with an escape before taking Fairmont State’s Colton Stoneking to his back for the pin at the 3:43 mark.
The third-seeded Lucas will take on No. 6 Nick James of Nebraska-Kearney in the quarterfinals
Streck tallied two takedowns in the first period and one each in the second and third in cruising past Gannon’s Matt Long 14-6 for his 15th bonus win in 16 victories on the season.
The defending national champion and No. 3 seed is set to face sixth-seeded Ryan Herman of Maryville in the quarters. Herman handed Streck his lone loss of the season in the regional finals two weeks ago.
Brown had a first-period takedown, escape, penalty point and riding time point in a 6-3 triumph. The sixth-seeded junior meets No. 3 Chris Donathan of Grand Valley State in the quarterfinals.
Johnson struck for a takedown 14 seconds into his match with Wisconsin-Parkside’s Ben Durocher and clinched an 8-2 win on another with 40 seconds remaining. The third-seeded sophomore takes on No. 6 Drew Wiechers of Ashland in the quarters.
The fifth-seeded Jump prevailed 8-3 behind a pair of first-period takedowns to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 4 Nicholas Coreno of Gannon.
DesVigne had a takedown in the opening seconds of his match, then scoring another with five seconds left in the second period in claiming an 8-2 victory. The sixth-seeded senior goes against No. 3 Cole Hernandez of Western Colorado next.
Abney advanced with a 5-0 shutout, scoring a first-period takedown and second-period escape before adding a riding time point. The two-time defending champion and No. 1 seed will take on Nebraska-Kearney’s eighth-seeded Jackson Kinsella in the quarters.
Wells suffered UCO’s lone first-round loss. The fourth-seeded redshirt freshman led 4-2 in the second period, but Western Colorado’s Cole Gray took the lead with a late takedown then added a third-period near-fall to knock off Wells 10-4.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
141 – Dylan Lucs, UCO, pinned Colton Stoneking, Fairmont State, 3:43.
149 – Dylan Brown, UCO, dec. James Ryan, Gannon, 6-3.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Ben Durocher, Wisconsin-Parkside, 8-2.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Kyle Botelho, San Francisco State, 8-3.
174 – Anthony DesVigne, UCO, dec. Cole Glazier, St. Cloud State, 8-2.
184 – Cole Gray, Western Colorado, dec. Garrett Wells, UCO, 10-4.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Nicholas Johnson, Glenville State, 5-0.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, major dec. Matt Long, Gannon, 14-6.
