WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Peter Rolle, Gabe Johnson, Hunter Jump and Garrett Wells all captured individual titles to lead Central Oklahoma to its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Super Regional IV championship Saturday at the Jerry Hughes Athletic Center.
All 10 wrestlers placed in the top six for the No. 4-ranked Bronchos, who finished with 147.5 points in the 10-team, all-day tournament to win their 25th regional title. No. 7 McKendree was second with 136, followed by No. 22 Central Missouri (112), No. 24 Indianapolis (107.5) and No. 20 Maryville (97.5).
Rolle won his first regional crown at 133 pounds, with Johnson (157), Jump (165) and Wells (184) all claiming their second straight titles. UCO also got runner-up finishes from 125 Studd Morris and 149 Dylan Brown, while 141 Josh Taylor, 174 Zane Coleman and Hvy Judson Rowland took fourth and 197 Emmanuel Skillings sixth.
A top-three finish was needed to qualify for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. on March 14-15, with the Bronchos advancing six.
“It was a long day and I’m proud of our guys for the way they battled today,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “It’s great to win the team title, but we didn’t accomplish our main goal and move everybody on to the national tournament.
“We lost some tough matches and I know we’ve got some guys hurting with how things turned out today. We’ll get back to work next week and get the six guys we have as ready as we can for the national tournament.”
Rolle trimmed Ouachita Baptist’s No. 5 Jimmy Anderson 4-1 in the gold medal match to claim UCO’s first title. Rolle scored the lone takedown with 52 seconds left in the opening period, gave up an escape in the second and there was no scoring in the final two minutes as Rolle added a riding time point.
The fourth-ranked senior had no trouble in his first two matches in clinching his first-ever national tournament berth. He built an 11-0 lead before scoring a first-period fall in his first match, then cruised to a 10-0 major decision in the semis behind a pair of takedowns.
Johnson clipped No. 10 John Ridle of Central Missouri 4-1 in the title bout, striking for the deciding takedown with just 16 seconds left in the first period. The two traded escapes in the final two periods as Johnson earned a third national tournament berth.
Johnson strolled into the finals with little opposition. The second-rated junior had five takedowns in a 19-4 quarterfinal mismatch, then threw Indianapolis’ Nathan Conley to his back for a two-minute fall in the semis.
Jump avenged an early-season overtime loss to No. 6 Cory Peterson of McKendree with an impressive finals performance, notching two takedowns, an escape and riding time point in an 8-0 major decision.
The eighth-ranked senior started the tournament with a flurry, scoring 13 points before getting a fall at the 1:35 mark. Jump edged No. 13 Jace Fisher of Newman 4-3 in the semis behind a third-period takedown.
Wells gave up an early takedown in the finals against No. 13 Damon Ashworth of Central Missouri, but got loose quickly and then rode Ashworth the entire second period. Wells escaped seconds into the final stanza, took the lead on a takedown with 1:05 left and controlled Ashworth the rest of the way to add a riding time point for a 6-3 win.
The seventh-ranked sophomore waltzed into the finals with two lopsided wins. Wells had six takedowns in a 19-3 quarterfinal technical fall, then turned a second-period reverse into a fall at 4:39 in the semis.
The top-ranked Morris was denied a second regional title, dropping a 5-3 decision to No. 4 Jakason Burks of Central Missouri to snap a 14-match winning streak. Morris beat Burks 2-1 in the tiebreaker two weeks ago in UCO’s dual win over the Mules, but Burks got the upper hand this time.
Morris eased into the finals with a fall and easy decision. He had a takedown and two near-falls before scoring a fall in just 1:37 to start the day, then used two reverses, a takedown and near-fall in a 10-4 semifinal victory.
Brown needed just 1:37 to notch a quarterfinal fall in his opening match before hanging on for a tense 1-0 semifinal win over Central Missouri’s Garrett Lyons. Brown’s second-period escape was the lone point and the senior staved off Lyons’ takedown tries after he opted to go neutral in the final period.
The 12th-ranked senior couldn’t finish off his bid for a second straight regional crown, falling behind early in an 8-3 loss to Indianapolis’ Jackson Hoover.
Taylor opened with a first-period pin before dropping a tough 4-2 semifinal decision to fifth-ranked Ronan Schuelke of McKendree. The sophomore bounced back with a 7-2 victory, but was denied a national tournament berth with a heartbreaking 4-1 loss in sudden victory.
Coleman opened with a 5-0 quarterfinal shutout, then was caught and pinned early in his semifinal bout with No. 10 Cole Ritter of Maryville. The senior didn’t waste time in his first consolation, taking Indianapolis’ Trey Sizemore to his back for a 26-second fall, but fell short in the third-place bout.
Rowland overcame an early deficit to pick up a third-period fall in the first round, then used a pair of takedowns to subdue Central Missouri’s Torin Forsyth 8-3 before losing to McKendree’s No. 15 Tyler Haynes in the semis.
The sophomore big man rebounded in the consolation semis with a clutch 4-2 win behind a first-period takedown, but was denied a national tournament berth with an 8-5 loss in the third-place match.
Skillings had one of just two first-round matches for the Bronchos and struck for a fall in just 1:44. The 12th-ranked junior and Ouachita Baptist’s Parker Henry went to overtime tied 1-1 in the semis, with Henry coming out on top in a wild scramble to score a fall.
Skillings rebounded in the consolations with a pair of wins before falling in the consolation semis and again in the fifth-place match.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
125 – Jakason Burks, Central Missouri, dec. Studd Morris, UCO, 5-3.
133 – Peter Rolle, UCO, dec. James Anderson, Ouachita Baptist, 4-1.
149 – Jackson Hoover, Indianapolis, dec. Dylan Brown, UCO, 8-3.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. John Ridle, Central Missouri, 4-1.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, major dec. Cory Peterson, McKendree, 8-0.
184 – Garrett Wells, UCO, dec. Damon Ashworth, Central Missouri, 6-3.
CONSOLATION FINALS
141 – Sabian Russell, Quincy, dec. Josh Taylor, UCO, 4-1 (SV).
174 – Jeremiah Halter, Drury, dec. Zane Coleman, UCO, 8-3.
Hvy – Cole Gray, Indianapolis, dec. Judson Rowland, UCO, 8-5.
FIFTH PLACE
197 – Parker Henry, Ouachita Baptist, tech. fall Emmanuel Skillings, UCO, 17-2.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
197 – Skillings, UCO, pinned Cameron Baker, Kentucky Wesleyan, 1:44.
Hvy – Rowland, UCO, pinned Jack Stoffel, Drury, 6:16.
CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
125 – Morris, UCO, pinned Bryson Rowley, Kentucky Wesleyan, 1:37.
133 – Rolle, UCO, pined Damien Flores, Quincy, 2:44.
141 – Taylor, UCO, pinned Matthew Velasco, Kentucky Wesleyan, 2:13.
149 – Brown, UCO, pinned Zachary Harrington, Quincy, 1:37.
157 – Johnson, UCO, tech. fall Hunter Dietrich, Newman, 19-4.
165 – Jump, UCO, pinned Nick Baer, Maryville, 1:35.
174 – Coleman, UCO, dec. Garrett Deason, Central Missouri, 5-0.
184 – Wells, UCO, tech. fall Chris Mapp, Newman, 19-3.
197 – Parker Henry, Ouachita, pinned Skillings, UCO, 7:23 (SV).
Hvy – Rowland, UCO, dec. Torin Forsyth, Central Missouri, 8-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
125 – Morris, UCO, dec. Nathan Smith, Indianapolis, 10-4.
133 – Rolle, UCO, major dec. Evan Binder, Maryville, 10-0.
141 – Ronan Schuelke, McKendree, dec. Taylor, UCO, 4-2.
149 – Brown, UCO, dec. Garrett Lyons, Central Missouri, 1-0.
157 – Johnson, UCO, pinned Nathan Conley, Indianapolis, 2:17.
165 – Jump, UCO, dec. Jace Fisher, Newman, 4-3.
174 – Cole Ritter, Maryville, pinned Coleman, UCO, 0:26.
184 – Wells, UCO, pinned Dalton Litzsinger, Maryville, 4:39.
Hvy = Tyler Haynes, McKendree, dec. Rowland, UCO, 9-2.
CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND
197 – Skillings, UCO, pinned Erik Tomanek, Newman, 1:53.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
197 – Skillings, UCO, dec. Maxim Ryner, Quincy, 6-4.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
141 – Taylor, UCO, dec. Hudson Hackbarth, Maryville, 7-2.
174 – Coleman, UCO, pinned Trey Sizemore, Indianapolis, 0:37.
197 – Jeremiah Larson, Maryville, pinned Skillings, UCO, 4:04.
Hvy – Rowland, UCO, dec. Caleb Wunsch, Newman, 4-2.
