CEDAR FALLs, Iowa – Josh Taylor’s stunning upset, three key bonus-point wins and Emmanuel Skillings’ third-period comeback propelled No. 4-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 3 Wisconsin-Parkside 20-15 Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the NWCA Division II National Duals at the UNI Dome.
The Bronchos toppled No. 11 Mary 26-15 to open the day before scrapping past the Rangers to move into Saturday’s 11 a.m. semifinals against No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney. UCO – now 6-0 with a school record-tying 28-match winning streak — will meet the winner/loser of the other semifinal between No. 1 St. Cloud State and No. 6 McKendree in the first- or third-place bout.
“The Parkside dual was just a great dual and we knew it would be,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “It was a big win for us. It went back and forth the way good teams are supposed to do and we were fortunate that we picked up five bonus points.”
Zane Coleman had the biggest bonus win for the Bronchos with a first-period fall at 174, while 125 Studd Morris and 157 Gabe Johnson cruised to major decisions. Those five extra points were the difference in a dual that saw each team win five matches.
UCO’s two decisions were both huge. Taylor knocked off top-rated Cayden Henschel 10-7 at 141 and Skillings edged No. 10 Chase Stegall 9-8 at 197 behind a pair of final period takedowns.
“Josh went out and wrestled well and really controlled the match,” Steidley said. “And I was really proud of Emmanuel for coming back the way he did. We lost some matches that came down to the end and we didn’t finish and then vice versa we won a couple of close matches that came down to the end.
“Those are the matches that are going to make you better and that’s why we’re here, to get the competition and see teams we normally don’t see. I was proud of our guys. I was proud of our energy on the bench. They were excited and fired up, which they should be. It was a lot of fun.”
Morris got UCO off to a great start against UWP with a 9-0 shutout of two-time All-American Shane Corrigan, who eliminated Morris in the national tournament two years ago. The fifth-ranked Morris led 7-0 after the opening stanza on a takedown and four-point near-fall and the 11th-rated Corrigan had no answer in the final two periods.
UWP’s fifth-ranked Matt Chi clipped No. 10 Peter Rolle 6-4 at 133 on a takedown with seven seconds left, but Taylor followed with his shocking win.
Taylor gave up an early takedown, but quickly escaped and got a takedown of his own with 30 seconds left in the first period to go ahead 4-3. The sophomore — wrestling in place of No. 5 Dylan Lucas, out will illness – added another escape and takedown in the second period to take an 8-3 lead.
Henschel got loose 30 seconds into the final period and made it 8-7 on a takedown with 19 seconds remaining. He quickly cut Taylor, but didn’t come close to another takedown and Taylor added a riding time point to close out the upset.
The Rangers pulled out their second straight late win at 149 as No. 3 Jalen Spuhler downed No. 7 Dylan Brown 4-1 on a takedown with 31 seconds left before UCO answered back with another dominating performance by Johnson.
The defending national champion and top-ranked junior jumped all over No. 4 Ben Durocher with an early takedown and near-fall, then added two more takedowns in cruising to a 15-2 rout.
No. 7 Hunter Jump gave up two early takedowns and couldn’t recover in falling 9-6 at 165 after video review upheld a no-call on what would have been a tying takedown at the buzzer.
Coleman followed with his team-high seventh fall of the season. Brady Schuh scored the first takedown, but Coleman quickly escaped and got a takedown of his own before hooking up a cradle to register the fall at the 2:29 mark.
That gave UCO a 17-9 lead, with the Rangers making it 17-12 on fourth-ranked Reece Worachek’s 4-1 win over No. 5 Garrett Wells.
Skillings then clinched the dual with his clutch comeback at 197. Stegall led 6-3 early in the final period and had a riding time point secured, but Skillings got a takedown with 1:10 left and quickly released Stegall.
The junior swooped in for the go-ahead takedown with 25 seconds left and controlled Stegall the rest of the way to finish off the nerve-wracking one-point triumph that gave UCO an insurmountable 20-12 advantage.
UWP picked up yet another close win in the final match as No. 10 Lloyd Reynolds topped Judson Rowland – wrestling his first match in three years – 2-1 on a penalty point early in sudden victory.
The Bronchos picked up five bonus wins in downing Mary to open the day.
Wells had a second-period fall, Taylor scored a technical fall and Morris, Johnson and Jump all collected major decisions. Coleman added a 5-0 shutout.
“UMary has a really good team and they came out and wrestled hard, which we knew they would,” Steidley said. “Our guys responded well. The effort was good and we wrestled pretty well.”
UCO 26, Mary 15
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, major dec. Mason Gutenberger, 11-1.
133 – Reece Barnhardt, Mary, dec. Eli Kirk, 8-2.
141 – Josh Taylor, UCO, tech. fall Gabe Mortensen, 15-0.
149 – Trae Thilmony, Mary, major dec. Dylan Brown, 8-0.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, major dec. Lane Ewing, 14-1.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, major dec. Kaden Renner, 14-3.
174 – Zane Coleman, UCO, dec. Leo Mushinsky, 5-0.
184 – Garrett Wells, UCO, pinned Dante Roggio, 4:45.
197 – Matt Kaylor, Mary, tech. fall Barrett Haemker, 16-1.
Hvy – Luke Tweeton, Mary, dec. Paul Sharp, 4-1 (SV).
UCO 20, Wisconsin-Parkside 15
125 – Morris, UCO, major dec. Shane Carrigan, 9-0.
133 – Matt Chi, UWP, dec. Peter Rolle, 6-4.
141 – Taylor, UCO, dec. Cayden Henschel, 10-7.
149 – Jalen Spuhler, UWP, dec. Brown, 4-1.
157 – Johnson, UCO, major dec. Ben Durocher, 15-2.
165 – Dajun Johnson, UWP, dec. Jump, 9-6.
174 – Coleman, UCO, pinned Brady Schuh, 2:29.
184 – Reece Worachek, UWP, dec. Wells, 4-1.
197 – Emmanuel Skillings, UCO, dec. Chase Stegall, 9-8.
Hvy – Lloyd Reynolds, UWP, dec. Judson Rowland, 2-1 (SV).
