Mike Kirk
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (Nov. 18) – Anthony DesVigne’s runner-up finish at 184 pounds led a host of nine Central Oklahoma placers in the rugged Lindenwood Open Saturday
UCO sent 14 individuals to the massive one-day tournament that attracted 593 wrestlers from 30-plus teams, including 11 Division I schools. Competition for both open and freshman-sophomore divisions was held on 13 mats at Robert F. Hyland Arena.
The Bronchos had 10 entries in the open division and had six placers, with DesVigne posting a trio of bonus-point wins in securing the highest finish. Dylan Lucas was the consolation champion at 141, while 157 Gabe Johnson, 184 Garrett Wells and 197 Emmanuel Skillings took fourth and 125 Guy Clevenger fifth.
UCO had three placers in the freshman-sophomore division, paced by Jaxon Randall’s third-place showing at 165. 141 Dailey Jennings finished fifth and 174 Tucker Waitman sixth, with both competing unattached.
“I thought our guys competed well,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “It was a long day and an extremely tough tournament, but we battled hard. A lot of our guys hadn’t wrestled much yet this year and it was a great test for them.”
DesVigne is moving up a weight this season after earning All-America honors at 174 last year and had an impressive debut.
The senior opened the day with back-to-back technical falls, blitzing McKinley Kemper of Division I Lindenwood 17-1 before rolling over McKendree’s Ryan Hayes 18-2. DesVigne made it three bonus wins in a row with a 9-1 semifinal major decision of Oklahoma State’s Evan Shetley before falling in the finals to OSU’s fourth-ranked Dustin Plott…
