home » news

UCO finishes third in wrestling regional, advances eight to nationals

02/25/2011
University of Central Oklahoma - Wrestling

By UCO Athletic Media Relations

FINDLAY, Ohio (Feb. 26) -- Central Oklahoma got a trio of runner-up finishes and ended up advancing eight individuals to the national tournament in finishing third at the NCAA Division II Super Regional Two Tournament that ended a two-day run here Saturday.

The No. 5-ranked Bronchos lost seven of their eight placement matches -- all three in the finals and four of five in the consolation finals -- and ended up with 106 points.   Top-rated Nebraska-Omaha won the 13-team tournament with 156.5 points, followed by No. 12 Ashland (126), UCO and host Findlay (87.5).

UCO got runner-up efforts from 133 Trison Graham, 157 Cory Dauphin and 184 Tanner Keck, while 174 Kelly Henderson took third and 141 Ky Corley, 149 Austin Standage, 197 Jarrett Edison and heavyweight Cody Dauphin all placed fourth.

The top four placers at each of the 10 weights advance to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, set for March 11-12 in Kearney, Neb.

“Obviously we wanted to get all 10 guys through to the national tournament, but I’m glad to get the eight we did,” UCO coach David James said.  “We didn’t finish very strong after winning some big matches to get guys in the finals and consolation finals and that was a disappointment.

“We’ve got two weeks to get ready for the national tournament and see what we can do with these eight guys.”

The sixth-ranked Graham had a 17-match winning streak snapped in the finals when he dropped a tough 7-5 decision to Michael Magaha of Limestone. 

The UCO sophomore led 3-1 in the third period before Magaha used a five-point move to go on top 6-3, though Graham’s reverse with 27 seconds left made it 6-5.  He let Magaha go to make it 7-5, but couldn’t come up with a tying takedown in the final seconds.

Fifth-ranked Cory Dauphin fell to No. 1 George Ivanov of UNO 3-2 in the championship match, with a first-period takedown by Ivanov the difference in that physical battle.

Dauphin, who is 26-5 on the season, was selected as the Super Region II Freshman of the Year in a vote of coaches after the tournament.

Keck also lost a tight finals bout, losing to UNO’s third-ranked Aaron Denson 2-1.  Denson had an escape and riding time point, while Keck’s point came on a stalling point in the third period but he couldn’t come up with a winning takedown in the final seconds.

Henderson was the lone winner for UCO in the placement matches and he needed a penalty point for stalling in sudden victory to pull out a 2-1 overtime triumph over Ashland’s Ryan Thatcher.

Standage and Edison both lost overtime matches in the consolation finals and Cody Dauphin fell 3-1 on a takedown with two seconds remaining.

Corley, Standage and Dauphin all had to come back and win challenge matches to hang on to their fourth-place finishes and a spot in the national tournament.

Standage survived in overtime, winning 2-1 in sudden-victory on a penalty point for stalling, while Dauphin won 6-5 on a riding time point and Corley prevailed 7-2.

Super Regional II
Championship Finals
133 - Michael Magaha, Limestone, dec. Trison Graham, UCO, 7-5.
157 - George Ivanov, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Cory Dauphin, UCO, 3-2.
184 - Aaron Denson, UNO, dec. Tanner Keck, UCO, 2-1.

Consolation Finals
141 - Ryan Maus, Truman State, dec. Ky Corley, UCO, 5-2.
149 - Brandon Russow, Central Missouri, dec. Austin Standage, UCO, 8-6 (SV).
174 - Kelly Henderson, UCO, dec. Ryan Thatcher, Ashland, 2-1 (SV).
197 - Daniel Stevenson, Findlay, dec. Jarrett Edison, UCO, 6-4 (SV).
Hvy - Taylor Escamilla, UNO, dec. Cody Dauphin, UCO, 3-1 (SV).

Fourth-Place Challenge Matches
141 - Corley, UCO, dec. Marcus Walker, UCM, 7-2.
149 - Standage, UCO, dec. Nicolas Stella, King, 2-1 (SV).
Hvy - Cody Dauphin, UCO, dec. Andrew Tumlin, Findlay, 6-5.

Championship Semifinals
133 - Graham, UCO, major dec. Scott Meyer, Ashland, 12-4.
141 - Mario Morgan, UNO, dec. Corley, UCO, 13-10.
149 - Esai Dominguez, UNO, pinned Standage, UCO, 2:36.
157 - Dauphin, UCO, dec.Appolan Jean-Paul, Belmont-Abbey, 10-3.
174 - Bryce Sopko, Limestone, dec. Henderson, UCO, 3-1 (SV).
184 - Keck, UCO, dec. Casey Bradley, Limestone, 8-6.
Hvy - Jacob Southwick, Ashland, pinned Dauphin, UCO, 3:42.

Consolation Quarterfinals
165 - Richard Manwarren, St. Andrews, pinned Derek Adkins, UCO, 0:36
197 - Edison, UCO, tech. fall Doug Thompson, UCM, 15-0.

Consolation Semifinals
141 - Corley, UCO, major dec. Matthew Hall, Limestone, 11-3.
149 - Standage, UCO, dec. Colton Schmitz, Truman State, 6-5.
174 - Henderson, UCO, pinned Mason True, Findlay, 6:34.
197 - Edison, UCO, dec. Alek Hughes, Tiffin, 9-4.
Hvy - Dauphin, UCO, pinned Tarek Alaruri, Limestone, 2:32.

« back to news