Regional Champs
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Feb. 29) – Kyle Evans rolled to his fourth consecutive individual title and Central Oklahoma crowned three champions in capturing the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional crown here Saturday afternoon.
Evans won by technical fall three straight times at 141 pounds to join assistant coach Cole Province as UCO’s only four-time Midwest Regional champions, while the Bronchos took the team title for the 18th time in 19 years.
No. 6-ranked UCO also got gold medal efforts from 184 Heath Jolley and heavyweight Dustin Finn, with 133 Tim Elliott, 149 Colby Robinson and 197 Jarrett Edison all finishing second. Those six advance to the NCAA Division II Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 14-15, where the Bronchos will try to defending their national championship.
UCO finished with 116 points, 15 ahead of runner-up Ashland. Central Missouri was third in the nine-team tournament with 97.5 points, followed by host Indianapolis (95.5) and Wisconsin-Parkside and Findlay (91).
“We battled hard and it’s kind of a bittersweet feeling,” UCO coach David James said. “Obviously I’m happy the team won, but only qualifying six is a disappointment. I thought we could get another spot or two and it didn’t happen. And we had our chances, so that left a bitter taste.
“But I like the six we’ve got and I’m not going to concede anything. I like the way those six guys wrestled today and we’ll go see what we can do with them at the national tournament.”
Evans, the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 again this year, wasn’t tested in overwhelming three straight opponents. The senior star outscored those three by a combined 58-11 in collecting three consecutive technical falls, capped by a 21-6 rout of Ashland’s Kyle Kanaga in the finals.
Evans, who improved to 28-2 on the year, has won 89 of his last 93 matches and moved into ninth place on UCO’s career win list with a 121-20 record.
Jolley, who won the regional at 197 last year en route to a fifth-place national tournament finish, won three matches in taking the 184 crown. He gave up an early takedown in the finals to Hiram Smith of Findlay, came back to take a 4-2 lead into the third period and then turned Smith for a fall in 5:36.
Finn went 4-0 on the day, opening with two first-period falls and a 10-1 major decision before clipping Indianapolis’ Lynn Panko 5-2 in the title bout. He broke a 2-2 tie with an escape 30 seconds into the final period and then clinched it on a takedown with 10 seconds remaining.
The sixth-ranked Elliott moved into the finals with a pair of falls, including a 4:39 pin of No. 4 Craig DeGreef of Wisconsin-Parkside in the semifinals. He dropped a 15-6 major decision to Indy’s second-rated Shane Perkey in the finals, with Perkey using a 10-point third period to break open what was a tight 5-4 match.
Robinson also had an easy time making the finals, scoring a 16-0 technical fall and 10-0 major decision before falling to Ashland’s Marcus Gordon 5-3.
Edison posted 18-6 and 11-1 major decisions to charge into the title match before losing 13-5 to Ashland’s Josh Ohl.
NCAA Division II Midwest Wrestling Regional
Team Standings: 1, Central Oklahoma 116. 2, Ashland 101. 3, Central Missouri 97.5. 4, Indianapolis 95.5. 5, Wisconsin-Parkside and Findlay 91. 7, Carson-Newman 45.5. 8, Truman State 35. 9, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 24.5.
Championship Finals
133: Shane Perkey, UI, major dec. Tim Elliott, UCO, 15-6.
141: Kyle Evans, UCO, tech. fall Kyle Kanaga, AU, 21-6.
149: Marcus Gordon, AU, dec. Colby Robinson, UCO, 5-3.
184: Heath Jolley, UCO, pinned Hiram Smith, FU, 5:36.
197: Josh Ohl, AU, major dec. Jarrett Edison, UCO, 13-5.
285: Dustin Finn, UCO, dec. Lynn Panko, UI, 5-2.
Fifth Place
165: Justin Ransom, C-N, by default over Jason Leavitt, UCO.
174: Justin Ferguson, AU, dec. Daniel Morrison, UCO, 8-3.
Championship First Round
174: Morrison, UCO, dec. Kevin Flinn, UI, 8-5.
285: Finn, UCO, pinned Brian Brooks, SIUE, 2:53.
Championship Quarterfinals
125: Rob Nahlik, TSU, tech. fall Nick Rice, UCO, 19-3.
133: Elliott, UCO, pinned Dan Mandara, AU, 2:05.
141: Evans, UCO, tech. fall Mitcehll Bainbridge, TSU, 18-1.
149: Robinson, UCO, tech. fall Kyle Cunningham, SIUE, 16-0.
157: Eric Pretto, SIUE, dec. Brent Sarette, UCO, 6-4.
165: Justin Shannon, FU, dec. Leavitt, UCO, 3-1.
174: Morrison, UCO, dec. Dan Midget, SIUE, 11-4.
184: Jolley, UCO, major dec. Keith Smith, UI, 12-2.
197: Edison, UCO, major dec. Chris Flaugher, SIUE, 18-6.
285: Finn, UCO, pinned Sean Shanahan, UWP, 2:15.
Championship Semifinals
133: Elliott, UCO, pinned Craig DeGreef, UWP, 5:39.
141: Evans, UCO, tech. fall Cory Bloodgood, UCM, 19-4.
149: Robinson, UCO, major dec. Chad Woods, UI, 10-0.
174: Jeff Havelka, Findlay, pinned Morrison, UCO, 7:28 (SV).
184: Jolley, UCO, dec. Jeremy Hudson, UCM, 2-0.
197: Edison, UCO, major dec. Curtis Hines, UWP, 11-1.
285: Finn, UCO, major dec. Tom Minwell, C-N, 10-1.
Consolation First Round
157: Sarette, UCO, dec. Andy Bader, TSU, 11-4.
Consolation Quarterfinals
125: Caleb Hulse, UCM, dec. Rice, UCO, 11-5.
157: Eddie Stefonek, UWP, major dec. Sarette, 13-2.
165: Leavitt, UCO, pinned Blake Reed, SIUE, 0:55.
Consolation Semifinals
165: Jesse Sheets, UCM, pinned Leavitt, UCO, 4:37.
174: Flinn, UI, dec. Morrison, UCO, 10-7.
