EDMOND —
A trio of Central Oklahoma greats who combined for eight national championships and 339 career wins have been selected for induction into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, it was announced Tuesday.
Four-time national champion Cole Province along with two-time winners Mark Dodgen and Shawn Silvis will be honored during the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame Wrestling Banquet on Thursday, March 7 in Birmingham, Ala. The 2013 Division II Wrestling Championships will be held in Birmingham March 8-9.
That threesome will bring to 13 the number of UCO wrestlers in the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Bronchos have won seven national championships since joining Division II in 1990.
Province came to UCO from Claremore High School and redshirted his first year before capturing four consecutive national titles while wrestling every match of his career at 133 pounds.
He went 34-10 with 17 bonus-point wins as a redshirt freshman in 2000-01, winning the first of four straight Midwest Regional titles before going on to take the national championship with a 7-4 finals victory to avenge an earlier loss.
Province had 12 bonus-point wins in finishing 34-11 record as a sophomore, winning 17 of his last 18 matches to take both the regional and national titles once again. He capped the national tournament with an 11-3 major decision in the finals as UCO stormed to a runaway win in the team race.
An elbow injury forced Province to miss the first two months of the 2002-03 season, but he dominated on his return to the mat in becoming the first-ever UCO wrestler to go undefeated (26-0) while leading the Bronchos to a repeat team title. Province was named the Midwest Regional Wrestler of the Year and earned Outstanding Wrestler honors at the national tournament after claiming his third crown with four easy wins.
Province ended his career in style as a senior in 2003-04, racking up 16 bonus-point wins and finishing 36-1. His lone loss was to the eventual Division I national champion and Province finished the season with 28 straight wins in becoming the school’s second four-time national champion and just the 14th in college wrestling history. He was named the Lone Star Conference Male Athlete of the Year despite UCO being the only school in the conference to sponsor wrestling.
Province won 74 of his last 75 matches — taking 46 straight at one point — and finished with a 130-22 career record that included 60 bonus-point wins. He ended with a 75-5 career mark against Division II opponents, winning the last 50 in a row.
Dodgen was a two-time state champion at Ponca City High School and spent one year at Iowa Central Community College, going 33-4 and winning a regional title in qualifying for the national tournament as a freshman there,
He transferred to UCO for the 1999-00 season and went 29-9 with 11 falls at 125 pounds en route to winning the national championship. Dodgen placed third in the Midwest Regional to qualify for the national tournament and took the national crown after entering as the No. 6 seed with a major decision and a trio of two-point wins.
Dodgen came back with a third-place national finish at 125 in 2000-01, winning 18 of his last 19 matches to end up with a 22-5 record that included 16 falls. He had three pins in winning the Midwest Regional to earn the No. 1 seed for the national tournament, losing a 4-3 decision in the first round at nationals before rebounding to win five straight in taking third.
Dodgen redshirted the following year before coming back in 2002-03 for a fantastic senior campaign, going 27-2 with six falls and winning a second national championship at 125. He won his last 25 matches and captured a second Midwest Regional crown before steamrolling four opponents in the national tournament, capping his career with a fall in the national finals to help UCO take the team title.
Dodgen finished with a 78-16 career record that included 43 bonus-point wins with 33 falls.
Silvis was a two-time state champion at Augusta (Kan.) High School and then started four straight years at 165 pounds for the Bronchos. He had a 27-16 record as a true freshman in 2000-01, finishing runner-up in the Midwest Regional to qualify for the NCAA Division II national tournament before going 1-2 there.
Silvis put together a dominating 31-2 campaign as a sophomore despite an early-season knee injury that knocked him out of the lineup for a month. He cruised to the Midwest Regional crown and followed with the national championship as UCO took the team title, rolling to three easy wins in making the national finals before pulling out a 3-2 win there.
Silvis claimed his second straight national title in 2002-03, finishing 32-6 with 10 bonus-point wins as the Bronchos won a tight race for the team championship. He won 15 of his last 16 matches, coasting to a second consecutive regional crown and then overcoming a 5-0 deficit in a 14-7 semifinal victory at the national tournament en route to taking the championship.
Silvis capped his career with a spectacular senior season, compiling a 41-4 record with a staggering 25 bonus-point wins. He finished third at the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational and won a third straight regional title, earning Midwest Regional Wrestler of the Year honors. Silvis routed his first three opponents at the national tournament before dropping a tough 8-6 finals decision to a three-time national champion who had moved up a weight.
Silvis ended his career with a 131-28 record that included 52 bonus-point wins. He went 104-12 his last three years.
UCO’s NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame Members
David James (2005)
Keith Cunningham (2005)
Howard Moore (2005)
Randy Zellner (2005)
Todd Drake (2007)
Mike Keim (2007)
Wes White (2007)
Mark Cunningham (2010)
Brian Melchiori (2010)
Jerry Best (2010)
Cole Province (2013)
Mark Dodgen (2013)
Shawn Silvis (2013)
Sports
Three UCO wrestlers named to NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame
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Workman's blasts cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. -
UCO to host US women's sitting volleyball team's exhibition matches against Russia
The University of Central Oklahoma will host five exhibition matches of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team versus the Russian National Women Sitting Volleyball Team beginning tonight at 10. Matches continue on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a single match on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This will be the first time the Paralympic silver medaling Team USA has faced Russia since 2011. According to Head Coach Bill Hamiter, these matches will serve as preparation for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in 2014.
Team USA will be available after each match to meet with fans and sign autographs.
All exhibition matches are free and open to the public. -
Impact-making Graves inks with OBU
When a basketball team goes 80-3 over the years a player was there, that athlete has made a profound impact on that particular program.
Not only did she/he leave a legacy athletically to have that type of success in Class 6A, but left a mark in a leadership capacity as well.
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe’s standout guard who led 6A in assists her senior season with 129, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma Baptist University last week. - More Sports Headlines
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