ASHLAND, Ohio —
Central Oklahoma crowned four champions and had nine top-four placers, but still had to settle for a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Super Regional Two Tournament here Sunday.
The No. 3-ranked Bronchos got title-winning efforts from 133 Casy Rowell, 149 Jordan Basks, 157 Cory Dauphin and 174 Kelly Henderson, while 165 Chris Watson, 197 Znick Ferrell and heavyweight Cody Dauphin all took third and 141 Trison Graham and 184 Tanner Keck both place fourth.
UCO finished with 140 points in the tightly-contested tournament, two points behind No. 2 Notre Dame. The Bronchos took a 140-138 lead in the team race after dramatic falls by Henderson and Keck, but the Falcons won titles at 197 and heavyweight to claim the title.
Notre Dame also qualified nine individuals for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala. Host Ashland was third in the 12-team tournament with 91 points, followed by Lake Erie (82.5) and Ouachita Baptist (79.5).
“The kids tried to win it today and we came up just a little short,” said head coach David James, whose team won 13 of 15 matches on the day. “We had a great tournament and I’m really happy with our effort. We scored more points than we did last year in winning it, so it’s hard to be displeased.
“More importantly, we’ve got nine guys moving on to the national tournament and that’s the one we want to win.”
Henderson had the most dramatic of UCO’s four finals victories with a second-period pin of Notre Dame’s Eric Burgey. The third-ranked Burgey had escaped 20 seconds into the period to take a 1-0 lead, but the sixth-rated Henderson whipped him to his back a minute later and got the fall at the 4:26 mark.
The top-ranked Rowell capped a 4-0 tournament with a 7-3 finals victory over Ashland’s No. 6 Michael Labry, picking up a pair of takedowns and nearly four minutes riding time in taking the gold medal. Rowell didn’t give up a point in his first three matches with two shutouts and a fall and has now won 27 matches in a row.
Basks needed overtime to claim his championship, pulling out a 6-4 triumph over Truman State’s Ryan Maus on a takedown with 22 seconds left in the one-minute sudden victory period. The second-ranked Basks had a third-period reverse to make it 3-3 and appeared en route to winning on riding time before being called for a locked hands penalty with two seconds left that forced OT.
Dauphin made it two close wins in a row at 157, slipping past Notre Dame’s Jeffrey Pelton 3-2 on a riding time point. Dauphin had the only offensive points in the tense, physical showdown with a second-period reverse and his 2:21 riding time was the difference after Pelton tied it with escapes in the second and third stanzas.
Graham used a pair of takedowns to claim a 6-4 consolation semifinal victory over Findlay’s Joseph White before dropping a tough 10-8 sudden victory decision to Central Missouri’s Eric Mateo in the third-place match. Graham was penalized for locked hands with two seconds in regulation to force overtime and Mateo got the winning takedown 20 seconds into the one-minute sudden victory period.
Watson won two matches to claim third and earn his second straight trip to the national tournament, jumping to a big lead in the semifinals before scoring a third-period fall and then racking up more than four minutes riding time in a methodical 5-1 victory over Ouachita Baptist’s Dexter Carter.
Ferrell all pulled out two wins to come back from Saturday’s overtime semifinal loss to capture third. The junior blanked Lake Erie’s Mike Samijlenko 4-0 in the semifinals and then used a final-minute takedown to secure a 3-0 shutout of Limestone’s Justin Tribble in the consolation finals.
Cody Dauphin gave UCO its third bronze medalist with a pair of tough wins. He was clinging to a 2-0 third-period lead before reversing Ashland’s Tyler Houska to his back and getting a fall and then used a riding time point to trim Tiffin’s Kevin Christman 2-1 for third.
Keck dropped a 3-1 semifinal decision, but bounced back with an easy 14-6 major decision in the fifth-place match behind a four-takedown attack and then scored an improbable fall in the fourth-place challenge match to earn a national tournament berth.
The senior trailed Central Missouri’s Clarence Neely 3-0 late in the second period when the two got tangled up on the edge of the mat, with Keck able to maneuver Neely to his back and score a fall without a takedown being awarded just one second ahead of the buzzer.
NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGIONAL II TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
133 – Casy Rowell, UCO, dec. Michael Labry, Ashland, 7-3.
149 – Jordan Basks, UCO, dec. Ryan Maus, Truman State, 6-4 (SV).
157 – Cory Dauphin, UCO, dec. Jeffrey Pelton, Notre Dame, 3-2.
174 – Kelly Henderson, UCO, pinned Eric Burgey, Notre Dame, 4:26.
CONSOLATION FINALS
141 – Eric Mateo, Central Missouri, dec. Trison Graham, UCO, 10-8 (SV).
165 – Chris Watson, UCO, dec. Dexter Carter, Ouachita Baptist, 5-1.
197 – Znick Ferrell, UCO, dec. Justin Tribble, Limestone, 3-0.
Hvy – Cody Dauphin, UCO, dec. Kevin Christman, Tiffin, 2-1.
FIFTH PLACE
184 – Tanner Keck, UCO, major dec. Zev Green, Lake Erie, 14-6.
CHALLENGE FOR FOURTH
184 – Keck, UCO, pinned Clarence Neely, Central Missouri, 4:59.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
141 – Graham, UCO, dec. Joseph White, Findlay, 6-4.
165 – Watson, UCO, pinned Markus Cromwell, Belmont-Abbey, 6:24.
184 – Charles Mason, Notre Dame, dec. Keck, UCO, 3-1.
197 – Ferrell, UCO, dec. Mike Samijlenko, Lake Erie, 4-0.
Hvy – Dauphin, UCO, pinned Tyler Houska, Ashland, 5:30.
Sports
UCO sports 4 champs in wrestling
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Tennis camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Raquet Club is offering a pair of tennis camps beginning May 28.
For ages 5-8, a camp is offered from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for ages 7-15 a tennis camp is available from 6-6:55 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both camps run from May 28-June 13 and cost is $99 per camp.
A camp session for ages 8-16 will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-9:25 a.m. May 29-June 12 for the identical cost.
For more information concerning these camps and others, call 341-4241. -
UCO winds up 10th nationally
Taylor Neidy fired a final-round 75, but Central Oklahoma failed to move up in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday.
The Bronchos closed with a 323 — making 11 double bogeys and three triples — and finished 10th in the four-day, 72-hole tournament with a 1,298 total on the 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International.
Lynn ended Nova Southeastern’s four-year reign as national championships, finishing with a 1,187 total to edge the Sharks by three strokes. -
Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast 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. - More Sports Headlines
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Tennis camps offered in Edmond
