Central Oklahoma Dropped a 27-10 Decision to Oklahoma

EDMOND (Nov. 11) - Two newcomers to the lineup and a veteran earned wins for Central Oklahoma as the Bronchos dropped a 27-10 decision to Oklahoma Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House.

Rookie Casy Rowell and redshirt freshman Trison Graham prevailed in the first two weights to stake UCO to a quick 7-0 lead, but the No. 18-ranked Sooners took the next seven matches to clinch the dual before senior All-American Dustin Finn capped the night on a good note with an exciting overtime triumph.

It was the dual opener for the Bronchos, ranked sixth in Division II.

"I thought we had some guys really battle hard tonight," UCO head coach David James said. "Casy and Trison are two young guys who give you everything they've got and they both wrestled smart matches and Dustin did a great job.

"We could have obviously done better at some weights, but overall it wasn't a bad night and I think we learned some things that will benefit us in the long run."

Rowell opened the match with an impressive 8-0 major decision over Justin Forrest at 125 pounds, scoring three takedowns and racking up nearly five minutes riding time en route to the rout that gave UCO a 4-0 lead.

Graham followed with an 8-5 victory at 133, using a pair of second-period takedowns to break a scoreless tie and take a 5-1 lead. Graham upped his lead to 7-2 with another takedown midway through the final period and coasted in.

The Sooners then showed their strength, recording a fall and three major decisions in winning the next seven bouts to open up a 27-7 lead.

That didn't faze Finn in the final match as the senior heavyweight edged Nathan Fernandez 7-5 to avenge an 8-4 loss in last Sunday's OCU Open.

Finn led 3-1 after two periods and appeared to have the match wrapped up when he made it 5-2 on a takedown with 28 seconds left, but Fernandez escaped at 0:12 and then took Finn down with just one second left to tie it and force overtime.

A two-time national runner-up ranked No. 1 this year, Finn finally prevailed on a takedown 36 seconds into the one-minute sudden-victory period.

The Bronchos return to action Saturday at the Central Missouri Open and then go to Oklahoma City University for a dual next Tuesday.

125: Casy Rowell, UCO, major dec. Justin Forrest, 8-0.
133: Trison Graham, UCO, dec. Alex Ekstrom, 8-5.
141: Zack Bailey, OU, major dec. Scott Berens, 18-4.
149: Kyle Terry, OU, major dec. Austin Standage, 14-3.
157: Chad Terry, OU, dec. Eden Bernstein, 12-5.
165: Derek Peperas, OU, dec. Derrick Adkins, 4-2.
174: Jeff James, OU, major dec. Cody Rowell, 23-10.
184: Erich Schmidtke, OU, dec. Kenny Meredith, 5-0.
197: Eric Lapotsky, OU, pinned Jarrett Edison, 6:20.
Hvy: Dustin Finn, UCO, dec. Nathan Fernandez, 7-5 (SV).
Central Oklahoma Intrasquad Dual

EDMOND (Oct. 28) - Redshirt freshman Trison Graham upset a returning All-American for the Bronze team, but the Blue won three overtime matches to pull out a 22-19 victory in Central Oklahoma's intrasquad dual Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House.

Graham knocked off senior All-American and No. 5-ranked Scott Berens 6-4 at 133 pounds to give the Bronze a 7-4 lead after three matches, with the Blue coming back to win six of the next seven bouts to grab a 22-10 lead en route to the win.

The Blue got overtime victories from Mike Walkup at 141, Austin Standage at 149 and Tanner Keck at 165 in building its big lead before the Bronze made it close by claiming the last two matches, including a fall by Mikey Morgan.

It was the first of two intrasquad duals for the No. 6-ranked Bronchos, who will hold another Blue-Bronze battle next Thursday in Norman. UCO opens the season on Nov. 8 at the Oklahoma City University Open.

"I saw a lot of good things, especially from some of our young guys, but we obviously have a lot of work ahead of us," said 28-year head coach David James. "It was good for us to get out of the room and compete in front of a crowd, because some guys wrestle better in those situations."

Freshman Casy Rowell started the dual with a 13-4 major decision to give the Blue a quick 4-0 lead, but Seth Johnson followed with a 12-2 rout for the Bronze to tie it.

Graham then pulled off his upset of Berens, getting a reverse in the final minute of the match to take a 5-4 lead and controlling Berens the rest of the way to add a riding time point for the 6-4 victory.

Walkup used two third-period takedowns to draw even with Tyson Bernardi at 6-6 and force overtime, then won it with another takedown 30 seconds into the sudden-victory period.

Standage prevailed 5-3 over Chris Watson on a takedown just six seconds into the first OT and Keck earned a 3-2 win over Derrick Adkins with an escape in the second tiebreaker.

Blue 22, Bronze 19
125: Casy Rowell, Blue, major dec. Nick Rice, 13-4.
125: Seth Johnson, Bronze, major dec. Andrew Schmauch, 12-2.
133: Trison Graham, Bronze, dec. Scott Berens, 6-4.
141: Mike Walkup, Blue, dec. Tyson Bernardi, 8-6 (SV).
149: Colby Robinson, Bronze, dec. Ryan Rosales, 4-0.
149: Austin Standage, Blue, dec. Chris Watson, 5-3 (SV).
157: Kelly Henderson, Blue, dec. Justin Suskey, 7-2.
157: Eden Berstein, Blue, dec. Joe Snedden, 5-1.
165: Tanner Keck, Blue, dec. Derrick Adkins, 2-1 (TB).
174: Cody Rowell, Blue, dec. Brennan Ochoa, 5-3.
174: Mikey Morgan, Bronze, pinned Rance Rue, 4:37.
184: Daniel Morrison, Bronze, dec. Kenny Meredith, 3-2.
All-staters Harris, Reed Among Oklahoma City Wrestling Recruits

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City University has added two all-staters and two transfers among seven recruits to its men's wrestling program.

All-staters Kevin Harris of Del City, Okla., and Michael Reed of Ardmore, Okla., and transfers Bryce Dicus from Nebraska-Kearney and Tucker Rutherford from Neosho County (Kan.), as well as state runner-up Marvin Lewis of Bartlesville, Okla., Gregory Daniels of Midwest City, Okla., and Allen Lea of Webbers Falls, Okla., will join the Stars for 2009-10.

Harris finished his senior year with a record of 33-6 and third in state. Harris took third place at state as a junior and was on the academic all-state team as a sophomore. Harris has been named Oklahoma Coaches Association all-state and all-Mid-State Conference.
At OCU, Harris could compete at 141 pounds.

"Harris comes from a high school program that is rich in Oklahoma wrestling tradition," said OCU coach Archie Randall. "He will provide competition for the returning national qualifier Jeremy Garner."

Reed finished his senior year with a record of 38-3. Reed was named all-state and all-area as well. Reed is expected to wrestle at 285 for OCU.

"Reed will have the opportunity to train with two-time national qualifier and all-American Corey Johnson during his first year as a redshirt," Randall said.

Daniels was a member of the state champion wrestling program as a junior and sophomore. Daniels finished fourth in the state tournament in as a freshman and was a state qualifier as a sophomore.

"Daniels is a product of the Midwest City wrestling program," said Randall. "He was injured in his last season, but he will be another athlete to compete for the 133 vacancy."
Lea of Webbers Falls High School (Okla.) was named all-conference three times. Lea is projected as a 133-pounder for the Stars.

"Lea will be one of the several wrestlers who will make a run at replacing three-time national qualifier Justin Blumer," said Randall.

Lewis finished as Class 5A state runner-up at 171 pounds with a 34-6 record as a senior. Lewis went 61-13 in his junior and senior seasons.

Dicus is a transfer from Nebraska-Kearney. Dicus was a four-time district champion and a regional champion. Dicus, of Catoosa, Okla., was a Greco-Roman state champion and a freestyle runner-up.

"Dicus will transfer in at 125 and will be one of several wrestlers who will help to fill the void we had at that weight last year," Randall said.

Rutherford will transfer to OCU from Neosho County to further his wrestling career. Rutherford, of Jay, Okla., finished his high-school career with a record of 36-6 and was named all-state. Rutherford was also three-time all-conference and all-district, as well as the state runner-up.

"Rutherford will come in at 149 and is expected to strengthen the weight class, which has two returning national qualifiers," said Randall.

OCU hosts the Junior National Duals featuring top junior wrestlers from around the nation on June 24-28 at Abe Lemons Arena.
Division II Wrestler of the Year

EDMOND, Okla. -- Unbeaten 157-pounder Todd Meneely of Nebraska-Omaha has been selected as the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year after winning his third straight national championship this season.

Meneely is the second winner of the award, sponsored by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association and voted on by eight regional representatives from around the country. Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev took the inaugural award last year.

Each of the four regions nominated a candidate, with Super Region Two nominee Meneely finishing with 28 points to edge out runner-up Cy Wainwright of Newberry and Super Region One by one point. Minnesota State-Mankato's Tommy Abbott was the Super Region Three representative and Arsenia Barksdale of Adams State the Super Region Four nominee.

Meneely, a native of Omaha, went a perfect 27-0 this season with 10 falls, seven major decisions and three technical falls. He was only scored on offensively three times (three takedowns) and won five tournament titles this year.

A three-time regional champion, Meneely captured the Division II national title at 149 pounds in 2007 and '08 before moving up to 157 this season and winning a third consecutive crown March 13-14 in Houston, Texas. He finished with a 85-5 career record in three years with the Mavericks.

Meneely was the driving force behind a UNO team that went undefeated in duals and ran away with the national team championship this season. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NWCA Division II National Duals in January.

A four-time state champion at Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha, Meneely was a Freestyle and Greco Junior National champion in 2002.