WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 16) – It was a tough day for Central Oklahoma in the first tournament of the early season, with the Bronchos placing five individuals in the top-six while suffering a couple of key injuries at the Central Missouri Open here Sunday.
Tommy McCarty, wrestling unattached at 174 pounds, was the top finisher with a third-place showing, while 133 Tim Elliott and 165 Mikey Morgan both took fourth and 149 Colby Robinson and 197 Jarrett Edison each finished sixth.
Edison, a returning national qualifier, was on his way to an easy win in the consolation semifinals before suffering an injury that forced him to medical forfeit that match and his placement bout.
Freshman standout Willie Gunter won three of his four matches and was seconds away from a consolation quarterfinal victory when he also sustained an injury that caused him to forfeit the match that knocked him out of the tournament.
“We had a pretty rough day,” UCO coach David James said. “This was the toughest competition we've seen at this tournament and we had some hard losses. We got some guys banged up that we're going to have to get checked out and then we'll go from there.
“We had a lot of guys get some good mat time, but we've got to get a little more physical and a little tougher.”
Click here for the complete tournament brackets.
McCarty, wrestling unattached as he works toward regaining his eligibility for the second semester, rolled to 17-1 and 15-0 technical falls in his first two matches before falling to OSU's Kyle Griffen in the quarterfinals.
The senior rebounded in the consolations with a fall and two easy wins to make the third-place bout, claiming a 5-3 win over McKendree's Josh Bryant for the bronze medal.
Elliott opened the tournament with a third-period fall, an 18-5 major decision and a 4-2 victory before dropping a 4-1 decision to OSU's Chris Notte in the semifinals. The senior came back with a first-period fall in the consolation semis, but was pinned in the third-place match by McKendree's Wade Lowe.
Morgan had a pair of one-point wins and a medical forfeit in making the semifinals, losing a tough 4-3 verdict to Fort Hays State's Blake Malloy there. He bounced back with a 56-second fall to advance to the consolation finals, dropping a 6-2 decision there to OSU's Alex Meade.
Edison had close 7-6 and 5-2 wins in his first two matches and then lost a 3-1 sudden-victory decision to OU's Kyle Bergstedt in the quarterfinals. The sophomore came back with 9-0 and 8-2 wins and had a sizeable lead in the consolation semis before suffering the injury that forced him to forfeit.
Robinson followed a first-round fall with 9-7 and 5-3 wins to make the semifinals and then lost three straight to finish sixth.
UCO continues its early-season tournament schedule next Sunday at the Missouri Open.
Central Missouri Open (UCO Results)
Consolation Finals
133: Wade Lowe, McKendree, pinned Tim Elliott, UCO, 3:49.
165: Alex Meade, OSU, dec. Mikey Morgan, UCO, 6-2.
174: Tommy McCarty, UCO (Unattached), dec. Josh Bryant, McKendree, 5-3.
Fifth Place
149: Quinten Fuentes, OSU, pinned Colby Robinson, UCO, 0:27.
197: Josh Fansler, Newman, by medical forfeit over Jarrett Edison, UCO.
