WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 28) -- Central Oklahoma lost three close finals matches and finished with four runners-up in coming in third at the NCAA Division II Super Regional Two Tournament here Sunday.
The No. 13-ranked Bronchos ended the nine-team tournament with 111 points and qualified six individuals for the national tournament, set for March 12-13 in Omaha, Neb. Defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha had five champions and won the team title with 166 points, while No. 4 Wisconsin-Parkside had the other five individual winners in finishing second with 138 points.
UCO got runner-up showings from 133 Scott Berens, 165 Derrick Adkins, 197 Jarrett Edison and heavyweight Dustin Finn, with Adkins losing in overtime, Edison by two points and Finn on a last-second takedown in the finals. Berens defaulted his finals match because of injury.
Cody Rowell (174) and Tanner Keck (184) both took fourth in earning qualifying berths for the national meet, while 125 Casy Rowell, 149 Austin Standage and 157 Ed Jackson just missed out with fifth-place finishes.
“Obviously we came here with the intention of getting more than six qualifiers, but we lost a couple of matches we probably shouldn't have and that cost us,” UCO coach David James said. “This is the biggest tournament of the year and you have to be ready to go every second of every match and we just didn't do that in a few instances.
“We'll take these six guys and work really hard the next couple of weeks to get ready for the national tournament.”
Finn's finals match was particularly tough as the senior standout was going for his third regional title in his return to the mat after a nearly two-month break because of injury.
The third-ranked Finn had two easy wins in making the finals and took a 4-1 lead on a takedown with 31 seconds left in the title bout with UNO's second-rated Elijah Madison. Finn was penalized a point for unnecessary roughness with 29 seconds remaining, then Madison escaped at 0:19 and came out on top in a scramble with two seconds left for the winning takedown.
Adkins dropped a 6-4 overtime decision to UNO's Ryan Pankoke in the finals after winning an OT bout of his own in the semifinals. Adkins and Pankoke each had a takedown and two escapes in regulation before Pankoke got the winning takedown 15 seconds into the one-minute sudden victory period.
The eighth-ranked Edison dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 1 Jacob Marrs of UNO in the finals, with Marrs using a third-period escape and riding time point for that win. Edison had a 10-1 major decision and an overtime victory in the semifinals to make the gold medal match before having his 13-match winning streak ended.
Berens had a 9-0 major decision and 2-0 semifinal shutout in making the finals, but the Bronchos elected to hold him out of the title match because of injury.
UCO suffered a big blow early when sixth-ranked Casy Rowell was upset in the first round. He lost again in the consolation semifinals before finishing with a fall to take fifth, but it wasn't good enough to secure a national tournament bid.
Casy's brother, senior Cody, was a surprise national qualifier with his fourth-place finish. Cody rebounded from a first-round loss to win three straight consolation matches, including a quarterfinal pin of the third seed and a 6-4 overtime victory in the semifinals.
NCAA Division II Super Regional Two
Championship Finals
133 - Cody Garcia, Nebraska-Omaha, by medical forfeit over Scott Berens, UCO.
165 - Ryan Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Derrick Adkins, UCO, 6-4 (SV).
197 - Jacob Marrs, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Jarrett Edison, UCO, 2-0.
Hvy - Elijah Madison, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Dustin Finn, UCO, 5-4.
Consolation Finals
157 - Michael Lybarger, Findlay, pinned Ed Jackson, UCO, 7:59 (SV).
174 - Matt Bailes, Central Missouri, dec. Cody Rowell, UCO, 13-6.
184 - Austin Boehm, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Tanner Keck, UCO, 7-2.
Fifth Place
125 - Casy Rowell, UCO, pinned Nick Weisjahn, Findlay, 0:35.
149 - Austin Standage, UCO, pinned T.J. Rigel, Ashland, 1:35.
True Fourth Place Challenge Match
157 - Bryce Givens, Indy, dec. Jackson, UCO, 9-5.
Championship First Round
125 - Brandon Davis, Ashland, dec. Rowell, UCO, 4-2.
133 - Berens, UCO, major dec. Ethan Harris, Indy, 9-0.
141 - Brent Fisher, Newman, dec. Trey Branscum, UCO, 5-2.
149 - T.J. Rigel, Ashland, pinned Standage, UCO, 3:46.
157 - Michael Lybarger, Findlay, dec. Jackson, UCO, 8-4.
165 - Adkins, UCO, dec. Kris Bowser, Findlay, 9-2.
174 - Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside, major dec. Rowell, UCO, 12-4.
184 - Keck, UCO, dec. Phil Witt, Central Missouri, 11-6.
197 - Edison, UCO, major dec. Jake Ewing, Ashland, 10-1.
Hvy - Finn, UCO, dec. James Malechek, Wisconsin-Parkside, 3-0.
Championship Semifinals
133 - Berens, UCO, dec. Brandon Kircher, Wisconsin-Parkside, 2-0.
165 - Adkins, UCO, dec. Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside, 3-2 (TB).
184 - Luke Haag, Wisconsin-Parkside, major dec. Keck, UCO, 8-0.
197 - Edison, UCO, dec. Dan Stevenson, Findlay, 2-1 (TB).
Hvy - Finn, UCO, pinned Lloyde Braidlow, Truman State, 6:37.
Consolation Pigtails
157 - Jackson, UCO, dec. Andy Bader, Truman State, 9-4.
174 - Rowell, UCO, tech. fall over Jacob Weaver, Newman, 15-0 (3:45).
Consolation First Round
141 - Cory Bloodgood, Central Missouri, dec. Branscum, UCO, 6-4.
149 - Standage, UCO, pinned Brandon Russow, Central Missouri, 4:37.
157 - Jackson, UCO, dec. Jesse Whitson, Central Missouri, 5-2.
174 - Rowell, UCO, pinned Justin Shannon, Findlay, 2:03.
Consolation Semifinals
125 - Terrell McKinney, Nebraska-Omaha, dec. Rowell, 8-4.
149 - Mitch Arnold, Newman, dec. Standage, 3-2.
157 - Jackson, UCO, dec. Tony Bradberry, Ashland, 4-2.
174 - Rowell, UCO, dec. Dean Schultz, Truman State, 7-5 (SV).
184 - Keck, UCO, dec. Tyler Hasenbank, Newman, 13-6.
