Five UCO Wrestlers Ready For National Tourney

3/8/2017 2:52:00 PM

Bryan Dutton

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Five Central Oklahoma wrestlers begin their quest for an individual national title here Friday when the 2017 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships open a two-day run at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The No. 9-ranked Bronchos will be represented by 125-pounder Josh Lindsey, 141-pounder Joshua Ailey, 157-pounder Bryan Dutton, 197-pounder Greg Wilson and heavyweight Caleb Cotter in the tournament.

First-round action gets underway at 11 a.m. Friday, followed by the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations at 6 p.m. The semifinals and remaining consolation matches start at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the championship finals set for 6 p.m.

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"Our guys are excited to be here and they're ready to go," first-year head coach Todd Steidley said. "We've prepared well since the regional and I'm confident all five guys will be All-Americans.

"I think we can also have a say in the team race if everybody wrestles like they're capable of."

No. 1-ranked and two-time defending champion St. Cloud State qualified nine individuals and is favored to take the team crown again, though several teams are poised to challenge should the Huskies falter.

Lindsey, a redshirt freshman from Moore, is 24-7 on the season and has 16 bonus-point wins. He qualified with a fourth-place finish in the West Regional after missing nearly two months of action to injury and faces returning national champion and top-ranked Brett Velasquez (21-2) of St. Cloud State in the first round.

Ailey is 28-10 with a team-high 18 falls and ranks fourth on UCO's all-time pin list with 37 in two years. A returning national qualifier, the Tonkawa senior advanced to nationals with a runner-up finish in the regional and will take on East Stroudsburg's Dylan Nace (29-5) in the first round.

Dutton enters the tournament ranked seventh nationally and is 33-10 on the year with 12 bonus wins. The Guthrie junior was runner-up in the West Regional and is set to take on DeAndre Johnson (17-7) of Limestone in Friday morning's opening round.

Wilson, a junior from Keller, Texas, has a 33-6 record with 19 bonus wins and goes against Evan Ramos (24-2) of Shippensburg in the first round. Ranked eighth nationally, he's won 22 of his last 24 matches and qualified for the national meet with a fourth-place regional finish while battling illness.

Cotter is the top-rated heavyweight in the country and carries a 30-3 record with 15 bonus wins. The Sapulpa junior is riding a 10-match winning streak and will open the tournament against Upper Iowa's eighth-ranked Logan Hopp (20-8).

"I'm looking forward to the weekend and seeing what I can do," said Cotter, who redshirted last year after transferring from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. "I'm a smaller heavyweight, but if I take advantage of my speed and quickness I should be all right."

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