March 9, 2007

Central Oklahoma Surges to First Day Lead

Bronchos Eyeing 7th D2 Team Title

     Kearney, Neb. –  Long time powerhouse Central Oklahoma won 14 of its first 15 matches and leads the 2007 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships with 70.0 points.

      The two-day meet is being held at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.  Nearly 3,000 fans packed the arena for both the first and second sessions.

      Grabbing the momentum with the first whistle, UCO went 9-1 in round one and then won its first five matches in the second session to grab a commanding lead.

      The six-time NCAA D2 champions have advanced seven wrestlers to tomorrow's finals; no other school has more then three. The Bronchos also have one wrestler going for a third place finish.

      Host and top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney came on late and sits in 2^nd place with 55.5 points with Minnesota State third (45.5) and three-time defending champion Nebraska-Omaha fourth (37.5).

      Only 7.5 points separates fourth and ninth place.

      In round one, UCO's Tyler Zukerman pinned Payne Lint of Mercyhurst College (Pa.) at 6:10 to start the Bronchos dominating run.

      Jared Henning then recorded the first major upset of the tournament as he defeated defending national champion Brett Allgood of UNK, 7-5, in sudden victory.

      Henning trailed most of the match and scored a late takedown to force overtime. He then quickly got another takedown to beat Allgood. The Loper not only placed first last year but also holds four high school state titles and a junior college national title.

      Besides Zukerman and Henning, also reaching the semifinal round for UCO are Kyle Evans (141 lbs.), Shea Timothy (149 lbs.), Jason Leavitt (157 lbs.), Jared Hess (184 lbs.) and Josh LeadingFox (Hwt.).

      "UCO got a roll and it started at 125 and133 lbs. for them. But, we have eight All-Americans and so do they. That first session tomorrow morning will be real interesting. To have a chance, we need a few of them (UCO wrestlers) to drop to the consolation round," said UNK head coach Marc Bauer.

      Veteran UCO head coach David James also knows its too early to etch the Bronchos name on the team trophy

      "I'm proud of our team. We won seven of nine matches (in the second session) to put us in a good position. But its just day one and there is still a lot of wrestling left."

      Allgood wasn't the only returning champ to face a tough fight early on. Brad Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside (157 lbs.) beat Minnesota State's Brandon Gritz in the quarters by an 8-7 score (tiebreaker).

      Last year's 149 lbs. champ, Findlay's Tony Guerra, reached the 157 lbs. semis as well with two decisions.  At 133 lbs., 2005 champ -- and 2006 runner up -- Andy Uhl of Findlay reached the semis with wins of 5-2 and 9-4.

      A few other surprises include Belmont-Abbey's Chris Neidermeier (125 lbs.) pinning Minnesota State's Nick Smith, 6:17, to reach the semis and West Liberty State's Doug Surra (141) lbs. pinning MSU's Travis Elg in 49 seconds to also reach the semis.

      The first session will start tomorrow morning with the finals going at 7:00 p.m. and be carried on live t.v. throughout the nation.