UCO Wrestling Clinches Sixth Straight MIAA Title

The University of Central Oklahoma wrestling team earned its sixth straight Mid-America Intercollegiate Association (MIAA) title after dominating the University of Central Missouri 37-7 Saturday in their final match before the NCAA tournament.

UCO was the top-ranked NCAA Division II team coming in, and the visiting Central Missouri Mules were 14th, setting up a primed matchup, but UCO snuffed out any hope the Mules had from the jump.

Central Oklahoma used two early routs by 125 Eli Kirk and 133 Jason Henschel to pull away before adding four more bonus wins to clinch the demanding win.

Kirk entered the match as the 13th-ranked sophomore and opened with two takedowns and a three-point near-fall to take a commanding 9-1 lead at the end of the first period before adding two more takedowns to finalize a 17-4 beatdown. 

Top-ranked senior Henschel started slow after holding a modest 3-0 lead at the end of his first period, but after the break, he put his foot on the gas. 

He accelerated in the second period with a takedown and near-fall and finished with two more near-falls in the third to seal the 18-0 shutout.

Hunter Jump (177) and Garrett Wells (197) both secured falls, while 157 Gabe Johnson added a technical fall alongside 184 Bransen Britten.

After Central Missouri got its last win at 165, UCO went on to seal things with a four-match winning streak.

Fourth-ranked Jump kicked that off with a takedown and two near-falls in the second period to break the tie and ended it with a fall in the third to earn his 12th straight victory.

Britten followed with an effortless win, capitalizing on a near-fall and takedown to go up 7-0 at the end of the first period. He dodged a pin in the second to move forward into the third, where he scored another near-fall and takedown to win 15-0.

Meanwhile, third-ranked Wells took his match in just over two minutes, utilizing two takedowns.

Johnson had another imposing win after trouncing Central Missouri wrestler Ayden Dolt, 18-3. 

Johnson claimed the MIAA wrestler of the week honor for the first time in his career despite winning 106 matches at UCO, including 28 matches in a row going back to last season.

Central Oklahoma will return to Hamilton Field House on March 1 to host the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV Tournament. The top three finishers will advance to participate in the 

NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in South Dakota set for March 13-14.