UCO Wrestling Wins Sixth Straight Regional Championship

The University of Central Oklahoma wrestling team won its sixth straight NCAA Division II Super Regional IV tournament after being led by Gabe Johnson, who won his fourth in a row Sunday at Hamilton Field House.

Central Oklahoma was ranked no. 2 coming into the one-day, 11-team tournament and came out on top with 156 points, beating out second-place Central Missouri, which had 132. 

For individual wrestlers to advance to the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships, each had to place in the top three in their regional. UCO had eight of 10 wrestlers do so. 

To go along with Johnson, who captured the 157-pound honor, 125 Eli Kirk, 133 Jason Henschel, and 174 Hunter Jump won their respective weight classes.

Meanwhile, 141 Josh Taylor and 165 Bryce Douphin finished as runner-ups, and 149 Bam West and 184 Branson Britten both placed third to clinch their spots in the national tournament. 

Johnson won his first three matchups by a combined score of  49-1, aided by three technical falls. Additionally, he needed less than two minutes in each of his first two matches to best his opponents.

The reigning two-time national champion sealed his 4-0 regional record with a 14-8 finals win over Maryville’s Nicolas Zamora after a 10-1 blitz in the first period with two takedowns and a near-fall.

Johnson extended his win streak to 32 straight, joining just three other UCO alumni who’ve won four regional championships.

The Bronchos’ other steadfast wrestler, Jump, secured his third regional championship, the ninth to do so, after chugging through a first-round matchup 5-3.

It was easy sledding the rest of the way, though, with a 14-2 quarterfinal performance followed by a 6-0 shutout in the final.

Kirk and Henschel, on the other hand, were not seasoned champs and won their first regionals over the weekend.

Kirk had a first-round bye and made easy work of his second-round match with a 16-1 victory earned in 2:31. He went on to win his semifinal matchup 18-3 with four takedowns before outlasting Nathan Smith in the final match to secure the championship title. 

UCO coach Todd Steidley collected the regional coach of the year award for the fifth time. 

The Bronchos’ eight now head to South Dakota for the national tournament championships, where they won in 2023-24 before finishing fifth last year. 

The tournament is set for March 13-14 in Sioux Falls, S.D.