Men’s wrestling defeats UCO

Submitted

The wrestling team ruined Central Oklahoma’s home winning streak at 22 duals in a 22-16 win Jan. 29 at Hamilton Field House.

The Stars, ranked 13th in NAIA wrestling, secured its first win ever at Hamilton Field House while moving to 7-4 on the season. Central Oklahoma, rated 12th in NCAA Division II, suffered its first home defeat since Nebraska-Kearney dealt the Bronchos a 31-6 loss Jan. 14, 2010 at Hamilton Field House.

Oklahoma City assured itself a winning dual record in 2014-15 for the program’s fourth since coming back in 2006-07. The Stars last defeated Central Oklahoma 19-18 on Jan. 25, 2012 at Abe Lemons Arena.

“Adrian Gaines’ upset over Dustin Reed gave us the momentum to win,” Oklahoma City coach Archie Randall said. “They wrestled as a team. It was a great team effort.”
At 133 pounds, Adrian Gaines of the Stars pinned Dustin Reed in 4:51. Reed entered the dual ranked fifth in NCAA Division II. Gaines, a sophomore from Lawton, Okla., had a three-point near fall in the first period, then pulled a reversal and put Reed on his back for the fall.

Derek Sivertsen at 184 and Miguel Tovar at 197 picked up wins to finish off Oklahoma City’s victory. Sivertsen, a sophomore from Moore, Okla., used a takedown and two-point near fall in the third period to beat Caleb Hawes 6-2. Sivertsen is ranked seventh at 184 in the NAIA.

Tovar, a sophomore from El Paso, Texas, notched three takedowns and three-point near fall to blank Michael Conner 9-0. With those wins, the Stars went up 22-13 in the dual. At 165, Colton Gallo of Central Oklahoma knocked off Ricky McCarty 6-2 to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 15-13.

At 125, Aaron LaFarge of Oklahoma City prevailed 5-4 over Zac D’Amico. LaFarge, a senior from La Habra Heights, Calif., used an escape with 32 seconds left in the match to make the difference. LaFarge is ranked sixth in the NAIA.

Oklahoma City led 12-0 after Parker Bohannan edged Will Steltzlen 4-2 in sudden victory. Bohannan, a freshman from Yukon, Okla., picked up a takedown with 50 seconds left in the extra period for the winning points.

The Stars’ Zach Skates defeated Jeromy Davenport in the 157-pound match 4-1 in two tiebreaker periods. In the second tiebreaker, Skates, a junior from Broken Arrow, Okla., had an escape and a takedown. Skates holds the seventh spot among NAIA 157-pounders.

The Stars conclude the dual season by taking on Nebraska-Kearney, ranked sixth in NCAA Division II, at 6 p.m., then Colorado State-Pueblo at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 at Abe Lemons Arena.