In a duel that featured the top two wrestling programs in the nation, No. 2 UNK fell to No. 1 Central Oklahoma, 21-18. The duel featured many momentum swings as the teams split Friday’s ten matches in half.
This was the second meeting this season between the two squads, with the first taking place in the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duels DII Championship on Jan. 10, when Central Oklahoma won 22-12.
“That’s the fun thing about a duel,” said Dalton Jensen, UNK wrestling coach. “Momentum can swing quick and you can have a lot of back and forth, and they never go how they think they’re going to be on paper.”
Like in January, the duel started with Central Oklahoma winning at 125 and 133 pounds as Eli Kirk defeated Caleb Coyle by an 8-2 decision and Jason Henschel beat Zach Ourada, 5-1. The two wins gave the Bronchos a six-point advantage before the Lopers had their two biggest wins of the night.
First, redshirt junior Joseph Airola went to overtime against Josh Taylor at 141 pounds. Airola had the first decision and picked the bottom, immediately sprawling out to score a point for the escape, and then rode out Taylor in the second overtime to secure the victory.
“I got the win in overtime last time too, at National Duels,” Airola said. “So getting it again, it’s propelling me forward for the weeks to come for nationals and for regionals and just knowing that I can beat the best in overtime and trusting in myself.”
Airola’s match was followed by graduate student Daniel DeRosier getting his shot on senior night at 149 pounds. DeRosier used a move called the guillotine to put Bam West on his shoulder blades in just over two minutes to earn the pin and six team points for the Lopers.
“I’ve always been the second guy, so being able to get thrown into the position and go out there and give my team six points meant a lot to me,” DeRosier said.
For the majority of DeRosier’s tenure at UNK, he was battling for a spot in the lineup with Airola and current assistant coach Nick James. With an open spot in the lineup due to Brady Collins suffering a season-ending injury, DeRosier’s time arrived to make a statement and give the Lopers a 9-6 lead four matches in.
Central Oklahoma returned to the lead when top-ranked Gabe Johnson pinned Cael Robb in the first period. UNK’s Trent Munoz proceeded to flip an 8-6 loss from January at 164 pounds and turned it into a 6-3 victory over Bryce Dauphin to tie the duel at 12.
At 174 pounds, Loper junior Otgonbayar Batsuuri held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period over Hunter Jump and elected to start the final two minutes on the bottom. Jump managed to pin Batsuuri and pivoted the duel in Central Oklahoma’s favor, giving the Bronchos a six-point lead. Heading into the night, Batsuuri had only lost by decision to DII opposition and hadn’t been pinned this season.
“That’s probably a big turning point in the duel,” Jensen said. “Two good competitors, guys that I think could go contend against each other, maybe in the national finals. So obviously, yeah, you can’t give up a pin there.”
At 184, Kaden Hart hung on to a 4-3 decision win to bring the Lopers within three before Central Oklahoma nailed the dagger at 197 when Garrett Wells edged Jackson Kinsella, 1-0, and the Lopers were deducted one team point for a headgear violation. Crew Howard finished the night with a major decision win for UNK as they dropped their fourth duel of the season.
Next up, the Lopers travel to Kansas and wrestle Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, in their final match before the hunt to defend their national title begins on Feb. 28 at Super Region VI.
“I love my brothers,” Airola said. “We always compete hard, and this isn’t a setback. This is just going to propel us forward because at the end of the day, nationals is where it’s at. That’s our goal – to become national champs and to repeat again for a national title.”
