EDMOND, Okla.- The Ouachita Tigers wrestling team traveled to Edmond, Oklahoma on Saturday, looking to defeat the No. 8 Bronchos at home. The Tigers saw many of the same match-ups that occured when UCO traveled to Arkadelphia, and were unable to down the Bronchos, eventually falling by a score of 25-12.

Despite the loss, head coach Kevin Ward saw some positives, saying, "I think we competed hard.  I knew it was going to be tough to beat the #8 ranked team in the country, especially on the road, but we competed hard and made a match out of it."

The Tigers kicked off the dual with a victory from Garrett Evans, as he downed UCO's Ryan Brooks by a score of 2-0 in the 125 lb weight class. Seth Hutchison had a bit more trouble with his opponent in the 133 lb class, as Dustin Reed pinned him only 51 seconds into the match, giving the Bronchos a 6-3 lead in team score after two matches.

In the 141 lb class, Ouachita's Josh Myers took a close one over UCO's Casy Rowell by a score of 7-6. Dexter Carter hung tough in the 149 lb weight class, but UCO's Ky Corley edged him by a score of 5-3. Bobby Williams came out and tied the overall match score for the Tigers after his match in the 157 lb weight class, taking a victory by a score of 6-2 and evening the score at nine points for each team.

In the 165 lb class, the Tigers fell behind for good, as Tyler Graham was pinned by UCO's Chris Watson at the 1:01 mark of the match. The Bronchos' Kelly Henderson followed that match up with another UCO victory, defeating Philip Dolan by a score of 6-1.

Ouachita's last victory of the dual came in a closely contested match for the 184 lb participants. Ouachita's Dallas Smith was eventually able to take a 3-2 lead over UCO's Tanner Keck, ultimately being the deciding total. C.J. Hays fell to Jarrett Edison in the 197 lb weight class by a score of 10-1 for a UCO major decision, while Ouachita's Taylor Poe was unable to steal a win in the heavyweight class, falling to Cody Dauphin by a final score of 4-0.

The next time that the Tigers take the mat will be at the NCAA Super Region II Tournament, which will take place at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Coming off of their meet against UCO, Ward thinks that his team is almost ready for the event.

"We have been doing the right things in practice for months now, and we are looking forward to having it pay off when it matters most," said Ward. "We just have to be ready mentally and ready to peak at the right time.  I am excited for this team to be able to wrestle when they feel fresh.  We haven't done that since National Duals in early January."

The Super Regionals will take place on February 24 and 25 and will be an all-day event.

-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director