FORT WORTH, Texas – Oklahoma City University seized the Sooner Athletic Conference men's wrestling championship Saturday at the Sid Richardson Center.
Four Stars took individual league crowns, while three OCU wrestlers finished as runners-up. All 12 of Oklahoma City's individuals placed to give the Stars 99.5 points.
OCU's Chase Vincent captured his third conference title with the 184-pound SAC championship, and Jon McGowan grabbed his second 157-pound SAC title. Cade Manion at 141 pounds and Keegan Luton at 149 became conference champions to help bring the Stars their second league title.
Cooper Mahaffey (125), Jaxen Gilmore (141) and Easton Rendleman (197) reeled in second for Oklahoma City. Logan Chappell (133), Kolbe Madron (165) and Drake Vannoy (157) picked up third, and Casey Goss (125) and Connor Holman (149) were fourth-place finishers for the Stars. Justin Ensign collected SAC coach of the year in his first season at the OCU helm.
Vincent, a senior from Yukon, Okla., took two victories to become the 184-pound champion. Vincent (10-5) prevailed 7-0 over Zeno Marcheselli of Texas Wesleyan and 5-3 against David Willoughby from Wayland Baptist (Texas). Vincent secured his fifth berth in the NAIA Championships, which happen March 4-5 in Park City, Kan.
McGowan, a senior from Hulbert, Okla., went 3-0 in the 157-pound division. He tied for the most falls in the tournament with two along with Mahaffey. McGowan pinned Wayland Baptist's Malakai Owens in 47 seconds and Austin Loza of Texas Wesleyan in 4:26.
Manion, a freshman from Edmond, Okla., took the title by forfeit against his teammate Gilmore. Manion rolled past Bobby Robinson of Texas Wesleyan 8-0 in the semifinals.
Luton, a freshman from Mustang, Okla., posted a 15-6 win against Brady Earhart from Texas Wesleyan in the 149-pound championship final. Luton edged Andres Ugalde of the Rams 3-1 in the semifinals. Luton (25-4) hauled in SAC freshman of the year.
Luton, Manion, McGowan and Vincent advanced to the NAIA Championships by virtue of winning league titles. Rendleman and Vannoy qualified for the national tournament with their finishes. Gilmore and Mahaffey made the national-tournament field as at-large selections.
Sooner Athletic Conference Championships
At Fort Worth, Texas
Sid Richardson Center
Team Scoring
1. Oklahoma City, 99.5; 2. Texas Wesleyan, 86; 3. Wayland Baptist, 68.5; 4. Central Christian, 31.
SAC Awards
Wrestler of the year: Alex Pena, Wayland Baptist.
Most outstanding wrestler: Alex Pena, Wayland Baptist.
Newcomer of the year: Austin Loza, Texas Wesleyan.
Freshman of the year: Keegan Luton, Oklahoma City.
Coach of the Year: Justin Ensign, Oklahoma City.
Most falls, least amount of time: Bobby Robinson, Texas Wesleyan, two (1:42).
Championship Finals
141: Cade Manion, OCU, by forfeit over Jaxen Gilmore
149: Keegan Luton, OCU, maj. dec. Brady Earhart, TXWES, 15-6
Champions/all-SAC first team
125: Johnathan Ortegon, Wayland Baptist
133: Alex Pena, Wayland Baptist
141: Cade Manion, Oklahoma City
149: Keegan Luton, Oklahoma City
157: Jon McGowan, Oklahoma City
165: Cody Dixon, Wayland Baptist
174: Dracius McKee, Texas Wesleyan
184: Chase Vincent, Oklahoma City
197: Deandre Rucker, Texas Wesleyan
285: Emmet Bivens, Texas Wesleyan
Runners-up/all-SAC second team
125: Cooper Mahaffey, OCU
133: Jordan Martinex, TXWES
141: Jaxen Gilmore, OCU
149: Brady Earhart, TXWES
157: Austin Loza, TXWES
165: Braeden Baller, TXWES
174: Tommy St. John, WBU
184: David Willoughby, WBU
197: Easton Rendleman, OCU
HONORABLE-MENTION ALL-SAC
Third place
125: Stephan Dabelko, CCCK
133: Logan Chappell, OCU
141: Moses Torres, WBU
149: Jerome Cannon, CCCK
157: Drake Vannoy, OCU
165: Kolbe Madron, OCU
174: Tyler Estep, CCCK
184: Zeno Marcheselli, TXWES
197: Brahn Howard, TXWES
Fourth place
125: Casey Goss, OCU
141: Bobby Robinson, TXWES
149: Connor Holman, OCU
157: Malakai Owens, WBU
174: Jarin Gomez, CCCK
197: Rommel Azurin, WBU
