SEWARD, Neb. – The field at the Oklahoma City Duals is loaded. The 13th-ranked Concordia University wrestling team will take on four teams ranked in the top 15 of national polls as part of the event set to take place on Monday (Dec. 19) on the Oklahoma City University campus. Concordia’s schedule at the Oklahoma City Duals can be viewed below.
Oklahoma City Duals Opponents (Dec. 19)
(8) Campbellsville University (Ky.), 9 a.m. CT
(14) University of Central Oklahoma, 10:30 a.m. CT
(11) Wayland Baptist University (Texas), 12:00 p.m. CT
(6) Oklahoma City University, 1:30 p.m. CT
The Oklahoma City Duals feature five sessions of duals on four mats. Video will be provided from at least one dual per session via Oklahoma City’s Stretch Internet portal. All of the OCU duals will be streamed in addition to one other ‘marquee dual’ at the 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. time slots. Live results for all duals will be available via TrackWrestling.com.
In addition to its streak of 16-straight GPAC dual wins, Concordia also owns 10-match overall win streak that dates back to last season’s National Duals. Six Bulldogs sport national rankings. That group includes GPAC wrestler of the week and second-ranked 197-pounder Ken Burkhardt Jr., who has pinned each of his last six opponents and recently became the first wrestler in program history to reach the 100-win plateau. Burkhardt Jr. is 3-0 in dual meets for a squad that has defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 51-0, Doane, 23-22, and Northwest Kansas Technical College, 38-8, so far this season.
Burkhardt Jr. could get a particularly difficult test should he go up against Central Oklahoma’s Greg Wilson, the ninth-ranked 197-pounder at the NCAA Division II level. Central Oklahoma is known throughout the nation as a powerful program. The Bronchos have won 15 team national titles in their history. The other three opponents are NAIA powers. All three placed inside the top 15 at the 2016 national championships: Campbellsville (fifth), Wayland Baptist (11th) and Oklahoma City (13th). Nine Oklahoma City wrestlers appear in the national rankings.
Following the Oklahoma City Duals, the National Duals will be up next for first-year head coach Andrew Nicola’s squad. The National Duals (Jan. 5-6) are held in Nicola’s hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind.
Nationally-ranked competitors
Concordia: 3-0
133 – No. 9 Kodie Cole
149 – No. 13 Foster Bunce
184 – No. 14 Josh Nelsen
197 – No. 2 Ken Burkhardt Jr.
197 – No. 10 Alexander Reimers
285 – No. 4 Ceron Francisco
Campbellsville: 8-3 (NAIA)
125 – No. 3 Adrian Camposano
133 – No. 15 Kolten Radaz
165 – No. 7 Shawn McGhee
174 – No. 6 Justin Brown
184 – No. 3 Charles Sharon
285 – No. 16 Terrell Moore
Central Oklahoma: 3-0 (NCAA Division II)
125 – No. 4 Josh Lindsey
197 – No. 9 Greg Wilson
285 – No. 4 Caleb Cotter
Oklahoma City: 6-2 (NAIA)
125 – No. 12 Mason Naifeh
141 – No. 10 Matt Landgraff
141 – No. 15 James Landoll
157 – No. 9 Kristian Holguin-Mendez
174 – No. 4 Ricky McCarty
184 – No. 5 Derek Sievertsen
197 – No. 14 Evan Hudson
285 – No. 3 Korey Walker
285 – No. 10 Bryson McGowan
Wayland Baptist: 3-1 (NAIA)
133 – No. 11 DeMarco Speller
149 – No. 14 Andrew Overstreet
174 – No. 2 Jose Alvarez
184 – No. 2 Michael Naiper
197 – No. 8 Riley Williams