Postseason Is Here

The NCAA Division II postseason is here, so congrats and good luck to the Broncho teams and individuals who will be competing this weekend.

UCO's wrestling team will journey to Omaha, Neb. for their national tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday on the Nebraska-Omaha campus. The Bronchos have six qualifiers in Scott Berens, Derrick Adkins, Cody Rowell, Tanner Keck, Jarrett Edison and Dustin Finn.

David James' crew would pretty much need a perfect weekend to be a threat in the team race, but every one of those qualifiers is capable of placing in the top eight and earning All-America honors. Finn has the best chance at an individual title and he certainly should be motivated after coming up just short the past two years with runner-up finishes.

What a story Dustin has been in coming back from a serious back injury suffered in early January that kept him off the mat for several weeks. He didn't return to competition until the regional tournament on Feb. 28, losing a last-second decision in the finals there, and he's ready to go.

And congrats to Cody Rowell, a fifth-year senior who persevered through an up-and-down career to earn a national tournament berth in his final season. It would be quite the storybook finish for him if he could pull a few more surprises and earn All-America honors in Omaha.

Both UCO basketball teams will be in South Central Regional play this weekend in the big state of Texas, with the women in Canyon and the men in Wichita Falls. The teams are identical in a lot of ways, with both having won 22 games and both the No. 6 seeds in their respective regional.

UCO's women will face a familiar foe in the first round in Northeastern State and it will definitely be a tall task, but the Bronchos are obviously capable of knocking off the RiverHawks after the teams split their two regular season meetings.

UCO's men are looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance in last week's league tournament that saw the Bronchos fall to a West Texas A&M team that had routed by 30-some points two months early. UCO goes against Fort Hays State in what should be an interesting battle between a pair of clubs who like to hoist up a lot of 3-pointers.

Both regional tournaments require three wins in a four-day span to win a championship and each UCO team has shown during the season what they're capable of.