He's Back!

One. More. Year.

A college wrestling career that started in 2015 will continue for Central Oklahoma's Heath Gray in 2021-22, with this year's 184-pound national champion having decided to take advantage of the extra season of eligibility offered by the NCAA and return for a second senior campaign.

And his main motivation to come back is purely unselfish.

"I accomplished everything I needed to accomplish, personally, as a wrestler," Gray said. "What I would really like to see is a team title brought back to UCO. It's been too long. It feels like there's unfinished business."

The Bronchos captured the last of their 15 national wrestling championships in 2007. UCO, with Gray now back in the fold, will return five All-Americans from this year's sixth-place team and should figure prominently in the 2022 team race.

But Gray's decision to return wasn't an easy one. Far from it.

"Going into the weekend before the national tournament started I thought this was going to be it for me," said Gray, who turned 25 on the eve of the event that was held in St. Louis. "I talked to my parents the night before, that Thursday, and told them 'I'm going to win this national title and I'm done. I'm going to move forward and go start working.'

"And they told me, 'If you still love it, and you can still do it, you might as well.' I was like, 'Dang, Tony and Janice, that's not what I needed to hear!' I expected them to tell me that it was over. So they believed in me and I had their support. And that kind of opened the conversation back up."

Gray then went out and did what he told his parents he would do -- win the national championship to cap a COVID-shortened season. He finished 13-0 with nine bonus-point wins and didn't allow an offensive point.

Armed with one degree (industrial safety) and on target to gain another (finance) in December, Gray continued to work out while mulling things over. He didn't get on the mat for two weeks after the national tournament ended, but that break didn't stop friends and family from hounding him about what he was going to do.
"I just tried not to think about it," he said. "I had been weighing my options, because I had some job offers. But I started thinking to myself and I was talking to friends and family, people I hold in high esteem, and they said the same thing my parents did -- 'If you love it and you can do it, you've got your entire life to work.'

"When you're 50 years old, at least you can say you did it. You gave it all you had. You only have one chance to wrestle and compete. I would rather regret having to work one more year in the future as compared to not wrestling my last year that I have available."

And thus a career that has been filled with plenty of peaks and valleys will continue – and finally conclude – in 2021-22.

Gary hasn't always been a Broncho. The Chandler High School product started his collegiate career at Newman, going 25-13 as a true freshman at 174 pounds in 2015-16, and didn't qualify for the national tournament.

Heath opted to leave Newman and sat out the next year while attending Seminole State College. He came to UCO and spent the 2017-18 season as a redshirt, fashioning a 14-1 record at 184 in three open tournaments.

That two-year span was difficult for the for the ultra-competitive Gray.

"I felt like something was missing during that year I took off," Heath said. "I had been wrestling since I was five years old and then all of sudden, cold turkey, I stopped. I was so happy to be back in the room when I got to UCO.

"UCO was a perfect fit, I felt it's where I should have been all along. But if I would have come here originally, things might not have worked out the same."

Finally it was time for Gray to return to competition. And he dominated from the start.

He put together a 36-2 season with 21 bonus wins in 2018-19, winning the regional title and earning All-America honors with a third-place national tournament finish after suffering a semifinal upset.

The following year was even better. A 29-1 record, including 28 straight wins. Another regional crown. The No. 1 ranking. And then the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing the cancelation of the national tournament the day before it was scheduled to start in Sioux Falls, S.D.

"On the drive up that Wednesday, my birthday, was when everything was starting to get shut down," said Gray, reflecting on last year's events. "We were thinking there's no chance this is getting canceled."

But indeed the NCAA soon called off all winter and spring championships for the remainder of 2020, resulting in a second straight disappointing finish for Gray.

"It's one thing getting to go and compete and not reaching your goal because at least you had the opportunity, but it's a whole different thing to not have a chance" Gray said, comparing his 2019 national tournament with the 2020 non-tournament. "Yes, we had our entire season, but it's nothing compared to the national tournament."

Though there was no national tournament, Gray was still named an All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. And he was selected Division II Wrestler of the Year, becoming just the second UCO wrestler to earn that prestigious award.

This past season didn't start in November, as usual. Instead the Bronchos opened a limited dual schedule in January, though several of those meets ended up being wiped out due to health and safety concerns.

UCO hosted the Super Regional IV Tournament in late February, taking the team title by a slim margin, and went to St. Louis for a drastically scaled-back national tournament that included few fans.

"It was definitely a different atmosphere as compared to past years," Gray said. "It's still the national tournament. You might be worried about the lack of fans, but every time I step on the mat I'm focused on the guy in front of me instead of what's going on around me. It's still the same mat."

Gray rolled into the finals with three easy wins before trimming West Liberty's Connor Craig 3-2 for the title, with a first-period takedown the difference. And after a brief moment of elation as the final whistle blew, there was also a bit of confusion.

"I knew I could do it, but I was in disbelief after I won," Heath said. "And it didn't help that they had the score wrong right after the match finished. I looked right at the scoreboard and it said 3-3.

"I didn't know what was going on. Did he get a stall call I didn't hear or didn't know about? Is this going into overtime? Then I look back and, boom, it says 3-2 and you see me in a fit of celebration."

Wrestling is not for the faint of heart. It's mentally and physically taxing. To be the best requires intense dedication and desire.

"One of the driving factors for me is the thrill of victory," Gray said. "You put all that work in and to get your hand raised just validates what you're doing. It makes it all worth it. I'm not the best technician, the best clinician, but I'm willing to outwork anybody.

"I made a lot of sacrifices to win that championship and there's nothing I would change. I would say there's only one better feeling and that would be to win a team title, which we missed out on. And that's one of the main motivations for me to come back."

Gray's return will also allow him to add to an already remarkable resume. He has a 78-3 career record -- a winning percentage of 96.3 that is the best in UCO's storied history -- and is riding a 41-match winning streak. He can join rare territory by becoming a four-time All-American and two-time national champion, which would cement his legacy as one of the best to even don a Broncho singlet.

"Being a two-time champ and a four-time All-American at the University of Central Oklahoma would be huge," Gray said. "I was only a one-time state champ, so being a two-time national champ would be great. But it's that team title I'm really after."

One. More. Year.

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Players Mentioned

Heath Gray: 5' 11"; Senior; 184