OREM, Utah – For the second night in a row the Utah Valley State wrestling dual came down to the final two matches. Ivan Bigney, who was the closer Friday night, won his match Saturday night to give Darren Cooper a chance to seal the victory. Cooper answered the call to secure a 17-15 win over the University of Northern Colorado in the Activity Center.

In the first six matches of the dual the Wolverines and Bears traded decision victories back and forth, with the only advantage going to UVSC because of a Mitch Morgan major decision in the 149-pound weight class. The score was 10-9 at that point.

Then the Bears pulled a reversal on the Wolverines by taking the next two matches by decision, including an overtime decision in the 174-pound class.

The Wolverines were down 15-10 as the 184-pound Bigney eyed his opponent, Nathan Kimberlin. The aggressive Wolverine wrestler took advantage of Kimberlin with early first period takedowns. Two late third period takedowns helped Bigney close out the match with a 14-6 major decision. It was now up to Cooper.

With UVSC still down by one point Cooper entered the match with a 14-12 overall season record. His UNC opponent, freshman Reece Hopkin, came in at 10-2 including 4 falls on the year. Cooper, a junior out of Monument, Colorado used his experience to wear down the younger wrestler.

The match was close throughout. An injury timeout was called with :34 seconds left in the third period and Cooper had a 10-9 advantage. Hopkin recorded an escape to tie the match at 10. Hopkin then managed to get Cooper on his back but Cooper somehow slipped away and reversed the move to score two points as time expired. An extra point for riding time gave Cooper a 13-10 win and a Wolverine team victory in front of another nice crowd.

UVSC will host Boise State University on Saturday, February 14, at 2:00 pm in the Activity Center.

FINAL RESULTS

Utah Valley State defeated University of Northern Colorado 17-15 
HWT-Billy Green (UV) dec. Matt Sens (UNC), 3-1 
125-Kyle Kaiser (UNC) dec. Ryan Argyle (UV), 10-5 
133-Erkin Tadzhimetov (UV) dec. Kyle Swenson (UNC), 12-5 
141-Nathan Gerrard (UNC) dec. Justin Rawle (UV), 7-4
149-Mitch Morgan (UV) major dec. Dustin Uhland (UNC), 13-4 
157-Mikell Surber (UNC) dec. Wayne Watts (UV), 3-1 (OT)
165-Matt Archbold (UNC) dec. Tanner Cowan (UV), 11-6
174- Alex Joseph (UNC) dec. Ben Wiscombe (UV), 6-4 (OT)
184-Ivan Bigney (UV) major dec. Nathan Kimberlin (ASC), 14-6
197-Darren Cooper (UV) dec. Reece Hopkin (UNC), 13-10