Feb. 7, 2009

NDSU Results  |  MSU Moorhead Results

FARGO, North Dakota - Adam Fager and Diego Avalon provided the late-match heroics as Utah Valley upended North Dakota State, 18-15, in Western Wrestling Conference action on Saturday night. The win was the 10th in a row for the Wolverines (10-2, 3-0 WWC) who also remained perfect in conference.

Coupled with a 31-13 victory over Minnesota State University Moorhead earlier in the day, head coach Greg Williams' squad matched a school record with 10 wins and has secured its best winning percentage in school history.

Things looked bleak trailing 15-9 with just two matches to go. But Fager quickly took control of his 197-pound match, jumping out 5-1 before scoring a first period fall (1:40) over Drew Ross.

With Fager's triumph knotting the score at 15, it came down to Avalon's heavyweight bout with Tyler Hemmesch. The undersized Avalon scored first on an unsportsmanlike call against Hemmesch in the first. After an escape tied it up in the second, Avalon scored on a takedown to take a 3-1 lead. The UVU sophomore then kept Hemmesch at bay, only allowing another point on riding time, to win his match and the dual in dramatic fashion.

"Adam set it up with the fall and Diego went out and won the match for us. Those two really came through," said Williams. "I'm very proud of this team. We throw a lot of challenges at them and they are always up to the task. We have some quality kids and very hard workers and I'm very pleased with the success we're having."

After Ben Kjar survived in overtime, 10-9, at 125 pounds and Flint Ray won a 4-1 decision at 141 to start the dual, the Bison (4-9-1, 1-3 WWC) won the next four matches, all by decision, to take a 12-6 lead. Both the 157 and 165-pound matches weren't decided until overtime, but both went NDSU's way.

Brad Darrington kept UVU in it with a 9-2 win at 174 pounds over Trent Sovde. Kenny Moenkedick then knocked off Casen Eldredge with a late takedown to put North Dakota State up six, setting up the final two matches of the night.

Against MSU Moorhead, Kjar started things off with a 22-10 major decision win over Corey Ullmer. Ray, Jeffrey Newby and Justin Morrill followed Kjar with consecutive wins to give the Wovlerines a commanding 16-0 lead. Newby won his match by pinning Evan Forde 1:18 into the match.

The Dragons narrowed the margin to 16-7 win wins at 157 and 165 before a forfeit at 174 pounds gave Darrington a win and UVU a 22-7 lead.

Eldredge scored a first period fall (2:29) over Dustin Nagel and Fager's 12-6 decision over Matt Nelson closed things out on the mat. With the win in hand, Williams elected to forfeit the heavyweight match and preserve Avalon for the nightcap. A move that proved key in the Wolverines' sweep of the day's competition.

Utah Valley will now return home for its two final duals of the season. The Wolverines host Wyoming next Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. in the Shurian Family Activity Center before closing out the year with Air Force on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

Utah Valley 31, MSU Moorhead 13
125 - Benjamin Kjar (UVU) maj. dec. Corey Ullmer (MSUM), 22-10
133 - Flint Ray (UVU) dec. Kelly Janke (MSUM), 6-2
141 - Jeffrey Newby (UVU) fall Evan Forde (MSUM), 1:18
149 - Justin Morrill (UVU) dec. Derek Bomstad (MSUM), 6-5
157 - Tallen Wald (MSUM) dec. Jamison Moss (UVU), 6-3
165 - Tyler Tubbs (MSUM) maj. dec. Alex Siphard (UVU), 13-5
174 - Brad Darrington (UVU) win via forfeit
184 - Casen Eldredge (UVU) fall Dustin Nagel (MSUM), 2:29
197 - Adam Fager (UVU) dec. Matt Nelson (MSUM), 12-6
Hwt - Jon Swart (MSUM) win via forfeit

Utah Valley 18, North Dakota State 15
125 - Benjamin Kjar (UVU) dec. Justin Solberg (NDSU), 10-9
133 - Flint Ray (UVU) dec. Trent Sprenkle (NDSU), 4-1
141 - Gabriel Mooney (NDSU) dec. Jeffrey Newby (UVU), 5-2
149 - Ryan Adams (NDSU) dec. Justin Morrill (UVU), 6-5
157 - Vince Salminen (NDSU) dec. Jamison Moss (UVU), 15-13
165 - Tyler Johnson (NDSU) dec Jeb Clark (UVU), 13-11
174 - Brad Darrington (UVU) dec. Trent Sovde (NDSU), 9-2
184 - Kenny Moenkedick (NDSU) dec. Casen Eldredge (UVU), 5-4
197 - Adam Fager (UVU) fall Drew Ross (NDSU), 1:40
Hwt - Diego Avalon (UVU) dec. Tyler Hemmesch (NDSU), 3-2