Feb. 12, 2010

Complete Results

OREM, Utah - In its final home contest of the season, Utah Valley University's wrestling team won eight of the 10 bouts over conference foe South Dakota State as the Wolverines (9-3, 3-1) rolled over the Jackrabbits (1-10-1, 0-4) on senior night, 38-6.

With senior Jeffrey Newby (141) sidelined with an injury, the Wolverines sent their lone senior teammate out with a big win as UVU defeated SDSU to improve to 4-1 all-time against the Jacks.

"Just like in previous matches, our guys come out and really tried to wrestle their best tonight," UVU head coach Greg Williams said. "SDSU is really tough at a couple weights and those were the ones that we had freshman competing at (141 & 197). But I was really pleased with how we competed. I liked the intensity of most of our guys and I felt like we increased the pace in several of the matches. Now it is time for us to go and work on our flaws for conference."

The dual began at 165-pounds and UVU's Jeb Clark got the Wolverines off and rolling as he defeated SDSU's Seth Moe by technical fall, 17-2, early in the second period. The Jacks then elected to forfeit at both 174 and 184. After three matches UVU led 17-0.

The Jacks then rebounded as the their senior 197-pounder Tyler Sorenson defeated UVU freshman Josh Wood by decision, 9-2.

Utah Valley then won the next three consecutive matches to go up a commanding 28-3, with only three bouts to go. UVU's Casen Eldredge got the Wolverines started as he won his first heavyweight match of his career by decision, 4-2, over the Jacks' Kevin Kelly. Eldredge who normally competes at 184-pounds has recently bumped up two weight classes to fill the Wolverine void and he improved his heavyweight record to 1-1 on the year and 14-13 overall.

No. 11 Benjamin Kjar (125) then followed for UVU as he controlled his match over SDSU's Aaron Pickrel, winning by major decision, 19-5. Kjar scored five takedowns in the bout and three near falls. Kjar also picked up nearly three minutes of riding time en route to his victory. At 133, UVU's Flint Ray continued his hot streak as of late as he defeated South Dakota State's Tyler Johnson by major decision, 12-1. F. Ray dismantled Johnson as he tallied nearly six minutes of riding time in his match over the Jackrabbit lightweight.

In the final three bouts, SDSU's Dustin Walraven (141) picked up a hard fought 3-2 win over UVU redshirt freshman Wyatt Ray as W. Ray was filling in for the injured Newby. The Wolverines then concluded the onslaught with two final wins at 149 and 157. Justin Morrill defeated Nick Hagar by major decision, 12-3 and Jamison Moss concluded the dual by pinning (4:26) the Jacks' Nick Flynn.

Utah Valley will next conclude its regular season at conference opponent Northern Colorado on Wed. Feb. 17. There the Wolverines will be looking to tie their conference win/loss record from a year ago when they finished at 4-1 in the Western Wrestling Conference.

Following the dual at UNCo, UVU will then compete at the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships for the first time in school history on March 6, in Brookings, S.D. At the regional, UVU will be looking to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for the NCAA Championships which will be held on March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb.

FINAL RESULTS
Utah Valley 38, South Dakota State 6
165 - Jeb Clark tech. fall Seth Moe, 17-2 (3:40)
174 - Brad Darrington wins by forfeit
184 - Monte Schmalhaus wins by forfeit
197 - Tyler Sorenson dec. over Josh Wood, 9-2
Hwt - Casen Eldredge dec. over Kevin Kelly, 4-2
125 - No. 11 Benjamin Kjar maj. dec. over Aaron Pickrel, 19-5
133 - Flint Ray maj. dec. over Tyler Johnson, 12-1
141 - Dustin Walraven dec. over Wyatt Ray, 3-2
149 - Justin Morrill maj. dec. over Nick Hagar, 12-3
157 - Jamison Moss wins by fall over Nick Flynn, 4:26