Feb. 6, 2010

VERNAL, Utah - In a first for Utah Valley University the Wolverines took on a No. 1 ranked opponent Saturday night in Vernal, Utah, as the wrestling team went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. UVU (8-3) fought hard but ended up dropping six tightly contested decisions that resulted in a 38-0 Iowa (19-0) victory.

UVU came into Saturday's matchup off of a huge, 22-20, upset win over the No. 8 ranked Boise State Broncos Friday night in Orem. The momentum from Friday gave UVU a lift but it wasn't quite enough to topple the two-time defending National Champion Hawkeyes in Iowa senior 184-pounder Phillip Keddy's hometown of Vernal. The win for Iowa was its 57th-consecutive dual victory.

"We let two matches get away from us tonight," UVU head coach Greg Williams said. "Ben (Kjar) and Flint (Ray) were both in position tonight to win but just couldn't finish. Overall this was a good match for us to improve on before the postseason."

At 133-pounds, UVU's Flint Ray hung right in with the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the nation in Iowa's Daniel Dennis. With Dennis leading 3-0 in the second, Ray took down Dennis and scored a two-point nearfall right before the end of the period to go up 4-3. In the third Ray scored another escape point to lead 5-3. Then with only a few mere seconds to go, Dennis scored a late takedown and with just over a minute of riding time he picked up the 6-5 decision over Ray.

The first bout of the night featured a rematch at 125-pounds between UVU's Benjamin Kjar (No. 11) and Iowa's Matt McDonough (No. 4) as Kjar dropped a hard fought decision (8-3) to the higher-ranked McDonough at the Midlands Championships in December.

McDonough scored first with an early takedown but Kjar answered right back with an escape and a takedown of his own, to go up 3-2. Before the end of the first McDonough reversed Kjar's hold and got a nearfall to go up 6-3 a the end of one. In the second, Kjar picked up an escape point to trail by only two points. Kjar battled hard in the final period looking for a takedown but McDonough ended up with the 7-4 decision win.

At 165, UVU's Jeb Clark battled with No. 4 Ryan Morningstar from Iowa. Clark found himself down only 2-1 entering the final period. In the third, with Morningstar now up 3-1, Clark came very close to scoring the takedown but just couldn't finish it as Morningstar held on to win the very tight 3-1 decision.

Utah Valley's Brad Darrington (174) battled a very close match with the No. 1 Jay Borschel of Iowa. Darrington tied the score at two-all as he scored an escape early in the second. The undefeated Borschel then followed by scoring a takedown to go up 4-2. Borschel then picked up an escape point and a takedown to lead 7-2. Borschel won the hard fought bout by decision, 8-2.

In the feature bout of the evening, UVU's Casen Eldredge (184) took on Iowa's hometown-kid, Phillip Keddy (No. 12). Keddy scored a takedown in the first but Eldredge followed with an escape to only trail 2-1. In the second, Keddy broke free scoring an escape and followed with a takedown to lead 5-1. Eldredge then answered back with an escape of his own to trail by three. Keddy held on in the final period to win by decision, 9-3.

At 197, Utah-native Luke Lofthouse of the Hawkeyes also led early over UVU's Josh Wood but Wood fought back as he got within 8-5 in the third. Lofthouse held on to win by decision, 12-5.

In other matches Iowa's No. 7 Montell Marion (141) defeated UVU's Jeffrey Newby by major decision, 20-7; the Hawkeyes No. 1 Brent Metcalf (149) pinned UVU's Justin Morrill (1:43); Iowa's Jake Kerr picked up a 12-4 major decision over the Wolverines' Clay Frost. Iowa's Dan Erekson (No. 10) also picked up a forfeit victory at heavyweight to conclude the dual.

Next UVU will be back at home Friday, Feb. 12, to host conference foe South Dakota State at 4 p.m. The dual will be televised locally on UVU-TV.

FINAL RESULTS
No. 1 Iowa 38, Utah Valley 0
125 - No. 4 Matt McDonough (I) Dec., No. 11 Benjamin Kjar (UVU), 7-4
133 - No. 3 Daniel Dennis (I) Dec., Flint Ray (UVU), 6-5
141 - No. 7 Montell Marion (I) Maj. Dec., Jeffrey Newby (UVU), 20-7
149 - No. 1 Brent Metcalf (I) Pinned Justin Morrill (UVU), 1:43
157 - Jake Kerr (I) Maj. Dec., Clay Frost (UVU), 12-4
165 - No. 4 Ryan Morningstar (I) Dec., Jeb Clark (UVU), 3-1
174 - No. 1 Jay Borschel (I) Dec., Brad Darrington (UVU), 8-2
184 - No. 12 Phillip Keddy (I) Dec., Casen Eldredge (UVU), 9-3
197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) Dec., Josh Wood (UVU), 12-5
Hwt. - No. 10 Dan Erekson (I) Wins by Forfeit