Final Results  |  Photo Gallery 

OREM, Utah – Despite a picking up a pin from junior Ross Taylor, an injury depleted Utah Valley University wrestling team dropped its regular season finale to Northern Colorado by a score of 20-18 on Senior Night in Orem.
 
Both teams won five bouts apiece but the Bears capitalized on a forfeit to take the Western Wrestling Conference dual meet by two points.
 
"We knew that it was going to be difficult to win the match tonight with three guys out of the lineup. But I was pleased with how the guys wrestled, especially after the break," said head coach Greg Williams.
 
Trailing 17-3 after the first five matches, freshman Dalton Harmon got the Wolverines (2-9, 1-4 WWC) going by picking up a win while wrestling up a weight class. The usual 165-pound Harmon recorded a 6-2 decision over UNC's (4-5, 1-2 WWC) Josh Van Tine while competing at 174 pounds.
 
Taylor then followed for UVU with a big second-period fall (3:42) over Northern Colorado's Keith Johnson at 184 to pull the Wolverines to within striking distance at 17-12.
 
After getting pinned by Trent Noon earlier in the season, junior Derek Thomas (197) revoked a little revenge by keeping the winning streak alive for the Wolverines with a hard fought 3-2 decision over Noon to pull UVU to within 17-15 on the scoreboard. With the dual line, UNC's Brian Macchione then recorded a 3-1 overtime win over UVU freshman Jordan Karst at heavyweight to give the Bears a 20-15 lead win one match to go. 
 
The reigning WWC Wrestler of the Week Chasen Tolbert then took to the mat in a marquee matchup against UNC's Trey Andrews at 125. Tolbert, who is currently ranked 16th nationally by InterMat, once again wrestled well as he went on to defeat Andrews by a score of 9-2. Despite recording the decision over the 22nd rated wrestler on the latest NCAA Coaches' Poll, it wasn't enough as UVU ended up falling by a mere two points.
 
"This was another good win for Chasen. He's wrestling very well this month," added Williams. "He's pretty much solidified his spot at nationals after defeating three ranked guys in the last couple of weeks."
 
The win by Tolbert marked his fourth straight, as well as his fourth on the season over a ranked foe. He now holds a 15-5 record and a 9-2 clip in duals.
 
Prior to the first match, UVU honored its two four-year seniors in 174-pounder Ethan Smith and heavyweight Adam Fager. Both sat out the contest due to injury but will go down in the record books as a couple of the greatest wrestlers to ever compete at Utah Valley.
 
The Wolverines will now prepare for the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships that will take place on March 7 in Fargo, North Dakota. There, the Wolverines will try to punch their tickets to the NCAA Championships that will be held March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
Final Results: Northern Colorado 20, Utah Valley 18
133: Michael Espinoza (UNC) wins by Forfeit
141: Benjamin Polkowske (UNC) over Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), Dec. 6-1
149: Trevor Willson (UVU) over Kyle Rodriguez (UNC), Dec. 12-5
157: Beau Roberts (UNC) over Logan Addis (UVU), Dec. 2-0
165: Mitchell Polkowske (UNC) over Jared Harris (UVU), TF 18-0 {4:06}
174: Dalton Harmon (UVU) over Josh VanTine (UNC), Dec. 6-2
184: Ross Taylor (UVU) over Keith Johnson (UNC), Fall 3:42
197: Derek Thomas (UVU) over Trent Noon (UNC), Dec. 3-2
285: Brian Macchione (UNC) over Jordan Karst (UVU), SV-1 3-1
125: Chasen Tolbert (UVU) over Trey Andrews (UNC), Dec. 9-2

Attendance: 375
Official: Jimmy Chen