BOISE, Idaho – The Utah Valley University wrestling team found itself on the wrong end of a 32-14 decision to Boise State on Saturday evening at BSU's Bronco Gym in Boise. The Pac-12 Broncos won seven of the 10 bouts on the night en route to earning the victory.
 
UVU drops to 1-2 on the season with the setback while BSU improves to 1-1 with the victory.
 
"We were flat tonight. Give credit to Boise State for being prepared and wrestling with energy and confidence. They (Boise State) deserved to win," said head UVU coach Greg Williams. "Hopefully our younger guys just learned a valuable lesson about the need to wrestle through situations, even when they don't feel as fresh in a match as they usually do."
 
BSU jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the dual meet after back-to-back victories from Carson Kuhn and Michael Cook, which included an opening-match fall from Kuhn. Utah Valley redshirt freshman Grant LaMont then got the Wolverines on the board with a hard fought 10-7 decision over BSU's Dakota Wall at 149 pounds to cut the deficit to 9-3, but the Broncos would go on to win the next five matches including two more by fall to pull out to a decisive 32-3 lead.
 
Utah Valley didn't give up from there, however, as junior Dustin Dennison stopped the drought by pinning BSU's Gabriel Gonzalez in just 1:09 seconds at heavyweight and redshirt sophomore Mitch Brown followed by capping the night with a 22-7 technical fall victory over BSU's Will Bardezbain at 125 pounds to make the final score 32-14.
 
Dennison and Brown paced the Wolverines on the night by winning their respective matches by bonus points, while LaMont pulled his out by decision.
 
With the setback, the Wolverines drop to 4-7 all-time versus Boise State and 0-5 in Boise.
 
Also on Saturday, nine Utah Valley grapplers took part at the Colorado Mesa Open in Grand Junction, Colorado. Seven of those nine Wolverines placed at the event led by unattached freshman Benjamin Andrew winning a title in the heavyweight bracket. Andrew went an unblemished 3-0 en route to winning his CMU Open title with two wins via fall and the other by major decision. Redshirt freshman 141-pounder Chase Call and unattached sophomore Kieffer Taylor (174) were next by each placing second at their respective weight class, while freshmen Austin Trapp (133) and Matt Findlay (141) each placed third. Unattached freshman Kyle Snelling also had a nice showing by placing fourth at 165 while fellow unattached freshman Heston Woolsey rounded out UVU's placers by taking fifth at 133.
 
UVU will look to return to its winning ways on Thursday, Dec. 15 when it welcomes fellow Pac-12 foe Oregon State to town for its 2016-17 home opener. The Wolverines and Beavers will open the Big 12 versus Pac-12 showdown at 7 p.m. at UVU's newly named Lockhart Arena (formerly the UVU PE Building).
 
Boise State 32, Utah Valley 14
133: Carson Kuhn (BSU) fall Jarod Maynes (UVU), 1:51
141: Michael Cook (BSU) dec. Trevor Willson (UVU), 4-2
149: Grant LaMont (UVU) dec. Dakota Wall (BSU), 10-7
157: Fred Green (BSU) fall Raider Lofthouse (UVU), 3:41
165: Demetrius Romero (BSU) tech. fall Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 20-5
174: Austin Dewey (BSU) dec. #20 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 3-1
184: Kadyn Del Toro (BSU) dec. Will Sumner (UVU), 3-2
197: Harley DiLulo (BSU) fall Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 4:56
285: Dustin Dennison (UVU) fall Gabriel Gonzalez (BSU), 1:09
125: Mitch Brown (UVU) tech. fall Will Bardezbain (BSU), 22-7 (5:37)
 
*Individual rankings taken from the latest FloWrestling poll.
 
Colorado Mesa Open Results for Utah Valley
133 - Austin Trapp (Unattached) – 2-1 – 3rd Place
Nodir Safarov (Unat.) fall Austin Trapp (UVU), 1:49
Austin Trapp (UVU) fall Heston Woolsey (UVU), 1:45
3rd Place Match - Austin Trapp (UVU) fall Michael McDanial (Colo. Mesa), 1:35
 
133 - Heston Woolsey (Unattached) – 2-2 – 5th Place
Heston Woolsey (UVU) fall Aaron Anguiano (Western St.), 4:41
Brett Kasprzyk (Colo. Mesa) fall Heston Woolsey (UVU), 2:36
Austin Trapp (UVU) fall Heston Woolsey (UVU), 1:45
5th Place Match - Heston Woolsey (UVU) fall Aaron Anguiano (Western St.), 1:58
 
141 - Chase Call – 3-1 – 2nd Place
Chase Call (UVU) fall Tim Edmonson (Western St.), 3:00
Chase Call (UVU) tech fall Randy Ridela (Colo. Mesa), 20-5
Chase Call (UVU) fall Marc Farina (Colo. Mesa) 5:26
1st Place Match - Daniel Salazar (Colo. Mesa) dec. Chase Call (UVU), 11-4
 
141 - Matt Findlay (Unattached) – 3-1 – 3rd Place
Matt Findlay (UVU) fall Riley Seward (Western St.), 1:00
Daniel Salazar (Colo. Mesa) dec. Matt Findlay (UVU), 7-5
Matt Findlay (UVU) fall Seth Rich (Western St.), 1:13
3rd Place Match - Matt Findlay (UVU) MD Marc Farina (Colo. Mesa), 14-5
 
165 - Michael Milliner (Unattached) – 0-2
Jessie Hoffschneider (Colo. Mesa) tech fall Michael Milliner (UVU), 16-1
Michael Thelen (Western St.) fall Michael Milliner (UVU), 3:00
 
165 - Dalton Harmon – 1-2
Dalton Harmon (UVU) fall Michael Thelen (Western St.), 1:13
Jason Buhr (Colo. Mesa) MD Dalton Harmon (UVU), 16-6
Kyle Snelling (UVU) forfeit Dalton Harmon (UVU)
 
165 - Kyle Snelling (Unattached) – 2-2 – 4th Place
Trace Carello (Air Force Prep) fall Kyle Snelling (UVU), 6:07
Kyle Snelling (UVU) forfeit Dalton Harmon (UVU)
Kyle Snelling (UVU) fall Wyatt Robinson (Adams St.), 1:18
3rd Place Match - Jason Buhr (Colo. Mesa) fall Kyle Snelling (UVU), 6:40
 
174 - Kieffer Taylor (Unattached) – 2-1 – 2nd Place
Kieffer Taylor (UVU) fall Ladd Bunker (Western St.), 0:39
Kieffer Taylor (UVU) fall Tyler Self (Western St.), 1:26
1st Place Match - Bruno Nicoletti (Colo. Mesa) dec. Kieffer Taylor (UVU), 3-0
 
285 - Benjamin Andrew (Unattached) – 3-0 – 1st Place
Benjamin Andrew (UVU) fall Sylvester Montgomery (Adams St.), 1:49
Benjamin Andrew (UVU) MD Clayton Voytilla (Colo. Mesa), 9-0
1st Place Match - Benjamin Andrew (UVU) fall Kyle Jennings (Colo. Mesa), 1:29