OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team dropped its inaugural Big 12 Conference dual meet to South Dakota State, 28-13, on Friday evening in the PE Building.
 
Despite the loss, seniors Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) and Jade Rauser (133) each recorded bonus-point victories for the Wolverines (3-7, 0-1 Big 12), while redshirt sophomore Dustin Dennison (heavyweight) added a win by decision as UVU won a total three of the 10 matches on the night.
 
"Basically half of our team competes every time. We have to get to the point where we have 10-out-of-10 performances and we did not do that tonight," head coach Greg Williams said. "South Dakota State is a good team and I give them credit, but we have to do a better job of competing throughout our lineup."
 
The three-time NCAA qualifier Rauser got the Wolverines off to a solid start by making quick work of SDSU's Brance Simms in the opening match of the contest. Following a first-period takedown, Rauser got on top of Simms and quickly pinned him (2:14) to give the Wolverines a 6-0 advantage. The pin was Rauser's second straight over Simms, as he previously defeated him by fall last season to win the 2015 NCAA West Regional title.
 
Following a pair of setbacks at 141 and 149 to give the Jackrabbits (11-5, 4-1 Big 12) their first lead of the night at 10-6, Utah Valley redshirt freshman Raider Lofthouse looked for the upset over seventh-ranked senior Cody Pack at 157. With the three-time NCAA qualifier Pack holding to an early 8-0 advantage over his UVU counterpart, Lofthouse made his move with a second-period escape and takedown to make it an 8-3 score. The Wolverine redshirt freshman then quickly picked up another two, thanks to his second takedown over Pack early in the third to cut the deficit to just four, at 9-5. Following a Pack injury timeout, the South Dakota State senior managed to hold on as he finished off the match with an escape and a riding time point to take the bout by decision (11-6).
 
With the Jacks later holding to a 16-6 advantage, Wolverine senior 174-pounder Ross Taylor found himself in a battle with SDSU's David Kocer. Each wrestler seemingly matched one another move-for-move, as the bout remained tied at 4-4 early in the final period. With the score later still deadlocked at 4-all, Kocer managed to score a late takedown to pull out the tightly contested contest by a score of 6-4 to give the Jackrabbits a 19-6 lead. 
 
With the match in hand for South Dakota State with just two matches remaining, the Wolverines didn't quit Dennison and Tolbert both walked away victorious. Dennison started the spurt with a 5-0 shutout over SDSU's Alex Macki and the 18th-ranked Tolbert finished the dual with a 13-5 major decision over Ben Gillette to cap the meet at 28-13.
 
Despite dropping the contest, UVU still holds an 8-3 all-time series advantage over South Dakota State.  
 
The Wolverines were also originally scheduled to host fellow Big 12 foe North Dakota State on Friday evening as well, but that contest was cancelled earlier in the day due to travel complications by NDSU. The Utah Valley vs. North Dakota State dual will not be made up.
 
UVU will now continue conference action on the road next week when it heads to the Front Range to face Air Force on Feb. 11, Northern Colorado Feb. 12 and Wyoming Feb. 13. The Wolverines will then close their regular-season on Feb. 20 when Grand Canyon comes to town for a non-conference contest.
 
South Dakota State 28, Utah Valley 13
133: Jade Rauser (UVU) over Brance Simms (SDSU), Fall 2:16
141: Seth Gross (SDSU) over Trevor Willson (UVU), MD 10-0
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) over Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), Fall 2:40
157: #7 Cody Pack (SDSU) over Raider Lofthouse (UVU), Dec. 11-5
165: Logan Peterson (SDSU) over Brayden Humpherys (UVU), Dec. 9-4
174: David Kocer (SDSU) over Ross Taylor (UVU), Dec. 6-4
184: Brady Ayers (SDSU) over Will Sumner (UVU), Dec. 9-4
197: #12 Nate Rotert (SDSU) over Aryton Almberg (UVU), Fall 1:14
285: Dustin Dennison (UVU) over Alex Macki (SDSU), Dec. 5-0
125: #18 Chasen Tolbert (UVU) over Ben Gillette (SDSU), MD 13-5
 
Official: Jimmy Chen
Attendance: 479