UTAH VALLEY AT FRESNO STATE
Friday, Jan. 19  |  8 p.m. MT/ 7 p.m. PT
Save Mart Center  |  Fresno, Calif.
Live Video (FloWrestling)  |  Live Results  |  UVU Notes  |  Fresno Notes

UTAH VALLEY AT CSU BAKERSFIELD
Saturday, Jan. 20  |  8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT
Icardo Center  |  Bakersfield, Calif.
Live Video - Instagram (@uvu_wrestling)  Live Results  |  UVU Notes  |  CSUB Notes
 

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UTAH VALLEY HITS ROAD FOR DUALS AT FRESNO STATE, CSU BAKERSFIELD
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team will return to the road this weekend for a pair of duals in the Golden State. UVU will first take on Big 12 foe Fresno State on Friday evening in Fresno, before capping the trip against CSU Bakersfield of the Pac-12 Conference on Saturday in Bakersfield.
 
Both duals are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT each day. Friday's will take place at Fresno State's Save Mart Center, while Saturday's will be held at CSUB's Icardo Center. Live video will be streamed for Friday's match at FloWrestling.org (for a fee), while live results will be available on both Friday and Saturday at TrackWrestling.com.
 
The Wolverines will enter the weekend with a 5-3 overall record and a 2-1 clip in Big 12 action after dropping a 31-10 contest to No. 15 South Dakota State at home last week. UVU won three of the 10 bouts in the dual, as sixth-ranked redshirt freshman Taylor LaMont (125 pounds), 16th-ranked sophomore Demetrius Romero (165) and senior heavyweight Dustin Dennison all picked up wins for the Wolverines.
 
LaMont held on late to record an 8-7 win over SDSU's Connor Brown, while Romero picked up a couple of late takedowns to secure an 11-3 major decision over Logan Peterson, and Dennison earned a 6-2 decision over heavyweight Alex Macki. Dennison improved to a team-best 23-6 on the year with the win, while LaMont and Romero both surpassed the 20-win plateau, as they are 20-2 and 20-4, respectively.
 
Following the South Dakota State dual, Utah Valley hosted the UVU Open last Saturday and three Wolverines won individual titles and a total of eight Utah Valley grapplers placed at the event. Jarod Maynes (133), Chase Call (141) and Will Sumner (184) all won titles at the tournament, while fellow Wolverines Josh Jensen (125), Dante Springsteen (174, unattached), Ashton Seely (197, unattached) and Benjamin Andrew (285) placed second, and unattached freshman Dre-Son Scruggs (149) took third.
 
A pair of Wolverines will enter the weekend currently ranked, as LaMont will enter ranked as high as sixth by TrackWrestling and Romero is ranked 16th by both InterMat and FloWrestling.
 
ABOUT FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs recently resurrected their wrestling program after an 11-year hiatus, as it was previously discontinued following the 2005-06 season. Fresno State is off to a 3-10 overall in 2017-18 and 0-3 in Big 12 duals. The Bulldogs hold wins over Bucknell, Cal Poly and San Francisco State on the year. Fresno State posted a 1-5 outing at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia, last week with a 37-9 win over Bucknell and losses to No. 17 Lock Haven (25-13), No. 19 Virginia (29-15), Iowa State (25-16), Oklahoma (27-8) and Kent State (27-15).
 
Former Wolverine Khristian Olivas leads Fresno State on the season, as he holds a 20-3 record at 149 pounds. Freshman heavyweight AJ Nevills is next with a 23-3 mark.
 
Friday's contest will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines on Bulldogs on the mat.
 
FRIDAY'S PROBABLE MATCHES
125: #6 Taylor LaMont (20-2, 7-0) vs. Sean Williams (5-11, 4-7)
133: Jarod Maynes (11-9, 2-3) OR Durbin Lloren (12-11, 3-5) vs. Trevor Williams (6-15, 3-10)
141: Matt Findlay (5-5, 1-1) OR Chase Call (8-7, 0-1) vs. Chris DeLoza (7-16, 1-12)
149: Grant LaMont (7-6, 1-3) OR Matthew Ontiveros (9-8, 2-2) vs. Khristian Olivas (20-3, 12-1)
157: Raider Lofthouse (1-7, 1-7) vs. Greg Gaxiola (12-10, 7-6)
165: #16 Demetrius Romero (20-4, 8-0) vs. Isaiah Hokit (13-11, 5-8)
174: Kimball Bastian (9-7, 2-2) vs. Dominic Kincaid (9-15, 2-11)
184: Gary Jantzer (15-10, 4-3) OR Will Sumner (15-7, 1-0) vs. Richie Brandt (6-10, 1-5)
197: Tanner Orndorff (15-9, 5-3) vs. Josh Hokit (4-3, 4-3)
285: Dustin Dennison (23-6, 5-1) OR Benjamin Andrew (11-7, 2-0) vs. AJ Nevills (23-3, 13-0)
 
ABOUT CSU BAKERSFIELD
The Roadrunners will enter the weekend with a 4-7 overall record and an 0-1 clip in Pac-12 duals. CSUB holds wins over Big 12 foes Fresno State (30-7) and Northern Colorado (22-12), as well as Bucknell (26-10) and Buffalo (22-14). After dropping a dual at No. 23 Wyoming on Jan. 12, Bakersfield trip last weekend by splitting two duals at Northern Colorado on Jan. 14 with a win over the Bears and a 25-17 setback to Duke.
 
A pair of 'Runners are currently ranked, as Colemand Hammond is ranked 13th at 157 pounds and Matt Williams is 14th at 197. Williams holds a team-best 23-5 overall record and an unblemished 11-0 mark in duals, while Hammond is 22-11 and 7-4.  
 
Saturday's matchup will mark the fifth all-time series between the Wolverines and 'Runners. UVU and CSUB are deadlocked at 2-2 all-time after Utah Valley recorded a 21-17 win over the Roadrunners in Orem last season.
 
SATURDAY'S PROBABLE MATCHES
125: #6 Taylor LaMont (20-2, 7-0) vs. Sergio Mendez (17-9, 7-3)
133: Jarod Maynes (11-9, 2-3) OR Durbin Lloren (12-11, 3-5) vs. Sean Nickell (15-9, 5-5)
141: Matt Findlay (5-5, 1-1) OR Chase Call (8-7, 0-1) vs. Russell Rohlfing (15-6, 8-3)
149: Grant LaMont (7-6, 1-3) OR Matthew Ontiveros (9-8, 2-2) vs. Kalani Tonge (7-16, 0-11)
157: Raider Lofthouse (1-7, 1-7) vs. #13 Coleman Hammond (22-11, 7-4)
165: #16 Demetrius Romero (20-4, 8-0) vs. Lorenzo De La Riva (10-8, 4-3) OR Jacob Thalin (7-7, 0-4)
174: Kimball Bastian (9-7, 2-2) vs. Bryan Battisto (9-13, 4-7)
184: Gary Jantzer (15-10, 4-3) OR Will Sumner (15-7, 1-0) vs. Dominic Ducharme (13-10, 5-6)
197: Tanner Orndorff (15-9, 5-3) vs. #14 Matt Williams (23-5, 11-0)
285: Dustin Dennison (23-6, 5-1) OR Benjamin Andrew (11-7, 2-0) vs. Mark Penyacsek (6-12, 1-4) OR Dominic Balmer (5-5, 0-1)
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following this weekend's contests, the Wolverines will return home for a Big 12 Conference dual against the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, Feb. 2. The dual meet is scheduled for a 7 p.m. MT start at UVU's Lockhart Arena, and will mark the first time that the Sooners will have come to town in program history.
 
FIRST NCAA COACHES' PANEL RANKINGS RELEASED
On Thursday, the NCAA released the first Coaches Panel Rankings and three Wolverines made the cut. LaMont debuts at seventh at 125, while Romero is ranked 16th at 165, and the 2017 NCAA qualifier Dennison comes in at 26th at heavyweight.