MADISON, Wisc. – In a thrilling dual meet that came down to an overtime decision in the final match of the afternoon, the 21st-ranked Utah Valley University wrestling team found itself on the wrong end of a hard fought 22-17 contest to No. 17 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at UW Field House in Madison.
 
With UVU trailing by just two points following a big 6-1 decision from Will Sumner at 184 pounds and a clutch 21-4 technical fall from two-time NCAA qualifier and 23rd-ranked 197-pounder Tanner Orndorff, the Big 12 Wolverines (5-2) found themselves trailing the Big Ten Badgers (6-0) by just two points entering the final bout of the afternoon. 
 
UVU redshirt freshman and 11th-ranked heavyweight Tate Orndorff then got off to a strong start against No. 17 Trent Hillger in the final match of the dual by erupting out to a quick 6-0 lead following a big throw and a four-point nearfall. After nearly getting pinned, the ranked Badger then bounced back by slowly pecking away at the deficit and with a late escape, takedown and riding time point managed to send the bout to overtime. In the first sudden victory period, Orndorff then looked to score a takedown on his fellow nationally ranked opponent, but Hillger managed to score the decisive two with a takedown of his own to seal the match and the dual for the Badgers. 
 
Overall, Utah Valley won four of the 10 bouts on the contest and sophomore 141-pounder Matt Findlay managed to record UVU's biggest win of the day by topping No. 13 Tristan Moran. 
 
"It was great match. There were a number of wonderful battles, but unfortunately we couldn't pull out the one-point decisions and overtime ones that we needed," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "We are disappointed to lose this one. We had our opportunities, but overall I was proud of our fight. We just need to find a way to finish our matches."
 
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the contest, as 125-pounder Josh Jensen claimed the opening bout by forfeit and 141-pound sophomore Findlay stayed undefeated on the season with a upset win over No. 13 Moran. At 133 pounds, Mitch Brown too nearly knocked off his opponent as Wisconsin's Jens Lantz needed overtime to pull out a hard fought 7-5 sudden-victory decision over the Wolverine senior. 
 
In Findlay's 10-5 victory over No. 13 Moran, the Wolverine sophomore recorded a total of four takedowns and a reversal en route to knocking off his second top-15 opponent of the season. Findlay is now a perfect 6-0 on the season and 4-0 on the weekend after going 3-0 at the NIU Huskie Duals on Saturday. He also holds an earlier season victory over returning All-American and sixth-ranked Chad Red of Nebraska. 
 
The Big Ten Badgers then responded with four consecutive victories to take a 19-9 advantage in the team score. No. 20 Cole Martin started the streak for UW with a second-period fall over Matthew Ontiveros at 149 pounds and fellow 20th-ranked Zander Wick followed by managing to edge UVU's 21st-ranked Grant LaMont at 157 pounds, 12-11. With the clock winding down in the final stanza at 157 pounds, LaMont looked very close to earning a go-ahead reversal but Wick managed to fight it off and hold on to win the tightly contested 157-pound bout. 
 
At 165, 14th-ranked Demetrius Romero then dropped a 12-2 major decision to 2018 All-American and second-ranked Evan Wick and No. 19 Ryan Christensen managed to hold on late to claim a 3-1 decision victory over fellow 14th-ranked Wolverine Kimball Bastian to give Wisconsin a 19-9 lead in the team score. Christensen was awarded a couple of controversial stall-call points in the contest on his way to picking up the win over Bastian. 
 
Holding to a 1-0 advantage in the final period, senior 184-pounder Sumner managed to lock up a cradle on Mason Reinhardt and secure a four-point nearfall to extend his advantage to 5-0. Reinhardt later recorded a penalty point, but Sumner held on to defeat Reinhardt, 6-1, to make it a 19-12 team score.
 
Two-time UVU NCAA qualifier and 23rd-ranked Tanner Orndorff then followed at 197 pounds by recording a huge 21-4 technical fall victory over Andrew Selemme to pull the Wolverines to within a pair of points in the team score at 19-17. Tanner Orndorff racked up six takedowns and a total of eight nearfall points on his way to giving the Wolverines a chance with a tech fall victory. His younger brother No. 11 Tate Orndorff then followed by jumping out to the early lead, but in the end No. 17 Hillger managed to record the 9-7 come-from-behind win in sudden victory. 
 
"It was a great win for Matt Findlay. He now has two top-13 wins so hopefully people will begin to recognize just how good he is," Williams added. "I also thought that Will Sumner wrestled very well against a solid kid. He's progressed so much as of late and really wrestling well for us. We also really needed those points from Tanner, and we're very pleased that he was able to go out and do exactly what we wanted him to do to give us a chance to win the dual."  
 
The contest comes on the heels of a 3-0 outing by the Wolverines at the NIU Huskie Duals on Saturday with wins over Clarion, Northern Illinois and Harper College. It is also UVU's third dual meet of the season against a Big Ten foe, as it previously knocked off then-No. 15 Rutgers as well as dropped a tight contest to No. 12 Nebraska. 
 
With a 5-2 record on the season, UVU has matched its best start in program history that it previously set during the 2009-10 campaign. 
 
The Wolverines will now return to Orem to prepare for the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational that will run Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 in Las Vegas. A season ago, Taylor LaMont won his weight class at the prestigious tournament by going a perfect 6-0 at 125 pounds. UVU will then return to dual action in late December with four tough matches at the South Beach Duals in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 
 
FINAL RESULTS
#17 Wisconsin 22, #21 Utah Valley 17
125 - Josh Jensen (UVU) wins by FORFEIT
133 - Jens Lantz (WISC) DEC Mitch Brown (UVU), 7-5 {SV-1}
141 - Matt Findlay (UVU) DEC #13 Tristan Moran (WISC), 10-5
149 - #20 Cole Martin (WISC) FALL Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), 4:07
157 - #20 Zander Wick (WISC) DEC #21 Grant LaMont (UVU), 12-11
165 - #2 Evan Wick (WISC) MD #14 Demetrius Romero (UVU), 12-2
174 - #19 Ryan Christensen (WISC) DEC #14 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 3-1
184 - Will Sumner (UVU) DEC Mason Reinhardt (WISC), 6-1
197 - #23 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) TF Andrew Selemme (WISC), 21-4 {6:07}
285 - #17 Trent Hillger (WISC) DEC #11 Tate Orndorff (UVU), 9-7 {SV-1}