CSU BAKERSFIELD vs. WEST VIRGINIA
Friday, Jan. 25  |  3 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena  |  Orem, Utah
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  First Coaches Panel Ranking (PDF)

UTAH VALLEY (RV) vs. CSU BAKERSFIELD
Friday, Jan. 25  |  5 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena  |  Orem, Utah
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Results  |  UVU Notes  |  CSUB Notes  |  Tickets

UTAH VALLEY (RV) vs. WEST VIRGINIA
Friday, Jan. 25  |  7 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena  |  Orem, Utah
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Results  |  UVU Notes  |  WVU Notes  |  Tickets
 

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OREM, Utah – Fresh off of crowning individual five champions at the UVU Open last weekend, the Utah Valley University wrestling team will continue its home slate by welcoming Pac-12 foe CSU Bakersfield and Big 12 foe West Virginia to town for a tri dual on Friday (Jan. 25) at Lockhart Arena. 
 
Friday's action will get underway with a neutral-site match between CSUB and WVU that afternoon at 3 p.m. The Wolverines will then host the Pac-12 Roadrunners that evening at 5 p.m., before closing the day with a 7 p.m. showdown against the Big 12 Mountaineers at 7 p.m.
 
Friday's opener will be streamed live on GoUVU.com/watch, while both the UVU vs. CSUB and the Utah Valley vs. West Virginia contests will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network as well as the KSL Sports app. Live results will also be available for all three dual meets by visiting TrackWrestling.com. For ticket information, visit GoUVU.com/tickets.
 
The Wolverines, who dropped out of the NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll earlier this week, will enter Friday's contests with an 8-7 overall record and a 0-1 start in Big 12 Conference action after splitting a pair of home duals to Western Wyoming and conference foe Fresno State on Jan. 18. After defeating the Mustangs by a score of 33-9 after winning eight of the 10 bouts including four by bonus points, the then-No. 23 Wolverines dropped a 26-10 contest to Freson State in UVU's Big 12 opener. Trailing the Bulldogs 18-11 with two matches to go, two-time Utah Valley NCAA qualifier Tanner Orndorff ended up getting pinned late in a tightly contested match against No. 16 Josh Hokit at 197 pounds to seal the victory for the Bulldogs. Fresno State then finished the night with a 5-1 decision from No. 21 AJ Nevills over No. 10 Tate Orndorff to give the Bulldogs the 26-10 victory after both teams had one team point deducted due to unsportsmanlike conduct. 
 
Matt Findlay (141), Demetrius Romero (165) and Will Sumner (184) all pulled out wins for UVU in the Fresno dual, and Sumner led the way on the day by going a perfect 2-0. 
 
Then in last Saturday's UVU Open tournament, the Wolverines won five individual weight classes and had 13 out of its 14 competitors earn podium finishes on the day. Freshmen Dylan Gregerson (133) and Cameron Haddock (149), redshirt sophomore Koy Wilkinson (165), as well as unattached freshmen Will Edelblute (125) and Jayden Woodruff (197) all won titles on the day for the Wolverines, while redshirt freshman Spencer Heywood (157) and unattached freshmen Josiah Nava (125) and Chase Trussell (285) both placed second, redshirt freshman Ashton Seely (197) and sophomore Benjamin Andrew (285) took third, and unattached freshmen Kainalu Estrella (133), Josh Tolentino (141) and Jerry Rubio (157) each took fourth. 
 
RANKED WOLVERINES 
Utah Valley will enter the weekend with six grapplers currently nationally ranked on the first Coaches Panel Rankings that were announced on Thursday. Two of the six are in the top-10 in Findlay (141) and Tate Orndorff (285) as they both find themselves currently ranked No. 9 in their respective weight class. Romero is next by coming in at No. 11 at 165, while junior 174-pounder Kimball Bastian -- who has been sidelined with an injury for the last couple of weeks -- is No. 12, two-time UVU NCAA qualifier Tanner Orndorff is currently No. 14 at 197 and senior Sumner is 26th at 184. Romero leads UVU on the year with an 18-2 overall record while Tate Orndorff is 16-4 and Findlay is 13-1.
 
WELCOME TO THE TOP 25
UVU is currently receiving votes and just outside of the top 25 on this week's NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. After spending the last 10 weeks inside the top 25 and holding down spots 21-23, Utah Valley will now look to make its way back into the poll as it is currently holding 15 votes on the most recent poll.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
CSU Bakersfield of the Pac-12 Conference will enter the weekend with a 4-5 overall record and 1-1 clip in Pac-12 action. The Roadrunners most recently dropped a tightly contested 17-16 contest to Big 12 foe Northern Colorado over the weekend and hold their wins on the season over Cal Poly, Kent State, San Francisco State and Life Pacific. CSUB has dropped duals to No. 3 Iowa, No. 18 Wisconsin, Pittsburgh and Oregon State. 
 
A trio of 'Runners will enter the weekend currently nationally ranked in the first Coaches Panel Rankings in No. 17 Russell Rohlfing (149), No. 23 Sean Nickell (133) and No. 31 Dominic Ducharme (184). Both Rohlfing and Nickell are returning NCAA qualifiers for the Roadrunners and Nickell leads the way this season with a 15-7 record while Rohlfing is 13-6 and Ducharme is 15-10.  
 
Friday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between UVU and CSUB. Utah Valley will enter the contest with a 3-2 series advantage after pulling out a 20-15 victory in Bakersfield a season ago (Jan. 20, 2018) and a 21-17 win in Orem two years ago (Jan. 19, 2017).
 
West Virginia will come to Orem with a 2-11 overall record and a 2-4 Big 12 Conference clip. WVU holds its two wins on the year over conference foes No. 20 North Dakota State and Northern Colorado. The Mountaineers have also suffered setbacks to No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Cornell, No. 9 NC State, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Northern Iowa, No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 24 Pitt, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Virginia during a challenging 2018-19 schedule. 
 
The Mountaineers will come to town with five grapplers currently ranked in No. 14 Matthew Schmitt (133), No. 18 Nick Kiussis (165), No. 20 Christian Monserrat (149), No. 32 Noah Adams (197) and No. 32 Brandon Ngati (285). Schmitt leads the way with a 11-2 season record, while Kiussis is 16-5 and Monserrat is 15-5. Schmitt is the lone returning NCAA qualifier this season for WVU.  
 
Friday's nightcap against WVU will mark just the second all-time meeting between the Wolverines and the Mountaineers and the first in Orem. A season ago (Nov. 3, 2017), UVU managed to pull out a 24-9 victory over West Virginia in Clarion, Pa. 
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following the Friday's duals, Utah Valley will hit the road next week for a busy stretch of Big 12 duals at South Dakota State, North Dakota State and No. 15 Iowa State. The Wolverines will first head to Brookings to take on SDSU on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, before heading to Fargo to take on NDSU on Friday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, and concluding the trip in Ames at Iowa State on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT. 
 
UTAH VALLEY'S PROBABLE LINEUP 
125 – Josh Jensen, Sr. (7-11, 6-9 duals)
133 – Dylan Gregerson, Fr. (4-3, 1-1) OR Isaiah Delgado, Fr. (6-8, 2-4)
141 – #9 Matt Findlay, RSo. (13-1, 12-1)
149 – Landon Knutzen, RSo. (9-10, 3-5) OR Cameron Haddock, Fr. (10-5, 0-1)
157 – Spencer Heywood, RFr. (4-11, 0-2)
165 – #11 Demetrius Romero, RJr. (18-2, 11-1) OR Koy Wilkinson, RSo. (11-4, 2-2)
174 – #12 Kimball Bastian, RJr. (10-7, 5-4) OR Kyle Snelling, RFr. (3-4, 1-2)
184 – #26 Will Sumner, RSr. (14-6, 9-3)
197 – Ashton Seely, RFr. (9-9, 3-1) OR #14 Tanner Orndorff, RJr. (11-9, 7-5)  
285 – #9 Tate Orndorff, RFr. (16-4, 9-2) OR Benjamin Andrew, RSo. (10-5, 2-0)
 
CSU BAKERSFIELD'S PROBABLE LINEUP
125 – Eddie Flores, Fr. (3-5)
133 – #23 Sean Nickell, RSr. (15-7)
141 – Carlos Herrera, RJr. (7-12), OR Noah Blakley-Beanes, RJr. (9-5)
149 – #17 Russell Rohlfing, RJr. (13-6)
157 – Wyatt Gerl, Jr. (6-11) OR Josh Annis, RJr. (5-6)
165 – Jacob Thalin, RJr. (10-10)
174 – Bryan Battisto, RSr. (5-8) OR Reed South, Sr. (11-5)
184 – #31 Dominic Ducharme, RSo. (15-10)
197 – Mark Penyacsek, RJr. (8-10)
285 – Jarrod Snyder, RSo. (8-7) OR Josh Loomer, RFr. (5-11) 
 
WEST VIRGINIA'S PROBABLE LINEUP
125 – Joey Thomas, RFr. (11-12)
133 – #14 Matthew Schmitt, RSo. (11-2)
141 – Caleb Rea, Fr. (13-7) OR Luke Martin, Fr. (8-9)
149 – #20  Christian Monserrat, RSr. (15-5)
157 – Zachary Moore, RJr. (9-11) OR Hunter Jones, RSo. (9-9)
165 – #18 Nick Kiussis, So. (16-5)
174 – James Wujek, Fr. (1-9)
184 – Jackson Moomau, Fr. (3-12)
197 – #32 Noah Adams, RFr. (10-10)
285 – #32 Brandon Ngati, Jr. (9-8)