TROY, N.Y. – The Utah Valley University wrestling team opened its 2019-20 dual slate by splitting a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday morning at the Journeymen/Defense Soap Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. UVU first won nine of the 10 bouts in a dominant 40-3 victory over Sacred Heart, before dropping a 30-12 contest to Purdue of the Big Ten Conference in the nightcap.
 
Sophomore heavyweight Tate Orndorff led the Wolverines (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) on the day by going a perfect 2-0 with a pair of falls, while senior 165-pounder Demetrius Romero and sophomore Isaiah Delgado (133 pounds) too each posted unblemished 2-0 outings. 
 
"In both matches our guys kept fighting throughout their matches. We are pleased with that. As our expectations grow with this program, we are not going to be happy with losses regardless of who we wrestle," head coach Greg Williams said. "Purdue wrestled tough and we obviously weren't good enough to compete well with them today. We saw a couple of areas we will be addressing, and we will get better."
 
In UVU's 40-3 victory over Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) foe Sacred Heart (1-1, 0-0 EIWA), the Wolverines reeled off an impressive nine-match winning streak that included six bonus-point victories. After an opening loss at 125, the sophomore Delgado (133 pounds) then started Utah Valley's winning ways with a 15-0 technical fall victory over SHU's Hunter Chin. Freshman Cameron Hunsaker (141) then followed that up with a first period fall over Gerald Daly (2:58) to give UVU an 11-3 advantage. Junior Landon Knutzen (149) then made it 14-3 with a hard fought 5-3 overtime victory over Nicholas Palumbo.
 
In his UVU debut, Wyoming transfer Jed Loveless then managed to record a 15-2 major decision victory over Tristen Calas at 157 pounds to extend Utah Valley's advantage to 18-3. Two-time NCAA qualifiers and seniors No. 7 Romero (165) and No. 11 Bastian then followed with respective wins by decision over Brandon Levesque (8-7) and Joe Accousti (9-3). Three-time NCAA qualifier and the 17th-ranked senior Tanner Orndorff then gave the Wolverines a 28-3 lead with a 12-4 win by major decision over Kyle Davis in his debut down a weight class at 184 pounds. Redshirt freshman Jayden Woodruff (197) and the sophomore Tate Orndorff (285) helped the Wolverines cap the strong performance with back-to-back respective falls over Robert Hetherman (1:57) and Connor Fredericks (2:16). 
 
Delgado, Hunsaker, Loveless, Tanner Orndorff, Woodruff and Tate Orndorff all won their respective matches by bonus points against the EIWA Pioneers. 
 
Then in a battle between a pair of teams who are currently receiving votes for the NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, the Boilermakers (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) managed to get some revenge on Saturday after UVU previously defeated Purdue by a score of 28-11 last season at the South Beach Duals. This time it was the Boilermakers that managed to win seven of the 10 matches en route to handing UVU the 30-12 setback.
 
Eleventh-ranked Devin Schroder got the Boilermakers off to a strong start with a 16-1 technical fall victory at 125 pounds, but UVU's Delgado quickly answered back with a 5-4 decision of his own over Marshall Craig to pull the Wolverines within two in the team score at 5-3. Purdue then managed to stretch its lead to 17-3 thanks to a trio of consecutive wins at 141, 149 and 157 pounds. 
 
Romero then put a stop to Purdue's winning streak with a hard earned 6-4 decision over No. 19 Emil Soehlen to pull the Wolverines within 17-6. The UVU senior recorded a pair of takedowns, as well as an escape and a riding time point en route to defeating the fellow ranked foe. 
 
In a battle at 174, overtime was needed to settle a brawl between 11th-ranked Bastian and No. 8 Dylan Lydy. Deadlocked at 1-1 after an escape apiece, Bastian then looked to be the aggressor in the opening sudden victory overtime period but failed to secure the winning takedown as the match headed to the tiebreakers. In the first tiebreaker period, Lydy managed to record a quick escape to take a 2-1 advantage. Bastian quickly responded with an escape of his own to tie the score at 2-2, but Lydy managed to earn a late takedown in the tiebreaker round to win by a score of 4-2. 
 
Thomas Penola then gave the Boilermakers a 30-6 lead with a win by fall over Woodruff at 197, but Tate Orndorff responded for the Wolverines by capping the dual with another first period fall over Purdue's David Eli (1:29). Leading 2-1 midway through the opening period, the Wolverine sophomore managed to secure Eli in a belly-to-belly suplex and quickly pin the Boilermaker to cap the dual at 30-12. 
 
Tate Orndorff's pair of falls on Saturday in New York come just days removed from competing for Team USA at the U23 World Greco-Roman Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 
 
The Wolverines will cap the trip by taking part in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday at Hudson Valley CC. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. MT/9 a.m. ET and will be streamed live on FloWrestling.org. 
 
JOURNEYMEN NORTHEAST DUALS RESULTS
Utah Valley (RV) 40, Sacred Heart 3
125: Kyle Randall (SHU) DEC Josiah Nava (UVU), 12-11
133: Isaiah Delgado (UVU) TF Hunter Chin (SHU), 15-0 (3:06)
141: Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) FALL Gerard Daly (SHU), 2:58
149: Landon Knutzen (UVU) DEC Nicholas Palumbo (SHU), 5-3 (SV-1)
157: Jed Loveless (UVU) MD Tristen Calas (SHU), 15-2
165: #7 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC Brandon Levesque (SHU), 8-7
174: #11 Kimball Bastian (UVU) DEC Joe Accousti (SHU), 9-3
184: #17 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) MD Kyle Davis (SHU), 12-4
197: Jayden Woodruff (UVU) FALL Robert Hetherman (SHU), 1:57
285: #10 Tate Orndorff (UVU) FALL Connor Fredericks (SHU), 2:16
 
Purdue (RV) 30, Utah Valley (RV) 12 
125: #11 Devin Schroder (Purdue) TF Josiah Nava (UVU), 16-1 (2:08)
133: Isaiah Delgado (UVU) DEC Marshall Craig (Purdue), 5-4
141: Parker Filius (Purdue) DEC Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 3-2
149: Nate Limmex (Purdue) FALL Landon Knutzen (UVU), 6:34
157: #6 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) DEC Jed Loveless (UVU), 7-3
165: #7 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC #19 Emil Soehnlen (Purdue), 6-4
174: #8 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) DEC #11 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 4-2 (TB-1)
184: #18 Max Lyon (Purdue) MD #17 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 12-2
197: Thomas Penola (Purdue) FALL Jayden Woodruff (UVU), 4:52
285: #10 Tate Orndorff (UVU) FALL David Eli (Purdue), 1:29

*Individual rankings listed are the highest rankings from the latest InterMat, FloWrestling, TrackWrestling and The Open Mat polls.