FARGO, N.D. – A shorthanded Utah Valley University wrestling squad found itself on the wrong end of a 47-3 decision to No. 25 North Dakota State in Big 12 Conference action on Friday night in Fargo, North Dakota.
 
The Wolverines were without the services of nine of their 10 starters on the night due to injury. 
 
UVU drops to 9-10 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 duals with the setback, while NDSU improves to 9-5 on the season and 4-3 in Big 12 action with the win.
 
"That was an embarrassing performance by our team. No excuses. It doesn't matter who we put out on the mat, they need to compete," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "We didn't do that at all tonight. I hold myself responsible. It's my job to have our guys ready to compete."
 
Freshman 141-pounder Dylan Gregerson was the lone Wolverine to record a victory in the contest, as he managed to pull out a hard fought 7-6 decision over NDSU's Sawyer Degen in the third bout of the night. Gregerson recorded a trio of takedowns and an escape, which included a clutch takedown in the final period to earn the win. 
 
The 25th-ranked Bison got off to a strong start in the dual, as eighth-ranked 125-pounder Brent Fleetwood started off the contest with a 19-1 technical fall victory over Wolverine senior Josh Jensen. Two-time NCAA qualifier and 16th-ranked Cam Sykora then followed with a second-period fall over UVU freshman Isaiah Delgado at 133 pounds to give the Bison an 11-0 lead. 
 
Gregerson, who was filling in for ninth-ranked sophomore 141-pounder Matt Findlay at 141 pounds in the contest, then recorded UVU's win via decision to make it 11-3 but No. 31 Jaden VanMaanen followed for NDSU with a first-period fall over Wolverine freshman Cameron Haddock extend North Dakota State's lead to 17-3. 
 
NDSU's Luke Weber and 20th-ranked Andrew Fogarty then upped North Dakota State's advantage to 25-3 with back-to-back major decisions over UVU's Spencer Heywood (157 pounds) and Koy Wilkinson (165). Lorenzo De La Riva then followed with a second-period fall over Utah Valley redshirt freshman Kyle Snelling to make it 31-3 and North Dakota State's Michael Otomo then earned six more team points with a win by forfeit to extend the lead to 37-3. 
 
A night removed from picking up a big third-period fall over 2018 NCAA qualifier Martin Mueller of South Dakota State, Wolverine redshirt freshman Ashton Seely then dropped a 13-4 major decision contest to NDSU's Cordell Eaton at 197 pounds and the Bison capped the dual with a win by fall from No. 32 Brandon Metz over ninth-ranked UVU heavyweight Tate Orndorff to end the night at 47-3. 
 
The Wolverines were without the services of No. 9 Findlay (141), No. 9 Demetrius Romero (165), No. 12 Kimball Bastian (174), No. 14 Tanner Orndorff (197), No. 26 Will Sumner (184), 2018 NCAA qualifier Taylor LaMont (125/133), senior Mitch Brown (133), senior Matthew Ontiveros (149) and junior Grant LaMont (157) all on the night. Of UVU's nine competitors against NDSU, seven were freshmen. 
 
Friday's contest marked UVU's second Big 12 road dual in as many nights, as the Wolverines dropped a tightly contested 26-16 contest to South Dakota State on Thursday in Brookings, South Dakota. 
 
Utah Valley will cap the busy Midwest Big 12 road trip on Sunday with a date at No. 14 Iowa State. The Wolverines and Cyclones will do battle that afternoon at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT at ISU's Hilton Coliseum and the contest will be streamed live on FloWrestling.org. Following the contest, the Wolverines will return home to host No. 11 Wyoming on Friday, Feb. 8 and No. 16 Northern Iowa for Senior Night on Saturday, Feb. 9. 
 
#25 North Dakota State 47, Utah Valley (RV) 3
125: #8 Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) TF Josh Jensen (UVU), 19-1 (4:51)
133: #16 Cam Sykora (NDSU) FALL Isaiah Delgado (UVU), 3:12
141: Dylan Gregerson (UVU) DEC Sawyer Degen (UVU), 7-6
149: #31 Jaden VanMaanen (NDSU) FALL Cameron Haddock (UVU), 1:58
157: Luke Weber (NDSU) MD Spencer Heywood (UVU), 14-2
165: #20 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) MD Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 18-5
174: Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) FALL Kyle Snelling (UVU), 3:44
184: Michael Otomo (NDSU) won by FORFEIT
197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) MD Ashton Seely (UVU), 13-4
285: #32 Brandon Metz (NDSU) FALL #9 Tate Orndorff (UVU), 1:03
 
Attendance: 383
Referee: Abram Ross
Scheels Center, Fargo, N.D.