OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team found itself on the wrong end of a 27-6 contest to Big 12 rival and 13th-ranked Wyoming on Friday night Lockhart Arena. 
 
The Wolverines (9-12, 0-6 Big 12) won just two of the 10 bouts on the night with wins from 14th-ranked junior Tanner Orndorff (197 pounds) and sophomore Landon Knutzen (149), while the Cowboys (14-4, 4-2 Big 12) picked up the other eight individual victories. 
 
UVU was without the services of a pair of ranked grapplers in the dual in 10th-ranked sophomore Matt Findlay (141) and 17th-ranked redshirt freshman Tate Orndorff while the Pokes had seven ranked grapplers in their lineup on the night. 
 
"I thought that our guys competed well. I would have liked to have seen some of our top guys finish out their matches a little stronger, but as a whole I thought that our team wrestled tough," UVU associate head coach Ethen Lofthouse said. "A number of our guys that don't usually get to see the spotlight as much are really improving, and I was pleased with how they wrestled despite the result." 
 
With the contest opening up at 184 pounds, Wyoming got off to a quick start with a 9-3 victory from No. 19 Tate Samuelson over UVU senior and 26th-ranked Will Sumner to give the Pokes an early 3-0 lead. The Wolverines quickly struck back, however, with a big 8-2 decision from two-time NCAA qualifier and 14th-ranked junior Tanner Orndorff over No. 20 Cale Davidson to deadlock the team score at 3-3. With Tanner Orndorff back in the lineup for UVU the first time since Jan. 18, the Wolverine junior was the aggressor of the match as he recorded a trio of takedowns, a stall point and an additional riding time point on his way to earning the victory over the fellow ranked foe.
 
With Tanner's brother and 17th-ranked Tate Orndorff sidelined due to sickness for the Wolverines on the night, No. 21 Brian Andrews then responded for Wyoming with a 14-2 major decision over UVU sophomore heavyweight Benjamin Andrew to give the Cowboys a 7-3 advantage. Wyoming then followed with a hard earned 6-3 decision from Doyle Trout over Wolverine senior Josh Jensen at 125 pounds to extend UW's lead to 10-3. With Trout holding to a slim 4-3 advantage late in the third period, Jensen looked for the go-ahead takedown but Trout managed to turn a Jensen shot into a late takedown of his own to seal the 125-pound bout. 
 
The Cowboys then upped their lead to 13-3 with their third straight win thanks to a 13-7 decision from returning All-American and 10th-ranked Montorie Bridges at 133 pounds. UVU freshman Isaiah Delgado wrestled the Wyoming standout tough, however, in the 133-pound bout by registering a pair of takedowns and a trio of escapes over the 2018 All-American. Then with 10th-ranked Wolverine sophomore Findlay out of the lineup due to injury, the Pokes then made it 18-3 with a 15-0 technical fall victory from No. 12 Sam Turner over UVU freshman Dylan Gregerson at 141 pounds.
 
The Wolverines then put an end to a four-match Wyoming winning streak with a thrilling 8-6 overtime victory from sophomore Knutzen over Jaron Jensen at 149 pounds. With Knutzen trailing 6-2 midway through the third period, the UVU sophomore a point for stalling to make it 6-3. Knutzen then managed to record a late takedown to make it 6-5 and followed with another penalty point via a stall call with just seconds left to send it to overtime. In the first sudden victory period, Knutzen then managed to get in on a single-leg and converted it into the winning takedown just 20 seconds in to record the 8-6 win and pull the Wolverines within 18-6 on the scoreboard. 
 
At 157 pounds, Wyoming then again responded with an 8-3 decision victory by Jed Loveless over UVU redshirt freshman Spencer Heywood to give the Pokes a 21-6 lead with just two matches to go. 
 
In a highlight match of the night between a pair of top-10 ranked grapplers and returning NCAA qualifiers, Wyoming's eighth-ranked Branson Ashworth managed to pull out a 6-1 decision over ninth-ranked UVU junior Demetrius Romero. The two-time UW NCAA qualifier and Spanish Fork, Utah, native built a 5-0 advantage and went on to take the bout over the 2018 UVU NCAA qualifier by a score of 6-1. 
 
In the final bout of the contest, 13th-ranked Wolverine junior Kimball Bastian found himself holding to a 5-3 third-period lead over #24 Hayden Hastings at 174 pounds. Hastings managed to rally, however, with a pair of late takedowns to upend the UVU 2018 NCAA qualifier in the tightly contested bout by a score of 7-6.
 
The Wolverines had a season-high 1,345 fans in attendance on the night to witness the showdown. 
 
The Wolverines will remain home to host No. 17 Northern Iowa in another Big 12 dual meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. The contest will mark Senior Night for Utah Valley, as it will be UVU's final home match of the 2018-19 season. Following the contest, the Wolverines will finish their regular season with duals at Northern Colorado and Air Force next weekend. 
 
#13 Wyoming 27, Utah Valley 6
184: #19 Tate Samuelson (WYO) DEC #26 Will Sumner (UVU), 9-3
197: #14 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) DEC #20 Cale Davidson (WYO), 8-2
285: #21 Brian Andrews (WYO) MD Benjamin Andrew (UVU), 14-2
125: Doyle Trout (WYO) DEC Josh Jensen (UVU), 6-3
133: #10 Montorie Bridges (WYO) DEC Isaiah Delgado (UVU), 13-7
141: #12 Sam Turner (WYO) TF Dylan Gregerson (UVU), 15-0 (3:04)
149: Landon Knutzen (UVU) DEC Jaron Jensen (WYO), 8-6 (SV-1)
157: Jed Loveless (WYO) DEC Spencer Heywood (UVU), 8-3
165: #8 Branson Ashworth (WYO) DEC #9 Demetrius Romero (UVU), 6-1
174: #24 Hayden Hastings (WYO) DEC #13 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 7-6
 
Official: Josh Briscoe
Attendance: 1345
Orem, Utah - Lockhart Arena