OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team will open a three-match homestand by hosting Air Force on Thursday, Jan. 30 and North Dakota State on Monday, Feb. 3. 
 
Both Big 12 Conference dual meets will begin at 7 p.m. MT and will be contested at Lockhart Arena. The duals will also be streamed live on both the WAC Digital Network as well as FloWrestling. Live results will be available for both matches by visiting TrackWrestling.com. For ticket information, visit GoUVU.com/tickets.
 
The Wolverines will enter Thursday's contest with a 1-8 overall record and a 0-5 Big 12 Conference clip, but currently ranked 25th by WIN Magazine and 26th by TrackWrestling. 
 
UVU dropped a pair of dual meets last week by finding itself on the wrong side of a tightly contested 25-19 match to No. 22 Stanford at home on Jan. 24, before falling to Wyoming 37-9 at Green River High School in Green River, Wyoming, on Jan. 26. 
 
In the Stanford dual, the contest came down the final match between three-time UVU NCAA qualifier and 19th-ranked Tanner Orndorff and two-time Stanford NCAA qualifier and fifth-ranked Nathan Traxler. Traxler jumped out to an early lead, but Orndorff put together a strong third period to make things interesting. Trailing 7-1 in the third, Orndorff made his move with an escape and a trio of takedowns but in the end the Wolverine senior ran out of time to complete the comeback as he ended up falling by a score of 10-8 and Stanford went on to claim the dual.
 
In all, the Wolverines and Cardinal split five matches apiece but Stanford managed to win four of its five bouts by bonus points on its way to pulling out the contest. Taylor LaMont (133 pounds), Cameron Hunsaker (149), Kimball Bastian (174), Jacob Armstrong (184), and Chase Trussell (heavyweight) all recorded wins for UVU against the Cardinal. 
 
On Sunday against the Cowboys, both LaMont and Bastian had big wins for Utah Valley. The 19th-ranked 133-pound junior LaMont had a statement win by locking sixth-ranked Montorie Bridges in a headlock and pinning him in just 1:05 en route to recording the upset victory, while ninth-ranked senior 174-pounder Bastian picked up UVU's other victory on the day by outlasting No. 10 Hayden Hastings in overtime. 
 
LAMONT NAMED BIG 12 WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
LaMont was named the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday after going a perfect 2-0 last week which included his upset win over sixth-ranked Bridges of Wyoming. The weekly conference honor marked the first of the season for LaMont and the second of the year for UVU, as Tate Orndorff previously earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors in November. 
 
FOUR WOLVERINES RANKED
A total of four UVU grapplers will enter the week currently nationally ranked and sophomore heavyweight Tate Orndorff leads the way by being ranked as high as fourth in the nation at heavyweight. The two-time NCAA qualifier Bastian follows by being ranked ninth at 174, while LaMont is now ranked 14th at 133, and senior Tanner Orndorff is 20th at 197. Tate Orndorff also leads the way in wins on the season by holding a 12-2 record, while LaMont is 9-5, Bastian is 9-6, and Tanner Orndorff is 8-8. All four are slated to compete for UVU against both AFA and NDSU.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Air Force will come to Orem with a 2-3 season record and a 0-2 mark in Big 12 competition. AFA is currently ranked 48th on the latest WIN Magazine poll. The Falcons most recently took second at the All Academy Championships last weekend. Dylan Martinez (149), Trey Brisker (157), and Randy Meneweather (165) all won titles for the Academy. Air Force holds its dual wins on the year over Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo, and has suffered setbacks Wyoming, No. 18 Northern Iowa, and Hofstra. 
 
A pair of Falcons are currently nationally ranked with 125-pounder Sidney Flores checking in a No. 14 and Meneweather being ranked 24th at 165. Flores holds a 14-5 record, while Meneweather is 20-5. With just one NCAA qualifier a season ago, Air Force doesn't have any returning NCAA qualifiers on its 2019-20 roster. 
 
Thursday's contest will mark the 17th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and the Falcons. The series is deadlocked at 8-8, but AFA has won the last two meetings which includes a 25-17 victory in Colorado last season. In Orem, UVU is 5-1 against Air Force with its lone loss coming during the 2006-07 season. 
 
NDSU will enter the weekend with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 Big 12 clip. North Dakota State is currently ranked 29th by WIN Magazine and 37th by TrackWrestling. The Bison will first head to Greeley to take on Northern Colorado on Saturday, before coming to Orem to face the Wolverines on Monday. NDSU defeated Oklahoma in Fargo, 24-15, in its most recent dual on Jan. 24. The Bison have also recorded wins over CSU Bakersfield, Indiana, and Augustana on the season.
 
North Dakota State currently has six ranked wrestlers with three-time NCAA qualifiers Cam Sykora (133) and Andrew Fogarty (165) leading the way by being ranked seventh and 10th, respectively. Jared Franek is next by being ranked 15th at 157, while Brandon Metz is 20th at heavyweight, and both Lorenzo De La Riva (174) and Cordell Eaton (197) are both 33rd. Metz leads the way in wins with a 17-5 record, while Franek is 17-6, Fogarty is 13-2, and Sykora is 8-3. The Bison have a trio of returning NCAA qualifiers on the squad this season in Sykora, Fogarty, and De La Riva. 
 
Monday's dual will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Bison. NDSU will enter the contest holding to a 10-3 series advantage, which includes a 47-3 victory in Fargo last season. UVU has won two of the last three meetings, however, by pulling out a 26-13 win at home in 2017-18 and a 22-16 victory in Fargo in 2016-17. 
 
OUT FOR THE SEASON
Returning NCAA qualifiers Matt Findlay (149) and Demetrius Romero (165) will both be sidelined for UVU in 2019-20 with injuries. Both Findlay and Romero advanced to the Round of 12 at the 2019 NCAA Championships en route to each finishing just one-win shy of becoming All-Americans. Findlay went 17-4 in 2018-19, while Romero went 28-5. Romero also became UVU's first Big 12 Conference champion in program history a season ago, while Findlay earned the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 Award after holding the highest GPA of any competing student-athlete at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships. 
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following the pair of duals, UVU will close its homestand and its home season by hosting Northern Colorado on Friday, Feb. 14. The contest will mark Senior Night for Utah Valley and will begin at 7 p.m. MT at UVU's Lockhart Arean.   
 
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Utah Valley (1-8, 0-5 Big 12)
125: Will Edelblute, RFr. (7-11 overall, 1-5 duals) OR Josiah Nava, RFr. (1-9, 0-3)
133: #14 Taylor LaMont, RJr. (9-5, 5-2)
141: Isaiah Delgado, So. (7-6, 2-2)
149: Cameron Hunsaker, Fr. (6-11, 2-7)
157: Jerry Rubio, RFr. (5-13, 0-5) OR Spencer Heywood, RSo. (2-4, 0-0)
165: Koy Wilkinson, RJr. (6-11, 0-5)
174: #9 Kimball Bastian, RSr. (9-6, 5-1)
184: Ashton Seely, RSo. (2-8, 0-2)
197: #20 Tanner Orndorff, RSr. (8-8, 5-4) OR Jayden Woodruff, RFr. (8-5, 1-1)
285: #4 Tate Orndorff, RSo. (12-2, 5-1) OR Chase Trussell, RFr. (8-3, 1-2)
 
Air Force (2-3, 0-2 Big 12)
125: #14 Sidney Flores, So. (14-5, 3-0) OR Graham Shore, Fr. (13-9, 1-1)
133: Jared Van Vleet, So. (14-11, 2-3)
141: Lenny Petersen, Jr. (18-5, 1-0)
149: Dylan Martinez, Fr. (12-12, 1-4) OR Garrett O'Shea, Sr. (2-5, 1-0)
157: Trey Brisker, So. (15-10, 3-2)
165: #24 Randy Meneweather, Sr. (20-5, 4-1)
174: Cody Surratt, Jr. (18-9, 0-2) OR Tyler Wiederholt, Sr. (14-6, 2-0)
184: Jake Thompson, So. (14-8, 3-2)
197: Casey Jumps, Jr. (9-10, 3-2)
285: Kayne Hutchison, So. (14-9, 3-2)
 
North Dakota State (4-3, 1-1 Big 12)
125: McGwire Midkiff, RSo. (7-3, 2-1)
133: #7 Cam Sykora, RSr. (8-3, 4-2)
141: Sawyer Degen, RSo. (9-7, 3-2) OR Dylan Droegemueller, RFr. (9-5, 1-1)
149: Jaden Van Maanen, RSo. (8-10, 2-5)
157: #15 Jared Franek, RFr. (17-6, 5-2) OR Luke Weber, RJr. (12-7, 1-0)
165: #10 Andrew Fogarty, RSr. (13-2, 6-0) OR Austin Brenner, RFr. (8-5, 0-1)
174: #33 Lorenzo De La Riva, RSr. (3-7, 1-3)
184: Noah Cressell, RFr. (8-6, 2-2) OR TJ Pottinger, RFr. (7-8, 1-2)
197: #33 Cordell Eaton, RSr. (7-7, 1-5)
285: #20 Brandon Metz, RSo. (17-5) OR Dan Stibral, RSr. (9-5, 1-0)