OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team debuted it 2021-22 roster for the first time on Friday night with the annual Green & Black Intrasquad Dual and Team Black went on to defeat Team Green by a score of 41-20.
Returning NCAA qualifier
Ty Smith (141 pounds), junior 149-pounder
Isaiah Delgado and second-year freshman
Kase Mauger (125) led the way by all winning two matches apiece. Two-time Big 12 champion and 2021-22 All-American
Demetrius Romero also recorded a win on the night, while a handful of other returning starters also picked up wins for the Wolverines.
"It was our first look of the season at what the guys are doing outside of the practice room. So, it was good to watch them go out and compete as well as see where they are at right now," head UVU coach
Greg Williams said. "We had our note cards out and we'll start working on Monday on some of the specific things that we want each of them to individually improve on.
"Overall, it was a fun night to watch, and you can tell that we have a number of competitive kids. We are at that point where we are trying to have at least two tough wrestlers at each weight and we're getting closer to that. We feel good about where we are at as well as the direction that we are headed in."
Team Black got off to a strong start on the night by winning five straight bouts to jump out to a 20-0 advantage. Freshman transfer and 27th-ranked
Haiden Drury (133), freshman
Yusief Lillie (125), 32nd-ranked Smith, freshman
Tyson Humpherys (141) and freshman
Jaxon Garoutte (149) all recorded wins during the spurt. The junior Delgado finally put a stop to it by winning the first of two matches on the night with a 9-3 decision over
Alex Emmer at 149 pounds.
Up a weight class this year, redshirt freshman
Kekana Fouret then followed with an 8-1 victory for Team Green at 174, before the eighth-ranked senior Romero picked up a hard fought 6-3 decision over second-year freshman
Danny Snediker at 165 pounds. Redshirt sophomore
Jacob Armstrong then followed with a 12-4 major decision over freshman
Jack Forbes at 184/197 for Team Black but transfer
Evan Bockman (197) then responded with a 4-1 decision over
Ashton Seely.
Sophomore
Cameron Haddock (157), Mauger (125), sophomore transfer
Kobe Nelms (133), second-year freshman
Tanner Lofthouse (165), freshman
Mahonri Rushton (197), redshirt sophomore heavyweight
Chase Trussell, redshirt freshman
James Emmer (149), Smith (133), Delgado (149), freshman
Alex Emmer (141), Mauger (125) and redshirt junior
Ashton Seely (197) then all followed with victories to cap the night.
With a pair of wins on the night, the freshman 125-pounder Mauger was the lone Wolverine to record two bonus-point victories, as he pinned
Will Edelblute (4:38) and also defeated Lille by technical fall (15-0). The 133-pound transfer Drury was the only other Wolverine to win a bout by fall, as he pinned
Kainalu Estrella in the first match of the evening.
The sixth-ranked returning All-American
Taylor LaMont (125) missed the night as he's currently traveling to Serbia to compete at the 2021 U23 World Championships next week. He along with fellow 2021-22 NCAA qualifier
Cameron Hunsaker (149) and redshirt sophomore transfer
Hunter Cruz (184) were the lone Wolverines to miss Friday's intrasquad scrimmage.
The Wolverines will officially open their 2021-22 season by taking part at the UNC Duals on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Greeley, Colorado. UVU will face a trio of non-Division I foes in Doane (9:30 a.m.), North Idaho (11 a.m.) and Northwest Kansas Tech (2 p.m.) before closing the day with a Big 12 dual against the host Northern Colorado Bears (4 p.m.).
FINAL RESULTS
Mat 1
125:
Yusief Lillie (BLK) DEC
Will Edelblute (GRN), 4-2 (SV-1)
141: #32
Ty Smith (BLK) MD
James Emmer (GRN), 12-3
149:
Jaxon Garoutte (BLK) MD
Sam Edelblute (GRN), 11-3
157/165: #8
Demetrius Romero (BLK) DEC
Danny Snediker (GRN), 6-3
197:
Evan Bockman (GRN) DEC
Ashton Seely (BLK), 4-1
^157:
Cameron Haddock (BLK) DEC
Brigg Hoopes (BLK), 8-2
133:
Kobe Nelms (BLK) DEC
Kainalu Estrella (GRN), 5-4
285:
Chase Trussell (BLK) DEC
Jayden Woodruff (GRN), 4-1
^141: #32
Ty Smith (BLK) DEC
Tyson Humpherys (BLK), 9-2
149:
Isaiah Delgado (GRN) DEC
Jaxon Garoutte (BLK), 3-2
^125:
Kase Mauger (GRN) FALL
Will Edelblute (GRN), 4:38
Mat 2
133: #27
Haiden Drury (BLK) FALL
Kainalu Estrella (GRN), 4:38
141:
Tyson Humpherys (BLK) DEC
Stockton O'Brien (GRN), 5-4
149:
Isaiah Delgado (GRN) DEC
Alex Emmer (BLK), 9-3
174:
Kekana Fouret (GRN) DEC
Hunter Morse (BLK), 8-1
184/197:
Jacob Armstrong (BLK) MD
Jack Forbes (GRN), 12-4
125:
Kase Mauger (GRN) TF
Yusief Lillie (BLK), 15-0 (6:28)
^165/174:
Tanner Lofthouse (GRN) MD
Merrell Morley (GRN), 8-0
197:
Mahonri Rushton (GRN) DEC
Levi Kovacs (BLK), 8-4
^141:
James Emmer (GRN) DEC
Stockton O'Brien (GRN), 7-5
149:
Alex Emmer (BLK) MD
Sam Edelblute (GRN), 8-0
197:
Ashton Seely (BLK) MD
Jack Forbes (GRN), 9-1
Officials Chas DeWitt, Steve Gottlieb
Attendance: 454
^ Denotes No Team Score