OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team will first send a contingent of grapplers to Reno, Nevada on Sunday to take part at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Following Sunday's tournament, UVU will return home to welcome Big 12 power and fourth-ranked Oklahoma State to town for a Big 12 Conference dual on Monday at 7 p.m. in the UCCU Center. 
 
Monday's dual meet against the Cowboys will mark the first time in program history that OSU has visited Orem, as well as the second highest ranked opponent that UVU wrestling has ever hosted—the Wolverines previously welcomed No. 2 Penn State to town in February of 2012. 
 
"We are excited to wrestle Oklahoma State. They are a great team with top wrestlers throughout their line-up," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "The more opportunities our guys get to wrestle this level of competition, the better prepared for postseason we will be. It is especially nice for our fans to get to watch some great talent this year starting with this dual."
 
Sunday's Reno TOC will get underway at 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT and will be held at the Reno Events Center. The day-long tournament will be streamed live on FloWrestling and live results will also be available by visiting Arena.FloWrestling.org. For a full schedule of events for Sunday, see below. UVU is slated to take 11 wrestlers to Reno with four competing for UVU and seven taking part in the event unattached. 
 
Monday's dual meet against the fourth-ranked OSU Cowboys will begin at 7 p.m. and be held in the UCCU Center. The contest will be streamed live on FloWrestling (subscription required), as well as the WAC Digital Network and YouTube. Live results will also be available on Monday via TrackWrestling.com. For ticket information, please visit GoUVU.com/tickets. 
 
UVU will enter Monday's home opener with a 5-1 season record and an 0-1 Big 12 Conference clip. The Wolverines opened the 2021-22 season by going 3-1 at the UNC Duals in Greeley, Colorado in early November and followed that up with wins over Pac-12 foe CSU Bakersfield and future Big 12 foe California Baptist a couple of weeks later. On Nov. 19 in Riverside, California, UVU won eight of the 10 bouts to defeat CSUB, 32-9, before pulling out six of the 10 matches to top CBU, 20-13. Utah Valley's lone loss of the season was a tightly contested contest to fellow Big 12 affiliate Northern Colorado (19-15). The 5-1 start to the season is UVU's best start since 2018-19 when the Wolverines also began that season with a 5-1 clip. 
 
RANKED WOLVERINES
The Wolverines will enter ranked 23rd by both InterMat and WIN Magazine in the latest team tournament polls, as well as 28th in the most recent FloWrestling Team Tournament ranking. UVU also currently has six wrestlers ranked in the latest individual polls, with returning All-Americans Taylor LaMont (125 pounds) and Demetrius Romero (165) leading the way by checking in at No. 4 and No. 8, respectively. After having strong showings at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, freshman 133-pounder Haiden Drury is next by being ranked as high as 16th, while sophomores Evan Bockman (197) and Jacob Armstrong (184) recently entered the rankings for the first time and are ranked 23rd and 24th, respectively. Redshirt freshman Kekana Fouret also entered the rankings for the first time this week, as he's a current FloWrestling honorable mention at 174 pounds. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Fresno State transfer and second-year freshman Drury led UVU at the CKLV Invite by knocking off a trio of fellow ranked opponents on his way to placing third at the prestigious tournament. Drury was one of three Wolverines to place at the CKLV Invite, as Armstrong and Bockman both placed eighth after also picking up big wins over ranked foes and former NCAA qualifiers on their way to entering the national rankings. Fouret also entered the rankings this week after going 3-2 with a win over No. 20 Jared Krattiger of Minnesota and finishing one win shy of earning a podium finish at the CKLV Invite.
 
UVU LEADERS
Drury leads UVU on the season with a 14-2 overall record at 133 pounds and sophomore heavyweight Jayden Woodruff is right behind him at 12-2. Fouret is the lone other Wolverine in double digits in wins on the season at 10-4, while Armstrong follows at 9-3, Bockman at 8-5, and the three-time NCAA qualifier and 2021 All-American LaMont remains undefeated on the year at 2-0. 
 
ROMERO OUT FOR THE SEASON
Head UVU coach Greg Williams announced earlier this week that two-time Big 12 champion and 2021 All-American Demetrius Romero suffered a season-ending knee injury a couple of weeks ago and that he'll be sidelined for the rest of 2021-22. The three-time UVU NCAA qualifier and redshirt senior was off to a 2-0 start at 165 pounds before sustaining the season-ending injury. With his sights set on winning a national championship, Romero will now look to get a medical waiver and be back for an eighth season of eligibility in 2022-23.
 
ABOUT THE RENO TOC
The Reno Tournament of Champions is back this year after not having the tournament last season due to COVID-19. A total of 10 Division I teams are slated to send some of their grapplers there this weekend in UVU, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Cal Poly, American, California Baptist, Clarion, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, and Wyoming. Wrestlers from a number of other non-DI programs are also expected to take part in the event. 
 
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The fourth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will come to Orem with a perfect 6-0 overall record and a 3-0 Big 12 Conference clip after knocking off both Air Force and Wyoming on the road on Friday. OSU first topped the Falcons, 45-0, that afternoon in Colorado Springs, before heading north on I-25 and defeating Wyoming, 30-3, in Laramie in the nightcap. The No. 4 Cowboys also hold wins on the year over No. 11 Minnesota, No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 24 Stanford, and Drexel. Oklahoma State has won nine straight Big 12 Conference titles after sharing the 2021 crown with rival Oklahoma and went on to cap its 2021 season by posting a third-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships. OSU is coached by longtime veteran John Smith who is in his 31st season at the helm and one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division I Wrestling history with a 455-65-6 career record.
 
OSU currently has nine wrestlers nationally ranked and return one national champion in sophomore 197-pounder AJ Ferrari. The Cowboys also have seven All-Americans on their current roster and four former Big 12 champions. Defending national champion and recent WWE signee Ferrari is the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, while two-time All-American and two-time NCAA Championship runner-up Daton Fix is ranked second at 133 pounds. Fellow two-time All-American Travis Wittlake is next by checking in a No. 5 at 165, while three-time All-American Dakota Geer is sixth at 184, Trevor Mastrogiovanni is ranked as high as seventh at 125, Dustin Plott is ranked ninth at 174, two-time All-American Wyatt Sheets is 12th at 157, Kaden Gfeller is 15th at 149, and Carter Young is 27th at 141. The Cowboys also have one Utahn on their roster in redshirt senior 141-pounder and 2020 NWCA All-American Dusty Hone (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS). 
 
ALL-TIME HISTORY VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
Monday's contest will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Cowboys on the mat. 
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Monday's home opener against OK State will mark UVU's final competition before the Christmas holiday. The Wolverines will next return to the mat on Sunday, Jan. 2 in a neutral-site match against Oregon State of the Pac-12 Conference at 2 p.m. at Columbia High School in Nampa, Idaho. Following the contest, UVU will return home for three straight duals against Big 12 foes North Dakota State, Air Force and South Dakota State in mid-January. 
  
SUNDAY'S RENO TOC LINEUP
133: Kainalu Estrella, RSo. (6-3)
133: Kobe Nelms, So. (7-5)
165: Tanner Lofthouse, Fr. (5-2)
285: Chase Trussell, RSo. (5-1)
 
Unattached Wolverines
125: Kase Mauger, Fr. (9-1)
141: Isaiah Delgado, Jr. (8-0)
141: Tyson Humpherys, Fr. (4-3)
141: Stockton O'Brien, Fr. (4-2)
174: Merrell Morley, Fr. (2-4)
184: Mahonri Rushton, Fr. (3-4)
197: Jack Forbes, Fr. (6-1)
197: Levi Kovacs, Fr. (2-3)
 
RENO TOC SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (all times listed in PT)
College "Pig Tails" 14 mats 9am - 9:30 am
College Championship Round I 14 mats 9:30 am - 11 am
College Consolation Round "Pigtails" 14 mats 11 am - 11:15 am
College Consolation Round I 14 mats 11:15am - 12:15 pm
College Championship Round II 14 mats 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
College Consolation Round II 12 mats 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm
College Championship Round III 12 mats 1:45pm - 2:15 pm
College Consolation Round III 12 mats 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm
College Championship Semifinals 4 mats 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
College Consolation Round IV 4 mats 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
College Consolation Semifinals 4 mats 3:45pm - 5:15 pm
College Finals 1st, 3rd & 5th 3 mats 6pm (4:30 if running ahead of schedule)
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* Time schedule is subject to change - If we can go straight through and the finals starts at 4:30 then we will
 
MONDAY'S PROBABLE LINEUPS
Utah Valley (5-1, 0-1 Big 12)
125: Yusief Lillie, Fr. (6-9)
133: #16 Haiden Drury, Fr. (14-2)
141: Ty Smith, RFr. (1-4)
149: Sam Edelblute, RFr. (3-4) OR James Emmer, RFr. (1-2)
157: Jaxon Garoutte, Fr. (5-3)
165: Danny Snediker, Fr. (4-2)
174: Kekana Fouret, RFr. (10-4)
184: Hunter Morse, Fr. (7-4)
197: #23 Evan Bockman, RSo. (8-5)
285: Chase Trussell, RSo. (9-3) OR Jayden Woodruff, RSo. (12-2)
 
#4 Oklahoma State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)
125: #7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni, So. (6-0) OR Reece Witcraft, Jr. (3-0)
133: #2 Daton Fix, RJr. (6-0)
141: #27 Carter Young, Fr. (4-1) OR Dusty Hone, RSr. (5-0)
149: #15 Kaden Gfeller, RSr. (5-1)
157: #12 Wyatt Sheets, RSr. (5-1)
165: #5 Travis Wittlake, RJr. (5-1) 
174: #9 Dustin Plott, So. (6-0)
184: #6 Dakota Geer, RSr. (5-1)
197: #1 AJ Ferrari, So. (6-0)
285: Luke Surber, So. (4-2)
 
*Individual rankings listed are the highest ranking taken from the latest InterMat, FloWrestling, WIN Magazine, and The Open Mat polls.