OREM, Utah – Fresh off of a victory over No. 22 Stanford on Sunday, the Utah Valley University wrestling team will head to Brookings, South Dakota on Saturday for a pair of Big 12 Conference duals. The Wolverines will first face the host South Dakota State Jacks that morning at 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT, followed by a contest against North Dakota State at 11:45 a.m. MT/12:45 p.m. CT, as well as a number of bonus matches against Air Force at 1:30 p.m. MT/2:30 p.m. CT (non-team scored). 
 
The duals will be competed on two mats simultaneously at SDSU's Frost Arena on Saturday, as the Bison will also take on the Falcons at 10 a.m. MT and SDSU will face AFA at 11:45 a.m. MT. A number of other extra matches will also take place throughout the day on a third mat.  
 
All of Saturday's duals will be streamed live on FloWrestling (subscription required) and it is anticipated that Saturday's extra matches will also be streamed on SDSU's YouTube channel. Live results of the dual meets will also be available throughout the day by visiting TrackWrestling.com.
 
The Wolverines will enter Saturday's action with a 2-2 overall record and a 0-1 Big 12 Conference clip. UVU last split a pair of duals against Pac-12 foes Oregon State and No. 22 Stanford this past Sunday in Corvallis, Oregon. After dropping a tightly contested 18-16 match to Oregon State, the Wolverines responded by knocking off the 22nd-ranked Stanford Cardinal by a score of 19-16. UVU split each dual meet at five matches apiece, but bonus points proved to be the difference for Oregon State in Sunday's opener, and for UVU in the nightcap victory over Stanford. 
 
Junior 125-pounder Taylor LaMont, 133-pound redshirt freshman Ty Smith, 149-pound sophomore Cameron Hunsaker and senior 174-pounder Demetrius Romero all went a perfect 2-0 for UVU in dual competition last Sunday. Smith led the group by knocking off a pair of top-20 foes on the day in the 18th-ranked reigning Pac-12 champion Devan Turner Oregon State (4-1) and No. 18 Jason Miranda of Stanford (5-1). The two-time UVU NCAA qualifier LaMont too defeated a pair of nationally ranked opponents by defeating No. 24 Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State (19-5) and No. 26 Jackson DiSario of Stanford (12-8). Fellow two-time UVU NCAA qualifier Romero too defeated a ranked foe with an 11-3 major decision over No. 27 Tyler Eischens of Stanford, while Hunsaker had what might be considered the win of the meet with a first period upset fall over No. 12 Jaden Abas of Stanford (2:16) to earn recognition from NCAA Wrestling as the No. 4 Moment of the Week (on NCAA Wrestling's social media). 
 
UVU freshman 157-pounder Danny Snediker and sophomore heavyweight Chase Trussell too picked up wins in dual action for the Wolverines last Sunday, while freshmen Tyson Humpherys (133) and Kase Mauger (125) led the way in bonus matches by going 2-0 and 2-1, respectively. 
 
After the successful outing at Oregon State, UVU now finds itself ranked as high as 18th on the latest InterMat Tournament Ranking, as well as 26th by TrackWrestling and 28th by WIN Magazine. Individually, the Wolverines now have four ranked wrestlers led by the 125-pound junior LaMont who is now ranked as high as fourth nationally by InterMat. The 2019 Big 12 champion Romero is also ranked in the top-five, as he is tabbed fifth in a number of the different polls. With their big outings last week, Smith and Hunsaker have also made their way into the rankings as Smith is now ranked as high as No. 16 at 133 and Hunsaker is ranked 27th at 149. 
 
Romero and LaMont remained undefeated on the season, as the 174-pound Romero will enter Saturday with a perfect 10-0 mark while LaMont is 6-0 at 125. Smith are next with 6-1 and 7-2 respective records. Mauger also holds a 5-1 clip at 125 pounds. 
 
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
The host Jackrabbits will enter Saturday with a 4-6 overall record and a 1-5 Big 12 Conference mark after falling to both NDSU (18-16) and No. 12 Iowa State (19-12) in Fargo last weekend. South Dakota State holds wins on the year over Oregon State (20-12), Air Force (24-14), No. 21 Stanford (23-15) and Little Rock (28-10). The Jacks were ranked in the InterMat Top-25 Dual poll a week ago but have since fallen out after dropping contests to NDSU and Iowa State last week. SDSU is ranked 19th in the current WIN Magazine Tournament poll and 26th in the latest TrackWrestling poll. 
 
The Jacks return a pair of 2020 NCAA qualifiers in 197-pounder Tanner Sloan and 165-pounder Tanner Cook. Danny Vega also returns, who was an alternate at the national meet at 125 pounds. SDSU currently has six ranked grapplers in Saturday's probable lineup led by Sloan checking in at No. 4 at 197. Zach Price is next at No. 10 at 133, while Clay Carlson is 15th at 141, Cade DeVos is No. 16 at 157, Vegas is 25th at 125 and Cade King is 28th at 174.
 
Saturday's matchup will mark the 16th all-time meeting between UVU and SDSU. The Wolverines will enter the contest holding to a slight 8-7 series advantage, but South Dakota State has won six straight meetings and is 4-3 at home.
 
NDSU is currently receiving votes for the NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and ranked 24th in the latest InterMat Dual poll. The Bison will enter with a 5-3 overall record and a 3-2 mark in Big 12 Conference duals. North Dakota State defeated SDSU, 18-16, last weekend but also fell to No. 12 Iowa State by a score of 32-6. The Bison also hold wins on the year over Oregon State (19-15), Fresno State (29-15), California Baptist (30-6) and a second over South Dakota State (21-13). 
 
North Dakota State returns a trio of 2020 NCAA qualifiers in Dylan Droegemuller (141), Jared Franek (157) and heavyweight Brandon Metz. The Bison will also enter Saturday with six grapplers in their probable lineup currently ranked led by No. 12 Franek (157). Metz is next by being ranked as high as No. 17 (heavyweight), Kellyn March is 26th (133), Luke Weber is 28th (165), Droegemueller is 32nd (141) and Riley Habisch is 33rd (174). 
 
Saturday's contest will mark the 15th all-time meeting between UVU and NDSU. North Dakota State will enter the matchup holding to an 11-3 series advantage and having won the last two meetings. The Wolverines have won two of the last four contests, however, as UVU defeated NDSU in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. 
 
Air Force holds a 2-4 overall record and a 2-4 clip in Big 12 action. The Falcons last split a pair of Big 12 duals by knocking off No. 21 Northern Colorado, 31-7, and dropping a tight contest to West Virginia, 20-17. Air Force also holds a win over Fresno State (43-7) on the year. 
 
The Falcons didn't have any NCAA qualifiers a season ago, but currently have six wrestlers ranked. Jared Van Vleet leads the way as he's ranked 13th at 133. Lenny Petersen is next by being ranked 19th at 141, Cody Surratt is 24th at 174, Wyatt Hendrickson is 28th at heavyweight, Cody Phippen is 30th at 125 and Dylan Martinez is 33rd at 149.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will close their regular season by sending a contingent of grapplers to USAF Academy, Colorado next weekend to take part at the USAFA Round Robin Tournament. Wrestlers from UVU, Air Force, Northern Colorado and Wyoming are expected to compete at the non-team scored event. The 2021 Big 12 Championships will then follow on March 6-7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Utah Valley (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
125: Kase Mauger, Fr. (5-1); Dawson Collins, Fr. (1-3)
133: #16 Ty Smith, RFr. (6-1); Tyson Humpherys, Fr. (2-2)
141: Nick Rino, RFr. (2-3); Stockton O'Brien, Fr. (3-3)
149: #27 Cameron Hunsaker, So. (6-4); Jaxon Garoutte, Fr. (3-2)
157: Danny Snediker, Fr. (7-2); Brigg Hoopes, So. (0-3)
165: Koy Wilkinson, RSr. (4-4); Kekana Fouret, RFr. (5-4)
174: #5 Demetrius Romero, RSr. (10-0); Spencer Heywood, RJr. (0-5)
184: Hunter Morse, Fr. (1-6)
197: Jacob Armstrong, RSo. (3-5)
285: Chase Trussell, RSo. (4-5)
 
South Dakota State (4-6, 1-5 Big 12)
125: #25 Danny Vega, Sr. (7-4); Tanner Jordan, Fr. (6-6)
133: #10 Zach Price, So. (7-2); Trayton Anderson, RFr. (3-8)
141: #15 Clay Carlson, So. (8-4); Daniel Kimball, RFr. (4-6); Rylee Molitor, Jr. (4-4)
149: Hunter Marko, Sr. (4-7)
157: #16 Cade DeVos, RFr. (6-7)
165: Colten Carlson, Sr. (6-5); Kenny O'Neil, So. (4-4)
174: #28 Cade King, So. (8-6)
184: Nick Casperson, So. (5-6); Jacob Schoon, RFr. (2-7)
197: #4 Tanner Sloan, So. (12-0)
285: Blake Wolters, Sr. (3-8); Bowen McConville, So. (2-1); Spencer Trenary, RFr. (2-4)
 
North Dakota State (5-3, 3-2 Big 12)
125: McGwire Midkiff, Jr. (1-5); Ryan Hinningson, Fr. (0-5)
133: #26 Kellyn March, Fr. (3-5); Ryan Ripplinger, Fr. (0-1)
141: #32 Dylan Droegemueller, So. (2-7); Zach Watts, Fr. (1-2)
149: Jaden Van Maanen, Jr. (5-4)
157: #12 Jared Franek, So. (6-2); Canon Swanson, Fr. (0-0)
165: #28 Luke Weber, Sr. (6-2); Austin Brenner, So. (4-1)
174: #33 Riley Habisch, RFr. (3-2)
184: Michael Nelson, RFr. (2-4); TJ Pottinger, So. (1-5)
197: Owen Pentz, Fr. (2-2); Cole Witzig, Sr. (1-2)
285: #17 Brandon Metz, Jr. (5-3)
 
Air Force (2-4, 2-4 Big 12)
125: #27 Cody Phippen, So. (5-2); Graham Shore, So. (0-3)
133: #13 Jared Van Vleet, Jr. (5-2); Garrett Kuchan, Fr. (2-3)
141: Bradley Bitting, Jr. (1-6); Garrett Bowers, Fr. (1-5)
149: #33 Dylan Martinez, So. (5-2)
157: Parker Simington, Sr. (4-3); Trey Brisker, Jr. (0-5); Giano Petrucelli, Fr. (0-0)
165: Vincent Dolce, Jr. (2-3); Jacoby Ward, Sr. (3-3); Noah Blake, Fr. (0-3)
174: #24 Cody Surratt, Sr. (3-2)
184: Sam Wolf, Fr. (3-3); Cal Sund, Fr. (4-2); Brock Jennings; Sr. (0-4), Jimmy Weaver, Sr. (1-1); Cole Phelps, Sr. (0-2)
197: Kayne Hutchison, Jr. (3-4); Garrett Henigin, Fr. (1-2); Cole Forrester, So. (0-3)
285: #28 Wyatt Hendrickson, Fr. (6-2)
 
*Individual rankings listed are the highest ranking taken from the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel, InterMat, FloWrestling, TrackWrestling, WIN Magazine and The Open Mat polls.