BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Utah Valley University wrestling team dropped a pair of Big 12 Conference duals on Saturday to South Dakota State, 22-11, and North Dakota State, 25-12, at SDSU's Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D.
 
Despite the losses, fifth-ranked senior 174-pounder Demetrius Romero went 2-0 on the day to remain perfect on the season with a 12-0 record. Freshmen Jaxon Garoutte (149 pounds) and Dawson Collins (125) too had strong performances by going 2-0 and 2-1, respectively, in extra matches. 
 
The Wolverines (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) claimed three of the 10 bouts against the Jackrabbits (5-6, 2-5 Big 12) and four of the 10 against the Bison (7-3, 5-2 Big 12), who are currently receiving votes for the NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and ranked 24th by InterMat. Saturday's competition marked Utah Valley's final dual meets of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. 
 
"We lost the first four matches of the SDSU dual all in the last 30 seconds. We had the lead in all of them so that was extremely disappointing," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "This is a young team and up until this week, they have been champs, handling every obstacle thrown at them. This week we took a step back and didn't respond well to the challenge of a short turnaround. This team will learn from today and be better moving forward."
 
In the opener against SDSU, the Wolverines dropped the first four tightly contested bouts all right at the end to fall behind 12-0. No. 25 Danny Vega (125), No. 10 Zach Price (133), No. 15 Clay Carlson (141) and Hunter Marko (149) all picked up wins for South Dakota State during the stretch. The Jacks then added another victory from 16th-ranked Cade DeVos at 157 to make it 15-0.
 
Redshirt freshman Kekana Fouret then put a stop to the SDSU rally by recording an 18-10 major decision over Colten Carlson at 165 pounds to make it 15-4. The two-time UVU NCAA qualifier Romero then followed with a 10-2 major decision of his own over No. 28 Cade King at 174 and freshman Wolverine 184-pounder Hunter Morse capped UVU's spurt with a 4-1 decision over SDSU's Jacob Schoon to make it 15-11 on the scoreboard.
 
The Jackrabbits then bounced back, however, with back-to-back wins from No. 4 Tanner Sloan at 197 (major decision) and a hard-earned overtime decision from Blake Wolters over UVU sophomore Chase Trussell at heavyweight to cap the dual at 22-11. 
 
Then in the second dual of the day against NDSU, freshman 125-pounder Kase Mauger and 16th-ranked 133-pounder Ty Smith got the Wolverines off to a solid start with respective wins over NDSU's Ryan Henningson, 9-5, and No. 26 Kellyn March, 11-7, to give UVU an early 6-0 lead. The win from Smith over the fellow ranked March, marked his third win over a ranked opponent in his last four matches.
 
The Bison then got on the board with a 6-3 decision from No. 32 Dylan Droegemueller at 141 to make it 6-3, but UVU responded with a 7-2 decision from 27th-ranked 149-pounder Cameron Hunsaker over Jaden Van Maanen to extend Utah Valley's early lead to 9-3. 
 
NDSU then got a fall from No. 12 Jared Franek at 157 and a decision victory from No. 28 Luke Weber at 165 to take a 12-9 lead. 
 
Romero then responded for the Wolverines with an 11-6 decision over Austin Brenner at 174 to deadlock the score at 12-12, but North Dakota State answered by winning the final three matches of the contest to take the dual by a score of 25-12. Michael Nelson (184), Owen Pentz (197) and No. 17 Brandon Metz (heavyweight) all had wins for NDSU during the final stretch to seal the victory for the Bison.
 
Besides Garoutte and Collins' strong outings in non-team scored extra matches, freshman 133-pounder Tyson Humpherys, sophomore 157-pounder Brigg Hoopes, and junior 174-pounder Spencer Heywood also picked up wins on the day for the Wolverines. 
 
UVU was also originally scheduled to face off in some extra matches against Air Force on the day, but the two teams decided to wait until next week when Utah Valley is scheduled to compete at the USAFA Round Robin Tournament. 
 
The Wolverines will conclude their condensed 2020-21 regular season by sending a contingent of grapplers to the USAFA Round Robin event at Air Force next Saturday (Feb. 20). Following the tournament, UVU will head to the 2021 Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 6-7 where it will look to qualify as many wrestlers as it can for the 2021 NCAA Championships. 
 
"We will take a couple of days off then get prepared for the Big 12 Championships," Williams added. "We are confident the guys will be ready to battle there in three weeks."
 
FINAL RESULTS 
South Dakota State 22, Utah Valley 11
125: #25 Danny Vega (SDSU) DEC Kase Mauger (UVU), 4-3
133: #10 Zach Price (SDSU) DEC #16 Ty Smith (UVU), 7-5
141: #15 Clay Carlson (SDSU) DEC Stockton O'Brien (UVU), 13-12
149: Hunter Marko (SDSU) DEC #27 Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 5-4
157: #16 Cade DeVos (SDSU) DEC Danny Snediker (UVU), 12-8
165: Kekana Fouret (UVU) MD Colten Carlson (SDSU), 18-10
174: #5 Demetrius Romero (UVU) MD #28 Cade King (SDSU), 10-2
184: Hunter Morse (UVU) DEC Jacob Schoon (SDSU), 4-1
197: #4 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) MD Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 14-1
285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 2-1 (TB-1)
 
North Dakota State 25, Utah Valley 12
125: Kase Mauger (UVU) DEC Ryan Henningson (NDSU), 9-5
133: #16 Ty Smith (UVU) DEC #26 Kellyn March (NDSU), 11-7
141: #32 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) DEC Nick Rino (UVU), 6-3
149: #27 Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) DEC Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), 7-2
157: #12 Jared Franek (NDSU) FALL Danny Snediker (UVU), 2:02
165: #28 Luke Weber (NDSU) DEC Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 2-0 
174: #5 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC Austin Brenner (NDSU), 11-6
184: Michael Nelson (NDSU) MD Hunter Morse (UVU), 12-4
197: Owen Pentz (NDSU) FALL Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 4:10
285: #17 Brandon Metz (NDSU) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 3-1
 
Extra Matches
125: Dawson Collins (UVU) DEC Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 6-4
125: Dawson Collins (UVU) DEC Ethan Bowman (SDSU), 6-2
125: #25 Danny Vega (SDSU) DEC Dawson Collins (UVU), 10-4
133: Tyson Humpherys (UVU) DEC Trayton Anderson (SDSU), 7-6
149: Jaxon Garoutte (UVU) DEC Daniel Kimball (SDSU), 8-7
149: Jaxon Garoutte (UVU) DEC Lucas Anglin (SDSU), 8-3
149: Rylee Molitor (SDSU) DEC Nick Rino (UVU), 16-12
157: Jack Thomsen (SDSU) MD Brigg Hoopes (UVU), 21-9
157: Brigg Hoopes (UVU) FALL Canon Swason (NDSU), 5:50
157: #16 Cade DeVos (SDSU) FALL Brigg Hoopes (UVU), 0:55
174: #28 Cade King (SDSU) MD Spencer Heywood (UVU), 16-6
174: Spencer Heywood (UVU) DEC Caleb Orris (SDSU), 3-1
 
Brookings, S.D. – Frost Arena
 
*Individual rankings listed are the highest ranking taken from the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel, InterMat, FloWrestling, TrackWrestling, WIN Magazine and The Open Mat polls.