OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling had six individuals ranked in the preseason rankings released by InterMat and FloWrestling. As a team UVU was ranked No. 33 in the tournament rankings by FloWrestling.
Demetrius Romero claimed a Top-10 spot at No. 7 in both FloWrestling and InterMat rankings. The former two-time Big 12 Champion and 2020-2021 All-American will return to the mat this year after overcoming an ACL injury and was the highest-ranked wrestler from all Big 12 schools at 174 in the rankings. Romero went 19-2 overall and 12-0 in Big 12 matches in 2020-2021. He will look to become a four-time NCAA qualifier in 2022-2023.
2021-2022 NCAA qualifier,
Haiden Drury is ranked No. 19 by FloWrestling at 133 after a 20-8 season in 2021-2022 and 5-4 in Big 12 matches. Drury is coming off a summer of both national and international competition, including the gold medal at the U20 Pan American Games. InterMat ranked Drury at No. 20 entering 22-23.
Ty Smith is ranked No. 18 at 141 by FloWrestling. A one-time 2020 NCAA qualifier went 5-10 a year ago. Smith finished 4-7 in Big 12 matches with victories over No. 5 Allan Hart of Missouri in a 2-1 decision and a 6-2 upset of No. 16 Carter Young from Oklahoma State at last year's Big 12 Championships on his way to an eighth-place finish. Smith wrestled tough against strong competition last year, suffering four defeats to Top-30 ranked wrestlers, including No. 10 Grant Willits of Oregon State.
Evan Bockman is ranked No. 23 by InterMat wrestling at the start of the 22-23 season and received an Honorable Mention by FloWrestling. The returning NCAA qualifier, Bockman won 14 matches a year ago, including wins over No. 19 Jacob Koser (Navy) and two wins over Alan Cothier (Northern Colorado), who was ranked in the Top-30 for most of the year.
FloWrestling gave
Jacob Armstrong Honorable Mention status. Armstrong finished 11-7 on the year but was very tough in duals going 8-1. He was ranked as high as 24
th last year after posting three wins in the Cliff Keen Invitational, where he finished eighth. A two-time academic All-Big 12 selection will look for his first trip to the NCAA Tournament this year.
Jayden Woodruff enters the year at No. 29 in the InterMat wrestling rankings after going 12-3 with four pins and two tech fall victories. Woodruff won the Roadrunner Open in his weight class, going 4-0.
As a team, Utah Valley came in No. 33 in the team tournament rankings by FloWrestling. Penn State came in at No. 1, with Missouri leading the Big 12 at No. 6.
Utah Valley will open the season with the annual Green vs. Black Intrasquad match on Oct. 28 at 6:00 p.m. inside the Lockhart Arena. The regular season begins on Nov. 5 in East Lansing, Michigan, at the Michigan State Open. UVU will have its home opener on Jan. 13 with a Big 12 dual against Northern Iowa.
