OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling held their annual Green and Black Intrasquad dual to kick off the 2022-2023 season on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. Kyler Lake led UVU with two victories on the evening as No. 19 Haiden Drury and Kainalu Estrella recorded pins for Team Black.
 
Team Green jumped out to a 13-0 lead after victories from Lake, Hunter Morse, Chase Trussell, and a major decision from Kase Mauger. Haiden Drury got Team Black on the board with a pin over 133 opponent Kobe Nelms to bring the team total to 13-6.
 
"It was great to finally get on the mat. It gave the guys a chance to see some areas that are improving and areas they need to spend extra time. From a coaching standpoint, we would like to see more pace and stronger hand-fighting from most of the guys so they can create more scoring opportunities. We look forward to these next two weekends and competing against some other schools," said UVU head coach Greg Williams.
 
The Black Team went on to take the next four bouts as Cameron Haddock defeated Tanner Lofthouse 8-4. Isaiah Delgado got a victory over No. 18, Ty Smith at 141 by a 4-2 decision before Estrella followed up with the second fall of the night for Team Black, this time over freshman Luke Van Orden.
 
Stockton O'Brien increased Team Black's lead to 21-13 after a 4-3 decision over Tyson Humphreys at 149. Team Green then mounted a comeback with victories coming from Danny Snediker by a 6-3 decision, and Jacob Armstrong picked up a 1-0 decision over Mahroni Rushton. Evan Bockman had a hard-fought match with Jack Forbes, but he pulled away for an 11-4 decision.
 
Team Black was clinging to a 24-19 lead heading to the final three matches, where five freshmen were in bouts. Caleb Uhlenhopp picked up a 4-1 decision over Merrell Morley to bring Team Green back within two. Lake had the only technical fall on the evening with a 20-4 victory over Tyler Jones to put Team Green back in front 27-24.
 
The match came down to the night's final bout between Kort Wilkinson and Nico Rodriguez. The bout went past the first overtime period of two minutes, still tied before it would come down to riding time. Rodriguez clinched the riding time victory to tie the match at 27-27.
 
Utah Valley will officially open the season on Nov. 5 at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Michigan. The Open can be seen on FloWrestling starting at 7:30 a.m. MT.
 
MAT 1
149      Kyler Lake                    DEC     Sam Edelblute                 3-1
125      Kase Mauger                MD      Yusief Lillie                       11-0
133      #19 Haiden Drury         Fall      Kobe Nelms                
141      Isaiah Delgado             DEC     #18 Ty Smith                   4-2
149      Stockton O'Brien          DEC     Tyson Humphreys           4-3
197      #23 Evan Bockman     DEC     Jack Forbes                    11-4
174      Caleb Uhlenhopp         DEC     Merrell Morley                 4-1
285      Nico Rodriguez            DEC     Kort Wilkinson                 2-1 (SV-1)
 
MAT 2
174      Hunter Morse              DEC     Merrell Morley                 3-1 (SV-2)
285      Chase Trussell            DEC     Nico Rodriguez               3-2
165      Cameron Haddock      DEC     Tanner Lofthouse            8-4
174      Kainalu Estrella           FALL    Luke Van Orden              4:36
157      Danny Snediker           DEC     Jaxon Garoutte               6-3
184      (HM) Jacob Armstrong DEC    Mahroni Rushton            1-0
149      Kyler Lake                    TF        Tyler Jones                     20-4