LAS VEGAS – Utah Valley wrestling finished the first day of the Cliff Keen Invitational with No. 5
Demetrius Romero advancing to tomorrow's semifinals of the championship bracket at 174 pounds. Romero will not wrestle as he is recovering from last year's season-ending injury. No. 31
Evan Bockman advanced to tomorrow's matches and will wrestle for his spot on the podium and will compete in the first session starting at 11:00 a.m. MT. Bockman will face No. 24 Jake Koser (Navy).
The All-American Romero picked up two victories in the first session, defeating Sam Barnes (Bucknell) by a 7-3 decision and then followed it up with a major decision 8-0 victory over Gage Musser (Air Force) to advance to the evening's championship quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal against Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard), Romero jumped ahead with a takedown and two quick back points in the opening period. He led 6-2 late in the match before Conigliaro had to withdraw to to injury, giving Romero the win by injury default.
Bockman, at 197, went 4-1 on the day and advanced to tomorrow's consolation of four. Bockman recorded a 10-6 victory by decision over Hayden Price (Nebraska-Kearney) in the round of 32 before being pinned with two seconds left in the third period against Andy Smith (Virginia Tech), sending Bockman to the consolation bracket. In his consolation matches, Bockman pinned Nate Copley (Sacred Heart) in 3:55 to advance. He forced overtime in the consolation first round of eight after trailing 1-0. Bockman secured an escape early in the third period to tie the score at 1-1. In the overtime, as time wound down, Bockman picked up the 3-1 victory after a takedown. In the blood round, Bockman avenged an early season loss at the Michigan State Open to #16 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) with a 3-2 decision this evening.
Kase Mauger finished the day with a 2-2 record after picking up a 12-1 major decision over Eddie Flores (CSU Bakersfield). Mauger trailed 6-1 in the round of 16 against No. 16 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) before rallying with two escapes and a takedown before Mauger went for a match-winning takedown, but Ventresca was able to escape, earning a point for a 7-5 victory. In the consolation bracket, Mauger pinned Aidan Lewis (Edinboro) in 1:30 to advance to the consolation round of eight, where he dropped a 6-3 bout to No. 10 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State).
Two Wolverines had their days cut short with medical forfeits as
Ty Smith took a medical forfeit against Job Greenwood after dropping his round of 32 match to #12 Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) by a narrow 7-6 decision. 157-pounder
Jaxon Garoutte lost a hard-fought 6-5 decision to Evan Gleason (Harvard) before winning his first consolation match against Colton Woods by a 12-3 major decision. Garoutte was ready to face No. 19 Derek Holschlag before taking the medical forfeit.
The Wolverines had
Kobe Nelms at 133 finish 0-2,
Cameron Haddock 0-2,
Hunter Morse 0-2, and
Chase Trussell 1-2. The Wolverines will compete at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18 before competing in duals against Campbell, Drexel, and Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. on Dec. 20.
