OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling hits the road this week for a pair of Big 12 duals. UVU will wrestle in Brookings against No. 16 South Dakota State on Friday, Jan. 20, at 6:00 p.m. MT from Frost Arena. The Wolverines conclude the two-match trip on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 1:00 p.m. against No. 14 North Dakota State in Fargo.
The dual with South Dakota State will air on FloWrestling (Subscription Required), and the North Dakota State dual will air on gobison.com. Live results will be available via TrackWrestling for both duals.
The Wolverines enter the duals this weekend at 1-5 and 1-2 in the Big 12. UVU dropped a pair of duals last weekend at home to No. 13 Northern Iowa 34-9 and No. 3 Iowa State 31-9. No. 7
Demetrius Romero was one bright spot for the Wolverines as he finished 2-0 on the weekend and picked up a pair of decisions over #12 Lance Runyon (UNI) and Carter Schmidt (ISU). No. 23
Evan Bockman picked up a win by forfeit and dropped a highly contested bout against Iowa State to No. 3 Yonger Bastida, 5-3.
Kase Mauger (125) and
Ty Smith (141) picked up victories on Saturday against No. 3 Iowa State.
RANKED WOLVERINES
Three UVU wrestlers were ranked nationally this week with the updated rankings. Romero came in at 7/11 in the InterMat/FloWrestling polls. Bockman was the other Wolverine to be ranked in both polls at 27/23. 133-pounder
Haiden Drury was ranked No. 29 by FloWrestling.
UVU RANKED IN THE FIRST NWCA MID-MAJOR POLL
Utah Valley was ranked No. 17 in the first National Wrestling Coaches Association Mid-Major poll. One coach from Division I wrestling conferences with schools at other mid-major conferences voted on the poll. Cornell was voted first, with this week's opponents, North Dakota State and South Dakota State finishing second and third.
ROMERO CLIMBS RECORD BOOK
The senior Romero has moved into the top five all-time and is currently at No. 4 with 85 career wins. Romero needs one to tie Flint Ray for third place. Benjamin Kjar is the career wins record leader with 129 victories from 2006-2011.
ABOUT NO. 16 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
SDSU enters the dual at 7-2 overall and won their first Big 12 dual of the year over newcomer California Baptist 44-0 in Riverside. SDSU currently has six wrestlers ranked nationally, with senior Clay Carlson (141) coming in at ninth. He enters this weekend at 13-4 overall and 7-2 in duals. The Wolverines won seven straight from 2007-08 until 2013-14. SDSU has the current streak, having won the last seven matchups, including a 22-11 battle in 2020-21.
ABOUT NO. 14 NORTH DAKOTA STATE
North Dakota State is 6-2 on the year and 1-1 in Big 12 duals. The Bison are led by No. 2 Jared Franek (157), who is entering this weekend 13-1 on the year. Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Michael Caliendo enters 14-2 on the year and is currently ranked as high as 11th by FloWrestling. 197-pounder Owen Pentz is 10-4 on the year and will look to be challenged by his nationally-ranked counterpart, No. 23 Bockman. NDSU currently leads the all-time series 12-3, with the last UVU dual victory came in 2017 in Orem.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley returns home to Lockhart Arena on Jan. 27 for a pair of duals against Snow College and Big 12 foe Air Force. It will be a full day of action as Snow will also face Air Force.
2:30 Snow College vs. Air Force
4:15 Snow College vs. Utah Valley
6:00 Air Force vs. Utah Valley
