GOLDEN, Colo. – Utah Valley wrestling had five wrestlers make their collegiate debuts on Sunday at the Mines Rookie Open. All five took losses to the eventual champions, as 125-pounder
Jacob Carson led the way with a second-place finish on the day.
Carson started his day with a tech fall victory in his first match before a hard-fought quarterfinal decision over Bridger Ricks (Western Wyoming) put him in the semifinals. He advanced to the finals after recording a pin over Western Colorado's Roberto Estrada in 37 seconds to go to the final, where he fell to Kael Lauridsen in a highly contested 8-6 decision.
Jakob Romero finished 4-1 on the day and was tough on his opponents, winning his first match by pin in 1:22 and claimed third place with a pin over Western Colorado's Isaac Chavarria in 31 seconds. In his other three matches, he outscored his opponents by a combined 42-11 and won by tech fall, major decision, and a decision.
Trevor Frank went 4-1 on the day and won four of his five matches by tech fall, including bouncing back from a 5-4 decision loss to Grant Crownhart in the quarterfinals, with three wins in a row by 18-2 and two matches by 19-4 scores to cap his day.
Kael Bennie finished in fifth place with a 5-1 record on the day. He won three of his five matches by falls, including pins in the first and second rounds in 1:01 or less. He fell in the quarterfinals but responded with a tech fall victory over teammate
Eli Stafford before ending the day with a pin and tech fall victory.
Nakoa Fouret and
Eli Stafford both made their debuts and picked up their first collegiate wins. Fouret at 174, pinned Sergio Cantu (Northeastern JC) in 1:45 and finished 2-2 overall in the tournament. 197-pounder Stafford finished 3-2 and picked up his first win by decision over Gabriel Carranza (Colorado Mesa).
The Wolverines are next on the mat in a dual against American University on Nov. 17 at 5:00 p.m. MT in Washington D.C. They will compete in a pair of tournaments on Nov. 19. The starters will compete at the Penn Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, while non-starters will be at the Spokane Open in Spokane, Wash.
