OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling held its wrestle-offs on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. 1,201 fans turned out to see Team Green defeat Team Black, 22-17. No. 7 Terrell Barraclough and No. 31 Haiden Drury each picked up bonus point wins on the night.
 
"What an exciting night to welcome a new season! Twenty guys laid it on the line tonight for ten starting spots and provided our fans with a good preview of what's ahead," said head coach Adam Hall. "I'm grateful for the crowd that we got tonight and for the energy that they brought. We are building something special in Orem!"
 
In the night's opening bout, Bridger Ricks defeated Talen Eck by a 5-1 decision. Ricks, a transfer from Western Wyoming, took a 2-0 lead after scoring a point on stalling before an escape early in the second period. He extended his lead to 5-0 with a takedown of the freshman Talen Eck before he got on the board with an escape in the third period but was unable to rally for the victory.
 
The Green team won the following two matches, starting with the 133-bout that went to Kase Mauger over freshman Jacob Myers with a takedown and an escape from the bottom position to go up 4-1. Drury kept the pressure on the Black team with a technical fall in one period of action that featured three four-point near falls and gave Green an 8-3 lead.
 
Nebraska transfer Tanner Frothinger trailed Redshirt Freshman Q'Veli Quintanilla 3-0 in the third period after the Spokane native scored on a two-point near fall. Frothinger fought back after cutting the lead to one after an escape and a stalling point; it set up the most electric moments of the night with a takedown in the final seconds for him to secure the 149-pound spot.
 
Green was clinging to an 8-6 lead, heading to 157 pounds, where Ryker Fullmer, a freshman, upset Alex Emmer and put Black up 9-8. The highlight anticipated debut of No. 7 Terrell Barraclough did not disappoint as he won by technical fall after scoring on five takedowns in the match to lift Green back in front 13-9.  
 
Black answered with Mark Takara at 174 as he picked up a 13-4 major. He took a 6-2 lead after a pair of first-period takedowns and added two more during the third period,including one in the final seconds to defeat Trevor Frank. 
 
184-pounder Caleb Uhlenhopp helped Black take a late lead in the dual with an 8-0 major decision to make it 17-13 Black. Green quickly responded with the night's only pin coming from Kael Bennie to make it 19-17 Green. The night ended with a highly contested bout at heavyweight between Jack Forbes and Eli Stafford. It was tied at 7-7 heading to the final period when Forbes went in front after an escape. He quickly added a takedown to go up 11-7 before holding Stafford late for the win.
 
Utah Valley opens the 2024-2025 season on Friday, Nov. 1, with duals against No. 12 Stanford and No. 22 CSU Bakersfield. Both duals will be held in Palo Alto, Calif., at Burnham Pavillion. UVU's home opener will be on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. MT inside the UCCU Center against No. 3 Oklahoma State.
 
Full Results
 
125      -           Bridger Ricks (Black) DEC Talen Eck (Green), 5-1              3-0 Black
133      -           Kase Mauger (Green) DEC Jacob Myers, 5-1                       3-3 Tied
141      -           #31 Haiden Drury (Green) TF Patrick Mullen, 15-0              8-3 Green
149      -           Tanner Frothinger (Black) DEC Q'Veli Quintanilla (Green) 8-6 Green
157      -           Ryker Fullmer (Black) DEC Alex Emmer (Green), 6-0         9-8 Black
165      -           #7 Terrell Barraclough (Green) TF Caleb Farrar (Black), 19-4 13-9 Green
174      -           Mark Takara (Black) MD Trevor Frank (Green), 13-4          13-13 Tied
184      -           Caleb Uhlenhopp (Black) MD Hudson Rogers (Green), 8-0 17-13 Black   
197      -           Kael Bennie (Green) Fall Christian Slack (Black), 1:50        19-17 Green
HWT   -           Jack Forbes (Green) DEC Eli Stafford (Black),  11-9            22-17 Green
 
 
Attendance: 1,201