OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling defeated No. 23 Oregon State, 20-14, on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines (4-4) won six of the ten bouts, including major decisions by No. 18 Haiden Drury and Smokey McClure in his UVU debut.
 
"We embodied grit tonight to take down a top 25, nationally ranked team! It was definitely not the prettiest dual. Both teams had guys out, made mistakes, and had hard-fought wins, but we came out on top. I'm excited for our guys to get some well-deserved rest after this weekend and to get ready for some important matchups in January. Go Wolverines!"
 
Oregon State got out to a 3-0 lead in the team scores when former Wolverine Kekana Fouret picked up an 11-5 decision over Kaden Bennie in his UVU Debut. Bennie trailed going into the third period but scored on a key takedown and added an escape to make it 10-5 before Fouret held on for the win.
 
The Wolverines won the next three bouts first with 174-pounder Mark Takara upsetting No. 32 Sean Harman. Takara scored five points in the final minute of the opening period on a takedown and a two-point near fall. He would not score again until an escape to open the third period and hold on for the upset. It is the first-ranked win for the redshirt sophomore from Temecula, Calif.
 
Caleb Uhlenhopp kept the momentum going in UVU's favor, going up 3-0 in the first period against TJ McDonnell at 184. The lead was pushed out to 6-0 in the second. McDonnell fought back and cut the lead to 6-3 after a takedown, but it was too late to come back.
 
Kael Bennie gave the Wolverines a 9-3 lead with a 14-7 decision over Riverton native and Bingham alum Mason Christiansen. The high scoring affair favored Bennie, 5-4, before he extended the lead out to 10-7 after two. In the final period, he sealed the match for his seventh win of the season with a takedown.
 
Leading 9-3, the Beavers found some life with their ranked wrestlers at heavyweight, with No. 21 Brett Mower earning his second win of the season over Jack Forbes and No. 11 Maximo Renteria picking up a 2-0 decision over Talen Eck in his UVU debut. The difference in the match was a second-period escape and riding time to put the Illinois transfer over the top.
 
The dual swung back to UVU, with Kase Mauger winning at 133 by a 5-1 decision with an escape at 1:34 in the first period. He extended his lead to 4-1 in the second when he escaped to the hold of Chase DeBlaere. Drury moved to 14-3 in the year with a major decision over No. 29 Nash Singleton. It was the second time this month that he had beaten Singleton after picking up a win in Vegas.
 
The bonus points continued to come for the Wolverines, with freshman McClure debuting inside Lockhart Arena with a major decision to secure the dual. He defeated Oregon State's Victor Cajinto by a 15-4 final score. He built a 7-2 lead in the second period on his takedown of the match before pulling away in the third period with a third takedown and a four-point near fall.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will take a holiday break before hosting California Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 6:00 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena. UVU will then become road warriors for the month of January, making trips to Missouri, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
 
Full Results
165      -           Kekana Fouret (OSU) over Kaden Bennie (UVU), DEC 11-5          3-0 OSU
174      -           Mark Takara (UVU) over #32 Sean Harman (OSU), DEC 6-3         3-3 Tied
184      -           Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) over TJ McDonnell (OSU), DEC 8-3       6-3 UVU
197      -           Kael Bennie (UVU) over Mason Christiansen (OSU), DEC 14-7     9-3 UVU
285      -           #21 Brett Mower (OSU) over Jack Forbes (UVU), DEC 11-8          9-6 UVU
125      -           #11 Maximo Renteria (OSU) over Talen Eck (UVU), DEC 2-0        9-9 Tied
133      -           Kase Mauger (UVU) over Chase DeBlaere (OSU), DEC 5-1           12-9 UVU
141      -           #18 Haiden Drury (UVU) over #29 Nash Singleton (OSU), MD 11-2 16-9 UVU
149      -           Smokey McClure (UVU) over Victor Cajinto (OSU), MD 15-4       20-9 UVU
157      -           CJ Hamblin (OSU) over Ryker Fullmer (UVU), TF 19-4 (6:29)       20-14 UVU
 
Attendance: 1,262
Officials: Josh Briscoe and Evan Burchette