TULSA, Okla— Utah Valley wrestling finished day one at the Big 12 Championships on Saturday. No. 14 Evan Bockman, No. 29 Haiden Drury, and Chase Trussell all reached the quarterfinals and will wrestle for podium spots on Sunday, as will Kase Mauger, who wrestled his way back into podium position.
 
No. 14 Bockman lost in his opening-round match. After the first period, he trailed 3-0 to No. 21 Wyatt Voelker, who scored on a takedown. In the second period, the lead narrowed after Bockman got on the board with an escape, but Voelker scored on an escape in the third period to secure the 4-1 decision.
 
In the evening session, he battled back and picked up his second win of the season over Air Force's Calvin Sund. Bockman earned an 11-1 dual victory over him in February. This time, he picked up a 7-2 decision. The day ended with a sudden victory bout with No. 16 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State). Each scored on an escape to force sudden victory before Surber secured the win with a takedown.
 
He did not secure an automatic qualifier spot in the tournament but will wrestle again tomorrow for seventh against Northern Colorado's Xavier Vasquez.
 
Drury reached the quarterfinals after his second win of the season over NDSU's Gavin Drexler. After an 8-7 decision in Orem in February, the two remained scoreless until the third period when Drury broke the tie on an escape to go up 1-0. He held on for a 2-0 win after gaining the riding time advantage. In the quarterfinals, No. 9 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) picked up a 10-0 major decision to move Drury into the consolation rounds.
 
In the evening session, Drury moved through the consolation rounds, starting with an 11-1 major over Air Force's Garrett Kuchan. He fell to No. 19 Josh Edmond (Missouri) in his final match by a 7-4 decision. He will wrestle tomorrow for seventh place and take on Wyoming's No. 30 Cole Brooks.
 
At heavyweight, Trussell upset the 6-seeded No. 14 Tyrell Gordon in a come-from-behind victory. Each scored on an escape in regulation before going through a sudden victory and two tiebreaking periods. The UVU senior earned the win with a takedown to move into the afternoon quarterfinals.
 
In the quarters, facing a nationally ranked No. 5 Zach Elam, he fell down early after a takedown by Elam made it 3-0. In the third period, the four-time NCAA qualifier and 2023 All-American sealed the match with an escape and riding time point for a 5-0 loss. He quickly bounced back in the consolation bracket with a 3-2 victory over CBU's Chris Island in a match that lasted three overtime periods. He wrapped up his day with a 4-1 win in a sudden victory over Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia).
 
Trussell will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow and face South Dakota State's Luke Rasmussen.
 
133-pounder Mauger made the most of the consolation rounds. He fell in his opening round match to No. 18 Derrick Cardinal by decision 8-3. He quickly responded by winning matches against West Virginia's Davin Rhoads before pulling an upset over No. 22 and 6-seeded Kade Moore (Missouri) with a pin in 2:06. It was his fastest pin of the year over a Division I opponent, and it moved him into a rematch with California Baptist's Hunter Leake, who built an early lead with a first period takedown before adding a four-point second-period for the 8-0 major decision.
 
In the seventh-place match, he will meet UNI's No. 18 Julian Farber tomorrow. Farber beat Mauger in the dual against the Panthers in January.
 
Yusief Lillie finished the day 1-2, picking up a sudden victory win over Conrad Hendrikson (Oklahoma). Alex Emmer, James Emmer, Jaxon Garoutte, Mahonri Rushton, and Jacob Armstrong finished the tournament 0-2.
 
The Wolverines return to the mat tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m. MT is on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The team will then wait to hear about at-large berths to the NCAA Championships on Mar. 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
 
Full Results
125         -                Yusief Lillie (1-2)
No. 9 Stevo Poulin (UNC) over Yuisef Lillie (UVU), 8-1 DEC
Yusief Lillie (UVU) over Conrad Hendriksen (Oklahoma), SV-1 4-3
No. 15 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) over Yusief Lillie (UVU), DEC 4-0
 
133         -                Kase Mauger (2-2)
No. 18 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) over Kase Mauger (UVU), 8-3 DEC
Kase Mauger (UVU) over Davin Rhoads (WVU), DEC 8-3
Kase Mauger (UVU) over No. 22 Kade Moore (Mizzou), Fall (2:06)
Hunter Leake (CBU) over Kase Mauger (UVU), MD 8-0
 
141         -                Haiden Drury (2-2)
No. 29 Haiden Drury (UVU) over No. 31 Gavin Drexler (NDSU), 2-0 DEC
No. 8 Tagen Jamison (OSU) over No. 29 Haiden Drury (UVU), MD 10-0
No. 29 Haiden Drury (UVU) over Garrett Kuchan (Air Force), MD 11-1
No. 18 Josh Edmond (Mizzou) over No. 29 Haiden Drury (UVU), DEC 7-3
 
149        -                James Emmer (0-2)
No. 16 Willie MacDougald (Oklahoma) over James Emmer (UVU), MD 11-0
No. 10 Logan Gioffre (Mizzou) over James Emmer (UVU), DEC 5-1
 
157         -                Alex Emmer (0-2)
No. 9 Ryder Downey (UNI) over Alex Emmer (UVU), TF 19-3
No. 2 Vinny Zerban (UNC) over Alex Emmer (UVU), Fall (0:00)
 
165         -                Jaxon Garoutte (0-2)
Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming) over Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), DEC 11-7
Jack Thomsen (UNI) over Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), MD13-5
 
174         -                Mahonri Rushton (0-2)
No. 29 Brody Conley (West Virginia) over Mahonri Rushton (UVU), MD 13-3
No. 19 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) over Mahonri Rushton (UVU), Fall (2:18)
 
184         -                No. 28 Jacob Armstrong (0-2)
No. 9 Sam Wolf (Air Force) over No. 28 Jacob Armstrong (UVU), MD 15-2
No. 31 Nathan Haas (CBU) over No. 28 Jacob Armstrong (UVU), DEC 4-2
 
197         -                No. 14 Evan Bockman (1-2)
BYE
No. 21 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) over No.14 Evan Bockman (UVU), DEC 4-1
Evan Bockman (UVU) over Calvin Sund (Air Force), DEC 7-2
No. 16 Luke Surber (OSU) over No. 14 Evan Bockman (UVU), SV-1 4-1
 
285         -                Chase Trussell (2-2)
Chase Trussell (UVU) over No. 14 Tyrell Gordon (UNI), SV-2 4-1
No. 5 Zach Elam (Mizzou) over Chase Trussell (UVU), DEC 5-0
Chase Trussell (UVU) over Chris Island (CBU), TB-2 (3-2)
Michael Wolfgram (WVU) over Chase Trussell (UVU), SV-1 4-1