AMES, Iowa – Utah Valley wrestling had nine total competing on Sunday at the Cyclone Open hosted by Iowa State University. Freshman Smokey McClure led the way with a third-place finish at 149, and Bridger Ricks made a strong run to place fourth. The Wolverines had five place in the field, including a trio at 174.
 
McClure finished the day going 3-1, his only loss coming in the semifinals to 2023 Big 12 Champion Paniro Johnson (Iowa State). McClure defeated three other Big 12 opponents on the day, including a major decision over Iowa State Wrestling Club's Lincoln Vick in his opening match of the day. His other two matches were decided by decisions, including his third-place showdown with Northern Iowa's Connor Thorpe.
 
At 125, Ricks overcame a 4-0 deficit in the quarterfinals, starting a rally in the second period with a takedown in the final seconds to make it 4-3 before tying the bout up with an escape eight seconds into the third. The match went overtime, where he came out on top with an escape. Iowa State's Kysen Terukina was the top seed in the weight class and currently No. 14 in the country, pulled off a narrow 2-1 win to push Ricks to the third-place match where he lost to Ethan Perryman (Iowa State), 7-6.
 
The Wolverines had a good day at 174, taking sixth, seventh, and eighth places. Hudson Rogers competed unattached and finished sixth. After falling in his opening match, he quickly rebounded with a pair of victories, including a win over David Malin (Wisconsin), to move through the consolation bracket. Rogers moved into the fifth-place match after a sudden victory over teammate Mark Takara before he fell to Ethan DeLeon (Nebraska) for sixth.  
 
Takara took a similar road through the consolation bracket after a first-round loss. He earned victories over Nebraska's Cooper French by a 14-7 decision and then added a major decision against Silas Dailey. He was set to face off against a pair of teammates and earned seventh after a medical forfeit by Tanner Lofthouse.
 
The only 174 to make the quarterfinals today was Lofthouse who opened with a technical fall over Wisconsin's David Malin before a 6-4 decision moving him to the quarterfinals. The UVU veteran bounced back after a quarterfinal loss to defeat Missouri's Logan Cole but was moved to the seventh-place match after a loss to DeLeon.  He wrapped the day with an eighth-place finish.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley returns to dual action for a Big 12 contest on Friday, Jan. 24 at Wyoming. The dual is slated for 6:00 p.m. MT and will air on FloWrestling and the Mountain West Network.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Full Results
 
125 -    Bridger Ricks                        3-1                  4^th Place
            Bridger Ricks (UVU) over Bowen Downey (Northern Iowa), MD 12-0
            Bridger Ricks (UVU) over Koufax Christensen (Oklahoma), TB-1 5-4
            #14 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) over Bridger Ricks (UVU), DEC 2-1
            Ethan Perryman (Iowa State) over Bridger Ricks (UVU), DEC 7-6
 
133 -    Kase Mauger                         2-2                  
            Kase Mauger (UVU) over Mason Kernan (Unattached), Fall (2:06)
            #5 Evan Frost (Iowa State) over Kase Mauger (UVU), TF 19-3
            Kase Mauger (UVU) over Cory Land (Northern Iowa), DEC 15-10
            Kade Moore (Missouri) over Kase Mauger (UVU), Fall (3:00)
 
149 -    Smokey McClure                  3-1                   3rd Place       
            Smokey McClure (UVU) over Lincoln Vick (Iowa State WC), MD 15-4
            Smokey McClure (UVU) over Ramon Salazar (Oklahoma State), DEC 7-2
            #8 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) over Smokey McClure (UVU), DEC 7-2
            Smokey McClure (UVU) over Connor Thorpe (Northern Iowa), SV-1 10-7
 
157 -    Ryker Fullmer                       2-2
            Ryker Fullmer (UVU) over Gianni Maldonado (Unattached), DEC 8-7
            Benny Rogers (Unattached) over Ryker Fullmer (UVU), DEC 8-7
            Ryker Fullmer (UVU) over Cody Wagner (Unattached), DEC 6-0
            #28 James Conway (Missouri) over Ryker Fullmer (UVU), MD 10-1
 
174 -    Tanner Lofthouse                  3-2                   8^th Place                    
            Tanner Lofthouse (UVU) over David Malin (Wisconsin), TF 15-0
            Tanner Lofthouse (UVU) over Eli Leonard (Unattached), DEC 6-4
            Leandro Araujo (Nebraska) over Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), MD 10-0
            Tanner Lofthouse (UVU) over Logan Cole (Missouri), DEC 3-2
            Ethan DeLeon (Nebraska) over Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), DEC 8-4
            Mark Takara (UVU) over Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), MFFL
 
174 -    Mark Takara                         2-2                   7^th Place        
            Nick Fox (Northern Iowa) over Mark Takara (UVU), DEC 7-5
            Mark Takara (UVU) over Cooper French (Nebraska), DEC 14-7
            Mark Takara (UVU) over Silas Dailey (Unattached), MD 14-3
            Hudson Rogers (UVU) over Mark Takara (UVU), SV-1 8-5
            Mark Takara (UVU) over Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), MFFL
 
UNATTACHED
 
133 -    Jake Castegneto                    0-2
            Carter Schmidt (Oklahoma) over Jake Castagneto (Unattached), DEC 15-8
            JJ McComas (Oklahoma State) over Jake Castagneto (Unattached), DEC 9-7
           
141 -    Kayd Craig                            1-2                  
            Kayd Craig (Unattached) over Kyle Lew (Unattached), TF 19-3
            Kane Naaktgeboren (Unattached) over Kayd Craig (Unattached), Fall (2:47)
            Alec Peralta (SIU Edwardsville) over Kayd Craig, MFFL
 
174 -    Hudson Rogers                      3-2                   6^th Place        
            Dominic Lopez (Unattached) over Hudson Rogers (Unattached), SV-1 4-1
            Hudson Rogers (Unattached) over David Malin (Wisconsin), DEC 8-1
            Hudson Rogers (Unattached) over Damarion Ross (Northern Illinois), DEC 2-0
            Hudson Rogers (Unattached) over Mark Takara (UVU), SV-1 8-5
            Ethan DeLeon (Nebraska) over Hudson Rogers (Unattached), DEC 4-1