OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling returns to the road this week by traveling to Wyoming for a dual against the Cowboys on Friday, Jan. 24, at 6:00 p.m. MT from the UniWyo Sports Complex. The dual will air on FloWrestling and the Mountain West Network.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines fought hard against No. 24 Missouri last week in Columbia. The Tigers won the evening's first five bouts to take a 15-0 lead before Utah Valley responded with wins four wins, first from No. 4 Terrell Barraclough, who earned a 3-0 decision. UVU's only two bonus point wins came at 174 with Mark Takara, who pinned Mizzou's Logan Cole in 1:05 before 184-pounder Caleb Uhlenhopp won by major decision over Jeremy Jakowitsch.
 
The Wolverines looked to complete an epic come back after Kael Bennie put them in front 16-15 after a decision over Jared Cassatt. The night came down to the heavyweight match, where the Tigers and now ranked Jarrett Stoner beat Jack Forbes.
 
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
Wyoming is currently 6-5 and 0-2 against the Big 12. They currently have three returning NCAA qualifiers in their projected lineup. 149-pounder Gabe Willochell and Jared Hill at 157 are two-time NCAA qualifiers and come this week at No. 21 and No. 20, respectively, in the rankings. Their highest in the rankings is Joey Novak, who qualified for last year's NCAA Championships and comes in this week at No. 11. They are missing a significant piece of their lineup with 2024 All-American Jore Volk out at 125 with a season-ending injury.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE RANKINGS
Utah Valley received votes for the second straight week in the NWCA poll. They received one vote for a coveted spot in the Top 25. UVU did earn the No. 11 ranking in the Mid-Major poll announced on Jan. 22. They received 51 total votes in the poll, with Big 12 foe Northern Iowa holding the top spot.
 
Barraclough holds solid footing in the national rankings, coming in at No. 4 in both the InterMat and FloWrestling rankings. Fellow Wolverine Haiden Drury came in at 16 and 18 in the polls.
 
THE FIRST PANEL RANKINGS
Utah Valley had two in the NCAA's initial Coaches' Panel Rankings. Barraclough came in at No. 4, and Drury was ranked at No. 16. The coaches' ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will conclude its Big 12 road duals by traveling to the Dakotas to take on No. 12 South Dakota State on Friday, Jan. 31, and North Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 1.