OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University opened the 2025-26 season by knocking off No. 14/12 Stanford 19-12 on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines won six of 10 matches, including a bonus-point victory from true freshman Zyon Trujillo. In the premier match of the night, No. 19 David Evans made his debut in Wolverine green and stole the win with a late takedown and near fall in the final 13 seconds to defeat No. 24 Aden Valencia.

"We beat a very talented team tonight in Stanford. I know they were missing some guys from their lineup, but our focus and mindset did not change," head coach Adam Hall said, who picked up his third win over a ranked opponent in his young head coaching career. "We knew we would be tested, but we were ready for the challenge. Our team showed tonight that we also have talent, and some new faces brought a spark that we needed."

Stanford had four ranked wrestlers out of the lineup, with two competing at the NWCA All-Star Classic. No. 4 Daniel Cardenas (157 pounds) and No. 4 Hunter Garvin (165 pounds) both competed at Rutgers University. No. 11 Nico Provo (125 pounds) and No. 17 Lorenzo Norman (174 pounds) were also out Saturday night.

In the opening match, Stanford's Edwin Sierra took an early lead over Bridger Ricks, but the Utah Valley senior responded with a go-ahead takedown with 1:15 remaining. He rode out Sierra to secure riding time and the 7-4 win.

At 133 pounds, true freshman Geronimo Rivera faced No. 7 and All-American Tyler Knox. After an early takedown from Knox, Rivera earned a reversal to draw within a point. Knox added his own reversal in the second before trading reversals with Rivera to take an 8-4 lead after two periods. Knox then rode Rivera for the final two minutes to pick up the 8-4 decision and tie the dual at 3-3.

Haiden Drury scored the opening takedown at 141 pounds against Jack Consiglio and led 3-1 after the first period. A pair of stalling calls on Consiglio in the second pushed it to 4-1, and Drury added an escape for the final 5-1 tally.

Evans and Valencia treated the crowd to a thrilling bout between two ranked foes. Valencia scored a takedown in each of the first two periods and led 7-2 after two. Evans escaped 12 seconds into the third and quickly converted a takedown to make it 7-6. He cut Valencia with 1:15 remaining to set up the final flurry. A head throw from Evans with just under 13 seconds left gave him a 9-8 lead, and the near fall added four more for a 13-8 victory.

At 157 pounds, Mark Takara nearly pinned No. 18 EJ Parco twice in the first period and took a 13-4 lead after one. Takara held a 14-8 advantage entering the third before Parco rallied with a pair of takedowns and a late near fall for a come-from-behind 19-16 win.

Trujillo made his debut at 165 pounds against Jason Mara, scoring the match's first points with a takedown 20 seconds before the end of the opening period. He added another with four seconds left in the second and one early in the third to build a 9-1 lead, earning the lone bonus-point win of the night.

At 174 pounds, Collin Guffey rode Tanner Lofthouse for the duration of the second period before escaping in the third for the only points in a 2-0 win for the Cardinal.

At 184 pounds, Caleb Uhlenhopp scored first against Abraham Wojcikiewicz as the wrestlers traded takedowns and escapes in a 4-4 first period. Uhlenhopp trailed 5-4 before a late takedown in the second gave him a 7-5 lead entering the final period. He pulled away with an escape and third takedown before adding a riding-time point for a 12-6 victory.

At 197 pounds, Angelo Posada edged Kael Bennie 5-4, with a third-period reversal breaking a 3-3 tie.

In the final match, Jack Forbes scored first with a takedown and led 3-1 after one period against Jackson Mankowski. Mankowski made it 3-2 with an escape in the second, but a pair of stalling calls gave a point back to Forbes for a 4-2 lead. The Wolverine senior pulled away in the final period, extending the lead to 8-2 with an escape and takedown to secure a 10-3 decision.

"Tonight is a big step for our program in securing a season-opening win against a nationally ranked opponent," Hall said. "I'm excited to take our top two guys at each weight class to Ames next week to solidify our lineup. Go Wolverines!"

Up next for Utah Valley is the Cyclone Invitational at Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Wolverines won't return home until Jan. 10, when they host Wyoming in a Big 12 dual inside Lockhart Arena. Final Results | Utah Valley 19, Stanford 12
125 — Bridger Ricks (UVU) dec. Edwin Sierra (STAN), 7-4 | UVU 3-0
133 — No. 7 Tyler Knox (STAN) dec. Geronimo Rivera (UVU), 8-4 | Tied 3-3
141 — No. 24 Haiden Drury (UVU) dec. Jack Consiglio (STAN), 5-1 | UVU 6-3
149 — No. 19 David Evans (UVU) dec. No. 24 Aden Valencia (STAN), 13-8 | UVU 9-3
157 — No. 18 EJ Parco (STAN) dec. Mark Takara (UVU), 19-16 | UVU 9-6
165 — Zyon Trujillo (UVU) major dec. Jason Mara (STAN), 10-2 | UVU 13-6
174 — Collin Guffey (STAN) dec. Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), 2-0 | UVU 13-9
184 — Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) dec. Abraham Wojcikiewicz (STAN), 12-6 | UVU 16-9
197 — Angelo Posada (STAN) dec. Kael Bennie (UVU), 5-4 | UVU 16-12
285 — Jack Forbes (UVU) dec. Jackson Mankowski (STAN), 10-3 | UVU 19-12

Officials: Derek Lark, Don Christensen
Attendance: 1,298