AMES, Iowa — Utah Valley University had four second-place finishers at Saturday's Cyclone Invitational at Iowa State University.

Bridger Ricks (125 pounds), David Evans (149), Caleb Uhlenhopp (184), and Kael Bennie (197) each advanced to the finals against top-10 opponents, while Haiden Drury earned a third-place finish at 141.

"We were tested today and got some mixed results, but I am happy about our effort. We need to be better executing and remaining focused for the entire match," Utah Valley head coach Adam Hall said. "We had lapses in concentration today and it cost us a few matches. Our four finalists did some hard things and won tough matches along the way to the finals where they each saw a ranked opponent. Although the finalists didn't get their hand raised, they are gaining confidence competing against the best in the country."

Ricks posted two wins to reach the 125-pound final against No. 9 Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin. Ricks opened with a 5-0 win over Wisconsin's Wyatt Skebba before an 8-3 semifinal decision against California Baptist's Cooper Shore. In the final, Rivera built a 4-0 lead after two periods following a late takedown and went on to win 5-1.

Evans won his quarterfinal in a 9-1 major decision over California Baptist's Paul Kelly before shutting out No. 14 Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin 5-0. In the final against No. 4 Paniro Johnson of Iowa State, Evans took a 1-0 lead with an early escape in the second period. Johnson responded with takedowns late in the second and again in the third to claim the title with a 7-2 decision.

Uhlenhopp advanced to the finals at 184 after two dramatic victories. He began with a win over Iowa State's Tate Naaktgeboren in the first tiebreaker, rallying from a 5-3 deficit with a late reversal to force overtime. After riding Naaktgeboren for the full 30-second tiebreaker, Uhlenhopp held off a final takedown attempt to secure the win. Against No. 30 Cale Anderson of Wisconsin, Uhlenhopp trailed 9-6 with less than a minute remaining, tied it with a takedown, and added a two-point near fall before time expired for an 11-9 victory. In the final against No. 9 Isaac Dean of Iowa State, Dean's 1:02 of riding time proved decisive in a 2-1 win.

Bennie opened with a 12-1 major decision over Iowa State's Rowan Udell after building a 10-1 lead in the first period. He followed with a 13-8 win over Wisconsin's Wyatt Ingham and a 9-3 decision against California Baptist's Eli Sheeran to reach the final against No. 2 Rocky Elam of Iowa State. Elam took control early with a first-period takedown and two-point near fall, en route to a 13-2 major decision.

Also placing in the top four on Saturday was No. 24 Haiden Drury, who pinned California Baptist's Damian Alverez in the opening period (2:21) before falling to No. 15 Evan Frost of Iowa State (133) in a 7-4 semifinal decision. Drury bounced back to take third with a 6-2 win over Alec Peralta of SIU Edwardsville.

In his first collegiate competition, Ian Fritz won three matches for UVU. He opened with an injury-default win over SIUE's Eric Almarinez after building a 12-3 lead, then dropped an 11-5 decision to No. 5 Vinny Zerban of Iowa State. Fritz responded with a first-period pin (2:19) against California Baptist's Koa Ruiz and an 8-1 decision over SIUE's PJ Murphy before falling 7-1 to Iowa State's Kane Naaktgeboren.

Other Wolverines earning multiple wins included Kayd Craig (149), Tanner Lofthouse (174), and Levi Kovacs (285). Craig pinned Iowa State's Logan Stotts (4:36) and earned a technical fall (18-2, 5:38) over California Baptist's Dylan Guillermo. Lofthouse scored a 16-0 tech fall over California Baptist's David Alonso (5:14) and followed with a 17-4 major decision over Iowa State's Jacob Helgeson. Kovacs rebounded from a loss to top-ranked Yonger Bastida of Iowa State with wins over SIUE's Jake Fernandez (5-1) and California Baptist's Tristan Kemp (4-1).

Next up for the Wolverines are duals at Oregon State on Sunday, Nov. 16, and at California Baptist for their Big 12 opener on Thursday, Nov. 20.

"I look forward to a good week of work, cleaning up some areas, and preparing for another ranked team in Oregon State," Hall said.
  Cyclone Invitational Results
At Ames, Iowa

125
Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin (No. 9) dec. Bridger Ricks, Utah Valley, 5-1.
Ricks dec. Wyatt Skebba, Wisconsin, 5-0.
Ricks dec. Cooper Shore, Cal Baptist, 8-3.
Wyatt Skebba, Wisconsin, TB-1 dec. Yusief Lillie, Utah Valley, 2-1.
Lillie dec. Davian Guanajuato, SIUE, 4-3.
Rivera dec. Lillie, 7-1.

133
Marcel Lopez, SIUE, dec. Jake Castagneto, Utah Valley, 8-2.
Devin Bobzien, Wisconsin, pinned Castagneto, 2:03.
Carter Pearson, Iowa State, dec. Talen Eck, Utah Valley, 10-3.
Richard Murillo, Cal Baptist, dec. Eck, 5-4.

141
Haiden Drury, Utah Valley (No. 24), pinned Damian Alverez, Cal Baptist, 2:21.
Evan Frost, Iowa State (No. 15, 133), dec. Drury, 7-4.
Drury dec. Alec Peralta, SIUE, 6-2 (third place).
Richie Clementi, Cal Baptist, tech. fall Jason Worthley, Utah Valley, 16-0 (4:14).
Carson Exferd, Wisconsin, dec. Worthley, 5-0.

149
Paniro Johnson, Iowa State (No. 4), dec. David Evans, Utah Valley (No. 17), 7-2.
Evans maj. dec. Paul Kelly, Cal Baptist, 9-1.
Evans dec. Joseph Zargo, Wisconsin (No. 14), 5-0.
Kayd Craig, Utah Valley, pinned Logan Stotts, Iowa State, 4:36.
Craig tech. fall Dylan Guillermo, Cal Baptist, 18-2 (5:38).
Johnson tech. fall Craig, 19-4 (3:28).
Kelly tech. fall Craig, 17-0 (5:00).

157
Ian Fritz, Utah Valley, injury default Eric Almarinez, SIUE.
Vinny Zerban, Iowa State (No. 5), dec. Fritz, 11-5.
Fritz pinned Koa Ruiz, Cal Baptist, 2:19.
Fritz dec. PJ Murphy, SIUE, 8-1.
Kane Naaktgeboren, Iowa State, dec. Fritz, 7-1.
Luke Mechler, Wisconsin (No. 32), maj. dec. Mark Takara, Utah Valley, 14-3.
Takara tech. fall Almarinez, 16-1 (7:00).
Naaktgeboren tech. fall Takara, 17-2 (7:00).

165
Aiden Riggins, Iowa State (No. 15), dec. Zyon Trujillo, Utah Valley, 11-5.
Trujillo dec. Landen Johnson, SIUE, 4-1.
Tavius Hosley, SIUE, dec. Trujillo, 9-2.
Connor Euton, Iowa State, tech. fall Keegan Goeas, Utah Valley, 17-2 (4:16).
Hosley dec. Goeas, 8-5.

174
Tanner Lofthouse, Utah Valley, tech. fall David Alonso, Cal Baptist, 16-0 (5:14).
Luke Condon, Wisconsin (No. 27), dec. Lofthouse, 13-6.
Lofthouse maj. dec. Jacob Helgeson, Iowa State, 17-4.
Caleb Neal, SIUE, dec. Lofthouse, 7-0.
Mason Espinoza, Cal Baptist, dec. Hudson Rogers, Utah Valley, 5-2.
Neal dec. Rogers, 7-3.

184
Isaac Dean, Iowa State (No. 9), dec. Caleb Uhlenhopp, Utah Valley, 2-1.
Uhlenhopp TB-1 dec. Tate Naaktgeboren, Iowa State, 5-5 (TB-1 criteria).
Uhlenhopp dec. Cale Anderson, Wisconsin (No. 30), 11-9.
Dean tech. fall Christian Smoot, Utah Valley, 24-8 (5:27).
Adonis Bonar, Cal Baptist, dec. Smoot, 14-12.

197
Rocky Elam, Iowa State (No. 2), maj. dec. Kael Bennie, Utah Valley, 13-2.
Bennie maj. dec. Rowan Udell, Iowa State, 12-1.
Bennie dec. Wyatt Ingham, Wisconsin, 13-8.
Bennie dec. Eli Sheeran, Cal Baptist, 9-3.
Nick Nosler, SIUE, maj. dec. Christian Slack, Utah Valley, 12-0.
Udell dec. Slack, 5-4.

285
Yonger Bastida, Iowa State (No. 1), tech. fall Levi Kovacs, Utah Valley, 22-6 (6:27).
Kovacs dec. Jake Fernandez, SIUE, 5-1.
Kovacs dec. Tristan Kemp, Cal Baptist, 4-1.
Bryson Buhk, SIUE, dec. Kovacs, 5-3.
McCrae Hagarty, Iowa State, dec. Jack Forbes, Utah Valley, 5-4.
Buhk dec. Forbes, 8-7.