TULSA, Okla. – Utah Valley picked up four wins in the opening round of the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Saturday. No. 1 seeded Terrell Barraclough made the semifinals, and Kael Bennie finished 2-2 and will wrestle for seventh place on Sunday.
 
"Today was a tough day. I had to process a lot of emotions. Our guys wrestled hard but didn't execute to their full ability. As the program builds, I understand it doesn't happen immediately. We are very young, and with that comes bumps and growth. I'm excited about our program's future, and I'm grateful for the support of our administration and fans," said UVU head coach Adam Hall.
 
Barraclough started the day with one of UVU's six matches against foes from Oklahoma, matching up with Tate Picklo. He got off to a slow start, leading 3-0 after the first period, but pulled away with a nine-point third period that featured two takedowns.
 
No. 8-seeded Aiden Riggins (Iowa State) received a first-round bye and was fresh for the matchup in the quarterfinals. After a scoreless first period, Barraclough took a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The two battled into the final period where neither would score, but riding time made it 2-0 in favor of UVU's 165.
 
Barraclough faced Missouri's No. 5 Cam Steed in the evening's semifinal. In their first matchup of the season, Steed took a 3-1 lead after the first period, scoring on an escape with just under two minutes in the opening period. The score remained 3-1 into the third period before Barraclough recorded an escape to cut the deficit to 3-2, and he tied it up with riding time. As the overtime period was nearing the end, Steed secured a takedown to advance to tomorrow's Finals.
 
Barraclough will wrestle in the consolation semifinals tomorrow and will face No. 3 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State). A win will put him into the third-place match, and a loss will put him into the fifth-place match. He has clinched a spot in the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships next week.
 
Bennie finished the day 2-2 after winning his opening round match with a 6-2 decision with a second-period reversal, and a takedown with six seconds left in the period propelled him to an upset over Oklahoma's No. 8 Bradley Hill.
 
No. 1 seeded Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) knocked him into the consolation rounds with a 20-6 major decision, but the redshirt sophomore quickly responded with a comeback win over CBU's Eli Sheeren. Trailing 4-0 entering the final period, he cut into the lead with an escape early into the third period before coming up with a takedown with 16 seconds left in the period. The match went into overtime, where Bennie secured a takedown to advance.
 
Bennie fell to the seventh-place match after being defeated by No. 5 Ian Bush (West Virginia). He will face off against Nathan Schon (Iowa State). He will need an at-large bid to qualify for the NCAA Championships, as the Big 12 only has four allocation spots.
 
No.7-seeded Haiden Drury advanced to the championship quarterfinals after a 9-5 decision over Eli Griffin of CBU. He was pushed to the consolation bracket after falling to No. 2 Cael Happel by technical fall. Happel advanced through the bracket and will wrestle for the 141-pound title tomorrow night. Drury was eliminated after taking a tough 2-1 loss to Wyoming's Cole Brooks in the evening session.
 
184-pounder Caleb Uhlenhopp had a rematch from the West Virginia dual against No. 7 Dennis Robin. He got out to a fast start, taking a 6-1 lead in the first period, and went on to win by a 11-3 major decision. No. 2 seeded Dustin Plott defeated him in the quarterfinals. In the consolation rounds, he squared off with Missouri's Colton Hawks, where he fell 11-7.
 
Tomorrow's morning session will include placement matches before the Big 12 Finals, which will be on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. MT. The NCAA at-large bids and tournament will be announced on March 11. The NCAA selection show, which will have the brackets and seedings, will be held on Wednesday, Mar. 12, on NCAA.com.
 
 
 
Full Results
 
125 -    Bridger Ricks (0-2)
R1       #2 Stevo Poulin (UNC) over Bridger Ricks (UVU), Fall (2:49)
C1       Tucker Owens (AF) over Bridger Ricks (UVU), DEC 7-4
 
133 -    Kase Mauger (0-2)
R1       #6 Cleveland Belton (OU) over Kase Mauger (UVU), DEC 4-1
C1       #3 Julian Farber (UNI) over Kase Mauger (UVU), DEC 10-4
 
141 -    #7 Haiden Drury (1-2)
R1       #7 Haiden Drury (UVU) over Eli Griffin (CBU), DEC 9-5
QTRS  #2 Cael Happel (UNI) over #7 Haiden Drury (UVU), MD 13-3
CQ      Cole Brooks (Wyoming) over #7 Haiden Drury (UVU), DEC 2-1
 
149 -    Smokey McClure (1-2)
R1       #3 Willie McDougald (OU) over Smokey McClure (UVU), DEC 6-2
C1       Smokey McClure (UVU) over #6 Paul Kelly (CBU), DEC 4-3
CQ      #4 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) over Smokey McClure (UVU), Fall (0:49)
 
157 -    Ryker Fullmer (0-2)
R1       #4 Cobe Siebrecht (SDSU) over Ryker Fullmer (UVU), DEC 4-2
CQ      #3 Ryder Downey (UNI) over Ryker Fullmer (UVU), MD 12-1
 
165 -    Terrell Barraclough (2-1)
R1       #1 Terrell Barraclough (UVU) over Tate Picklo (OU), MD 15-2
QTRS  #1 Terrell Barraclough (UVU) over #8 Aiden Riggins (Iowa State), DEC 2-0
SF -     #5 Cam Steed (Missouri) over #1 Terrell Barraclough (UVU), SV-1 6-3
 
174 -    Mark Takara (0-2)
R1       #3 Gaven Sax (OU) over Mark Takara (UVU), Fall (0:43)
CQ      #4 Jared Simma (UNI) over Mark Takara (UVU), Fall (0:41)
 
184 -    Caleb Uhlenhopp (1-2)
R1       Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) over #7 Dennis Robin (WVU), MD 11-3
QTRS  #2 Dustin Plott (OSU) over Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), Fall (2:20)
CQ      #8 Colton Hawks (Missouri) over Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), DEC 11-7
 
197 -    Kael Bennie (2-2)
R1       Kael Bennie (UVU) over #8 Bradley Hill (OU), DEC 6-2
QTRS  #1 Luke Surber (OSU) over Kael Bennie (UVU), MD 20-6
CQ      Kael Bennie (UVU) over Eli Shreeren (CBU), SV-1 7-4
CSF     #5 Ian Bush (WVU) over Kael Bennie (UVU), TF 15-0 (3:31)
 
285      Jack Forbes     (0-2)
R1       #5 Juan Mora (OU) over Jack Forbes (UVU), TF 21-5 (6:45)
C2       #3 Lance Runyon (UNI) over Jack Forbes (UVU), MD 9-1