WOLVERINES HOST RANKED FOES ON BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS
Utah Valley University continues its homestand by welcoming a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in Big 12 Wrestling this weekend. The Wolverines will host No. 10 South Dakota State on Friday and No. 19 Missouri on Saturday with both duals slated to start at 7 p.m. MST in Lockhart Arena. Both competitions will air on YouTube and FloWrestling.
It's Alumni Weekend with a pre-match social taking place on Saturday prior to the dual with Missouri. Alumni can visit the link-in-bio on UVU Wrestling's Instagram page for more info and to register for the event. Friday's dual is Salute to Service Night, honoring military and first responders. Visit GoUVU.com/tickets to purchase your seats.
This weekend's duals will mark the midway point of the Big 12 schedule with three road and one home dual (Feb. 6 vs. North Dakota State) left in the conference season. The Wolverines have one non-conference dual left on the schedule when No. 6 Nebraska comes to the UCCU Center on Feb. 21.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines hosted Wyoming on Saturday night before the return of the UVU Rockwell Open on Sunday, where a group of unattached UVU wrestlers competed. Against the Cowboys, No. 19 Haiden Drury and Zyon Trujillo both picked up wins but Wyoming won eight of 10 matches in a 29-6 Big 12 dual win.
At the Rockwell Open, six Wolverines took first with six more earning second place. The six champions were Jake Castagneto (133), Kayd Craig (141), Smokey McClure (149), Hudson Rogers (174), Chandler Thompson (184), and Jack Forbes (285).
ABOUT THE JACKS
South Dakota State has eight ranked wrestlers among its probable starters for Friday night's dual, including 197-pound Bennett Berge, who is ranked No. 6 by Flo and seventh by Intermat. The Jacks also have two Utah wrestlers among their starters, in No. 27 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (165) and No. 18 Moses Espinoza-Owens (174). SDSU is 8-1 in duals and 1-0 in the Big 12. The Jacks were the runners up in the NWCA National Duals last week, dropping the final to another Big 12 program, Northern Iowa, 20-14. South Dakota State leads the all-time series 11-8 and has won 10 straight.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Utah Valley will meet Missouri for the fourth time in program history on Saturday with the Tigers winning the previous three, including an 18-16 contest last January in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers have nine wrestlers ranked by Intermat or FloWrestling among the probable starters including No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair at 184 pounds. Missouri is 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 and will wrestle at Arizona State in a conference dual on Thursday night
UP NEXT
Next week, Utah Valley will travel to Stillwater to face No. 5 Oklahoma State in a Big 12 dual on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. CST (1 p.m. MST). The final Big 12 home dual of the year on Feb. 6 against North Dakota State will also be Senior Night.
