OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University came up just short in its upset bid against No. 10 South Dakota State, falling 19-16 in a Big 12 wrestling dual Friday night at Lockhart Arena.
Both teams won five bouts. The Wolverines (3-5, 1-2) earned victories from No. 33 Geronimo Rivera, No. 19 Haiden Drury, No. 12 David Evans, Caleb Uhlenhopp and heavyweight Jack Forbes, who pulled off an upset against No. 19 Luke Rasmussen at 285 pounds.
"Our guys brought the fight tonight," head coach Adam Hall said. "I got fired up that we chose to attack and give ourselves opportunities to win. I challenged them to be much better this week, in effort and execution. Against the top-10 team in the country, you have to make up for mistakes if you want to win. We were on the losing end of a couple of scrambles and if one match goes our way, we win the dual. Our guys believe that they're right there though, so I will remain positive about our challenges ahead. I'm glad we turn around and have another top-20 team to go battle with tomorrow. I expect the same fight and confidence against Missouri."
No. 30 Bridger Ricks opened the dual at 125 pounds against 22nd-ranked Brady Roark, who earned a 5-1 decision to put the Jackrabbits (9-1, 2-0 Big 12) on the board first. Roark scored a takedown on the edge of the mat just before the end of the first period and added riding time to secure the win for an early 3-0 lead.
Rivera followed at 133 pounds against Cale Seaton, scoring the opening takedown late in the first period. Seaton answered with a reversal and later tied the match with an escape in the second, but Rivera built more than two minutes of riding time. After Seaton cut Rivera early in the third, the Wolverine freshman sealed an 8-3 decision with a takedown to tie the dual at 3-3.
Drury met 22nd-ranked Julian Tagg for the second time this season at 141 pounds. After a scoreless first period that included a stall warning against Tagg, Drury earned an escape and benefited from a second stall call to take a 2-0 lead. Tagg chose neutral in the third, but Drury fended off a late takedown attempt to secure the 2-0 decision. It marked Drury's second win over Tagg this season.
At 149 pounds, Evans defeated No. 22 Alek Martin for the second time this year, earning a 15-6 major decision. Evans led 3-1 after one period and 7-4 after two while building nearly two minutes of riding time. Martin entered concussion protocol after the second period but returned to finish the match. Evans added an escape and two takedowns in the third to give UVU a 10-3 lead.
South Dakota State responded with three straight wins. No. 18 Cael Swenson earned a major decision over Mark Takara to cut the deficit to 10-7.
Former Viewmont High School standouts Marcus Espinoza-Owens and Moses Espinoza-Owens then delivered back-to-back wins for the Jackrabbits. Marcus, ranked No. 27, scored a late takedown to avoid an upset in a 4-1 decision over Zyon Trujillo, while Moses held off Hudson Rogers, 7-5, to give SDSU a 13-10 lead with three bouts remaining.
Uhlenhopp tied the dual at 184 pounds, edging Brock Fettig, 2-1. The bout was tied 1-1 late before a second stall call against Fettig with 23 seconds remaining proved decisive.
At 197 pounds, No. 7 Bennett Berge delivered a pivotal pin of No. 28 Kael Bennie just 13 seconds into the third period. Berge, a 2025 All-American at 184 pounds, led 6-1 after two periods and secured the fall (5:13) early in the third to put SDSU ahead 19-13 with one match remaining.
Forbes closed the night with an 8-2 decision over Rasmussen at heavyweight. Forbes controlled the bout throughout, scoring early takedowns and building more than two minutes of riding time. He added a late reversal in the third to cap the upset victory.
The Wolverines return to action Saturday night, hosting No. 19 Missouri at 7 p.m. MST at Lockhart Arena. The Tigers are coming off a road win at Arizona State in Big 12 action Thursday night.
FINAL RESULTS: #10 South Dakota State 19, Utah Valley 16
125 | #22 Brady Roark (SDSU) over #30 Bridger Ricks (UVU), dec. 5-1 | SDSU 3, UVU 0
133 | #33 Geronimo Rivera (UVU) over Cale Seaton (SDSU), dec. 8-1 | SDSU 3, UVU 3
141 | #19 Haiden Drury (UVU) over #22 Julian Tagg (SDSU), dec. 2-0 | UVU 6, SDSU 3
149 | #12 David Evans (UVU) over #22 Alek Martin (SDSU), major dec. 15-6 | UVU 10, SDSU 3
157 | #18 Cael Swensen (SDSU) over Mark Takara (UVU), major decision 13-1 | UVU 10, SDSU 7
165 | #27 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDSU) over Zyon Trujillo (UVU), dec. 4-1 | UVU 10, SDSU 10
174 | #18 Moses Espinoza-Owens (SDSU) over Hudson Rogers (UVU), dec. 7-5 | SDSU 13, UVU 10
184 | Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) over Brock Fettig (SDSU), dec. 2-1 | SDSU 13, UVU 13
197 | #7 Bennett Berge (SDSU) over #28 Kael Bennie (UVU), Fall (5:13) | SDSU 19, UVU 13
285 | Jack Forbes (UVU) over #19 Luke Rasmussen (SDSU), dec. 8-2 | SDSU 19, UVU 16
Officials: Eric Boucher, Jason Rivera
Attendance: 1,185
