CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Four Utah Valley University wrestlers earned podium finishes at the Southern Scuffle this weekend, led by Hudson Rogers and Haiden Drury, who each placed sixth. Kael Bennie finished seventh, and Caleb Uhlenhopp took eighth. Utah Valley finished in a tie for 10th with American University with No. 1 Penn State taking first place. 

Drury advanced to the semifinals at 141 pounds before being forced to medically forfeit on Sunday, resulting in a sixth-place finish. Rogers won his first two bouts of the day, while Bennie and Uhlenhopp each won their opening matches Sunday to secure podium placements.

Bennie capped his tournament with his second ranked victory of the weekend, defeating No. 19 Payton Thomas of Navy in the seventh-place bout. Bennie scored the first takedown early and built a 7-1 lead through two periods. Thomas added a late takedown, but Bennie escaped and secured riding time for a 9-5 decision.

"I'm happy for the four guys that got on the podium today. They battled and will take a lot away from the competition," head coach Adam Hall said. "Even without David Evans, we had a strong performance as a team with eight guys competing today and finishing in the top ten as a team. We will be making quick adjustments this week as we prepare for Wyoming. Our guys and staff are excited to be back home after two months of competitions on the road. We look forward to seeing our fans on Saturday!"

Earlier Sunday, Bennie defeated Chattanooga's Kade Rule for the second time this season, earning a 14-3 major decision. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first, Bennie answered Rule's second-period reversal with one of his own and added four near-fall points to pull away. Bennie later fell to No. 31 Kael Wisler of Michigan State in a 7-2 decision.

Rogers opened Sunday with a 5-3 decision over Tyson Sherlock, using a first-period takedown and rideout to build riding time and take control. He followed with a 4-1 win against Army's Andrew Christie, scoring a reversal late in the second and adding near-fall points while erasing Christie's riding time advantage.

In the consolation semifinals, Rogers dropped a narrow 7-6 decision to No. 22 Aidan Wallace of Duke after the riding time point favored Wallace. Rogers then fell to Penn's Liam Carlin, 2-1, in the fifth-place match.

Uhlenhopp began his day with an 8-4 win over North Dakota State's Andrew McMonagle, scoring a decisive third-period takedown and adding a riding time point. He then faced Chattanooga's Landon Jones, who earned a 3-2 decision to avenge an earlier loss. In the seventh-place bout, Uhlenhopp fell to No. 22 Jaden Bullock of Virginia Tech, 5-2, after surrendering four near-fall points late.

Four other Wolverines competed but were eliminated on the opening day. No. 25 Bridger Ricks lost to American's JJ Peace, 7-2, at 125 pounds. No. 33 Geronimo Rivera fell to No. 13 Evan Mougalian of Penn, 12-3, at 133. Mark Takara dropped an 8-0 major decision to No. 13 Jude Fisher of Penn at 157, and Jack Forbes came up short in an 8-7 loss to Cornell's Cyril Kruse at 285. 

Utah Valley returns home this weekend to open Big 12 competition against Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. MST in Lockhart Arena. The UVU Rockwell Open will follow Sunday, Jan. 11, in the UCCU Center.

Sunday Results
125 | JJ Peace (AU) over #25 Bridger Ricks (UVU), dec. 7-2

133 | #13 Evan Mougalian (PENN) over #33 Geronimo Rivera (UVU), major dec. 12-3

141 | #5 CJ Composto (PENN) over #25 Haiden Drury (UVU), MFFL

157 | #13 Jude Swisher (PENN) over Mark Takara (UVU), major dec. 8-0

174 | Hudson Rogers (UVU) over Tyson Sherlock (DAVD), dec. 5-3
174 | Hudson Rogers (UVU) over Andrew Christie (Army), dec. 4-1
174 | #22 Aidan Wallace (Duke) over Hudson Rogers (UVU), dec. 7-6
174 | Liam Carlin (Penn) over Hudson Rogers (UVU), dec. 2-1

184 | #33 Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) over Andrew McMonagle (NDSU), dec. 8-4
184 | Landon Jones (UTC) over #33 Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), dec. 3-2
184 | #22 Jaden Bullock (VT) over #33 Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), dec. 5-2

197 | Kael Bennie (UVU) over Kade Rule (UTC), major dec. 14-3
197 | #31 Kael Wisler (MSU) over Kael Bennie (UVU), dec. 7-2
197 | Kael Bennie (UVU) over #19 Payton Thomas (Navy), dec. 9-5

285 | Cyril Kruse (CORN) over Jack Forbes (UVU), dec. 8-7