OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University will open its third season under Adam Hall on Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Clarion Open in Pennsylvania. The tournament begins at 9 a.m. ET (7 a.m. MT) at Tippin Gymnasium and will stream live on FloWrestling with a field that includes No. 6 Ohio State and No. 20 Pittsburgh. The Wolverines will send 21 student-athletes to compete; two wrestlers in nine of the weight classes and three at 165 pounds.
"We are excited for our guys to start their season and get some outside competition. We put in a tremendous amount of work in the summer and fall, so we fully expect them to make a name for themselves early," said Hall. "Our guys are hungry and motivated to chase their team and individual goals. The Clarion Open will be a good barometer and should provide greater clarity on the lineup and help determine who earns the starting role. It will also be a good test before we host top-10, nationally ranked Iowa State next week. Go Wolverines!"
Utah Valley has five wrestlers ranked in preseason polls between InterMat, FloWrestling and College Wrestling Report. Moses Espinoza-Owens, Caleb Uhlenhopp and Kael Bennie are returning NCAA qualifiers and are ranked in all three polls, with their highest rankings coming from FloWrestling. Espinoza-Owens and Uhlenhopp are ranked No. 18 at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, while Bennie is ranked No. 21 at 197 pounds.
Geronimo Rivera, who moved from 133 to 125 pounds, is ranked No. 29 by College Wrestling Report, while Marcus Espinoza-Owens is ranked No. 32 at 165 pounds by the same publication. The Espinoza-Owens twins have switched weights this season. Moses will compete at 165 pounds, while Marcus will compete at 174 pounds.
2026-27 SEASON PREVIEW
Coming off a season in which five wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships, Utah Valley third-year head coach Adam Hall returns two qualifiers and welcomes a third through the transfer portal, as Moses Espinoza-Owens returns to his home state after three seasons at South Dakota State. He's joined by twin brother Marcus, who started at 165 pounds last season for SDSU, while Moses started at 174 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Moses won 29 matches last season, tying for 10th nationally in total victories.
Kael Bennie and Caleb Uhlenhopp are the two returning Wolverines who competed at the NCAA Championships last March in Cleveland. Bennie enters his fourth season with the program, while Uhlenhopp returns for his fifth and final season of eligibility. Uhlenhopp's 18 wins last season lead all returning Wolverines.
The duo is part of a group of five returning starters who competed in at least half of the team's duals last season. That list also includes Geronimo Rivera, who is dropping to 125 pounds after competing at 133 pounds as a true freshman. Other returning starters from the 2025-26 season include Zyon Trujillo at 165 pounds and Hudson Rogers at 174 pounds.
Hall will need to replace three NCAA qualifiers who exhausted their eligibility after the 2025-26 season: Haiden Drury, David Evans and Jack Forbes. Smokey McClure (141 pounds), Jason Worthley (149 pounds) and Will McCleary (285 pounds) won those spots at the Green & Black Wrestle-Offs on Oct. 23.
Other wrestle-off winners included Layne Kleimann, who won three matches at the U.S. Senior Open in April. Kleimann is scheduled to make his official debut at the Clarion Open at 133 pounds. Ian Fritz, who won nine matches as a backup last season, won his intrasquad bout by major decision at 157 pounds. True freshman Jay Singer also earned a major-decision victory at 184 pounds.
The challenging Big 12 schedule gets underway quickly, with No. 9 Iowa State visiting Orem on Nov. 6. The dual will take place at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley will host three duals before the Christmas break, including a conference matchup against No. 23 West Virginia on Nov. 19 and a non-conference dual against Big Ten opponent Wisconsin on Dec. 19. Both matches will be held at Lockhart Arena.
Utah Valley's final home Big 12 duals are scheduled for Feb. 4 and 5, when No. 21 Northern Iowa and No. 10 Missouri visit Orem. The Wolverines' Big 12 road schedule includes duals at No. 18 Wyoming, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 2 Oklahoma State. Utah Valley will also compete in three duals at the Davidson Duals against Chattanooga, Lock Haven and The Citadel.
The non-conference schedule includes duals against two Pac-12 programs, including former Big 12 partner Northern Colorado. Utah Valley will close out its dual season at Little Rock on Feb. 19.
The Big 12 Championships are scheduled for March 5-6 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The NCAA Championships will follow March 18-20 in St. Louis.
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will open the 2026-27 dual season next Friday, Nov. 6 in the UCCU Center against No. 9 Iowa State in the first of four home matches in Big 12 competition. Fans can purchase general admission seating at GoUVU.com/GetTix.
