GREELEY, Colo. — In a dual that came down to the final match, Utah Valley University defeated Northern Colorado 21-17 on Sunday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena. The teams split 10 matches, but three technical falls lifted the Wolverines (5-7, 3-4) to the win in their final Big 12 dual of the season.

Utah Valley trailed 17-13 with two matches remaining and needed wins in both to secure its second consecutive conference road victory of the weekend.

At 197 pounds, No. 28 Kael Bennie defeated Tyler Perry 9-4 to pull UVU within one, 17-16, and set up a winner-take-all finale. No. 27 Jack Forbes left little doubt in the 285-pound bout, recording six takedowns in a 20-4 technical fall over Enzo Cappabianaca. UVU also received technical falls from No. 15 Haiden Drury and No. 7 David Evans.

"That was an ugly win, but our team found a way. We will address our vulnerabilities this week as we prepare for Nebraska," head coach Adam Halls said. "We know that our best wrestling is ahead of us. We look forward to the challenge next week."

No. 25 Bridger Ricks opened the dual with a 1-0 decision over Bryson Valdez at 125 pounds. Ricks scored the only points of the match in the second period, using an escape, a takedown and riding time. Neither wrestler scored in the third.

At 133 pounds, Geronimo Rivera faced 11th-ranked Dominick Serrano and trailed 3-1 late in the second period before the Northern Colorado (2-10, 1-7) senior pulled away. Serrano secured a takedown, a four-point near fall and riding time in the closing seconds to earn a 13-1 major decision.

Drury struck first against Joel Aguilar-Guerrero at 141 pounds, recording a takedown and a four-point near fall in the opening minute. He built more than two minutes of riding time in the first period, added an escape and another takedown in the second to lead 11-0, and closed out a 17-1 technical fall at the 6:24 mark.

At 149 pounds, Evans secured a takedown 25 seconds into his match against Brady Hankin and added a near fall for a 7-0 lead after one period after nearly pinning Hankin. Evans added two more takedowns in the second to extend the lead to 13-2. An escape and a fourth takedown ended the match in a 17-1 technical fall (5:47), giving the Wolverines a 13-3 advantage.

Northern Colorado responded with a 6-1 decision by Daishan Powe over Mark Takara at 157 pounds and a 14-6 major decision by Kilian Schultz over Zyon Trujillo at 165. The Bears made it three straight wins when Murphy Menke defeated Hudson Rogers 8-5 in sudden victory at 174 pounds.

At 184 pounds, No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhopp faced former Utah Valley teammate Mahonri Rushton. After a scoreless first period, Rushton escaped in the second and Uhlenhopp answered with an escape early in the third to force overtime. In the tiebreakers, Rushton escaped with two seconds remaining and then rode out the final 30 seconds to claim a 2-1 victory and give the Bears a 17-13 lead.

Bennie opened the 197-pound match with a takedown to lead 3-0 after one period. An escape and another takedown pushed the lead to 7-0 before Perry recorded two reversals. Bennie added an escape and benefited from a second stall call to secure the 9-4 decision, trimming the team score to 17-16.

In the decisive heavyweight bout, Forbes recorded a first-period takedown and riding time, added three more takedowns in the second to build a 14-2 lead, and finished the technical fall at 5:32.
Utah Valley also won three extra matches. Jake Castagneto pinned Tobey Ravida in 2:24, Trevor Frank earned a 5-3 decision over Logan Glynn, and Christian Smoot recorded a 9-0 major decision against Bryce Garcia.

Utah Valley will compete once more before traveling to Tulsa for the Big 12 Championships on March 6-7. The Wolverines host No. 5 Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at the UCCU Center. Tickets are available at GoUVU.com/WREtix. Final Results:
125 | #25 Bridger Ricks (UVU) over Bryson Valdez (NC), dec. 4-0 | UVU 3, NC 0
133 | #11 Dominick Serrano (NC) over Geronimo Rivera (UVU), major dec. 13-1 | NC 4, UVU 3
141 | #15 Haiden Drury (UVU) over Joel Aguilar-Guerrero (NC), tech fall 17-1 (6:24) | UVU 8, NC 4
149 | #7 David Evans (UVU) over Brady Hankin (NC), tech fall 17-2 (5:47) | UVU 13, NC 4
157 | Daishun Powe (NC) over Mark Takara (UVU), dec. 6-1 | UVU 13, NC 7
165 | Kilian Schultz (NC) over Zyon Trujillo (UVU), major dec. 14-6 | UVU 13, NC 11
174 | Murphy Menke (NC) over Hudson Rogers (UVU), dec. 8-5 (SV-1) | NC 14, UVU 13
184 | Mahonri Rushton (NC) over #32 Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), dec. 2-1 (TB-1) | NC 17, UVU 13
197 | #28 Kael Bennie (UVU) over Tyler Perry (NC), dec. 9-4 | NC 17, UVU 16
285 | #27 Jack Forbes (UVU) over Enzo Cappabianca (NC), tech fall 20-4 (5:32) | UVU 21, NC 17

Extra Matches:
149 | Jake Castagneto (UVU) over Tobey Ravida (NC), Fall (2:24)
165 | Trevor Frank (UVU) over Logan Glynn (NC), dec. 5-3
184 | Christian Smoot (UVU) over Bryce Garcia (NC), major dec. 9-0