Eight Wolverines On Podium at Penn Keystone

PHILADELPHIA – Utah Valley wrestling returned to the mat today at a pair of tournaments on the opposite sides of the country. No. 25 Haiden Drury finished 3-1 on the day and finished second at 133 at the Penn Keystone Open. UVU had eight place today and finished seventh out of the ten-team field.

"We were happy to get a lot of matches in today against a mix of mid to top-level competition. I felt bad for Evan. He was dictating and up in his semifinal match, then overran his double and got put on his back for a 10-point swing. It was also good to see Haiden getting his timing back better with every match. Overall, we are not where we want to be. We will take this experience back and try to get better," said UVU Head Coach Greg Williams.

No. 12 Evan Bockman finished sixth after picking up victories over Martin Cosgrove of Penn and Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech). In the semifinals, he saw a familiar foe in No. 32 John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall), who he beat at the Southeast Open by a major decision 17-3. Crawford evened the season series with a 12-5 decision in today's semifinals. The day ended for the two-time NCAA qualifier after having to take a medical forfeit.

Drury outscored his opponents 24-5 while cruising through the first three rounds before he trailed 2-1 in the first-place match to Penn's Alex Almeyda. A third-period escape tied the bout at 2-2 before the riding time favored Almeyda for the 3-2 victory.

Jacob Armstrong went 4-2 on the day and finished fourth at 184. He picked up two wins by tech fall and a major decision to account for three of his four victories. His only defeat came against No. 22 James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) in a highly contested 4-1 decision. Armstrong tied the match at 1-1 after a third period escape before giving up a late takedown.

Redshirt Freshman Mark Takara made a run to the semifinals at 174 after defeating Drexel's Jack Janda via tiebreaker before adding a 4-1 decision in the quarterfinals. He fell in the semifinals and consolation semifinals but ended on a high note with a 12-0 major decision over Jack Wimmer (Duke).

184-pounder Mahonri Rushton, Jack Forbes, and Isaiah Delgado each placed during the competition. Rushton finished 2-3, placed sixth, and pushed to the semifinals after falling to No. 20 Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech). He won his two matches today via tech fall and major decision. Delgado finished 3-2 and placed seventh.

Forbes finished sixth and went 1-3. Also competing for the Wolverines were Yusief Lillie (0-2), Kobe Nelms (0-2), Ty Smith (1-2), Kyler Lake (1-2), Tyson Humpherys (0-2), Alex Emmer (2-2), Jaxon Garoutte (2-2), Tanner Lofthouse (2-2), and Merrell Morley (0-2).

Spokane Open

Utah Valley had a fantastic day in Spokane as they went a combined 28-1 on the day. 125-pounder Jacob Carson won his first tournament of the year and won all five matches by pin, with the longest match going 1:25.

Williams said, "We are excited about this group of freshmen. They are confident, coachable, and hard-working. These first two tournaments have shown that they can create a lot of opportunities to score. They are great Preparatory competitions for them as they get ready to wrestle some top D1 competition next month in Reno.

Jakob Romero finished 5-0 and took home first after pinning his first opponent and adding a pair of tech falls to reach the semifinals before he recorded a pair of decisions to clinch the perfect record.

Trevor Frank and Kael Bennie added tournament titles to their UVU resumes after sweeping the competition. Frank won by a combined 36-4 score while adding a fall in the semifinals. Bennie was tough on his opponents today, with three decisions and a fall in 0:58 in the second round.

Luke Van Orden finished in second place at 149 before taking an injury default in the first-place match, and Eli Stafford took home third.

The Wolverines return the mat for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 1-2 and then will close out the month at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 17. The home opening dual is scheduled for Jan. 20 against Wyoming. Tickets for all home duals are still available.