Feb. 21, 2006: RevWrestling.com

Utah Valley State Sweeps Competition to Finish Season On High Note

GREELEY, Colorado — Utah Valley State closed out its 2005-06 season on a high note by sweeping Air Force and Northern Colorado to finish the season with a 9-9 dual record in just its third season of existence.

The Wolverines opened the day with Air Force and led from start to finish to win 24-20 in a dual that was clinched before the final match began. In the season finale, Utah Valley State won seven straight matches to blow out Northern Colorado 32-10 and avenge an earlier 23-21 loss to the Bears in Orem.

The 22-point margin of victory is a school record against a Divsion-I opponent for the Wolverines.

"I'm so proud of the team. The guys just wrestled great," said head coach Cody Sanderson. "We wrestled better as a team today than we have all year."

In the win over host Northern Colorado, Bigney started the match with an 8-5 decision over Tim Sexton to give UV a 3-0 lead.

#20 Reece Hopkin then gave Northern Colorado the lead after pinning Jaime Thornblad one minute into the match. Heavyweight Dallin Norton quickly returned the favor though as it took him just one second longer to pin Justin Tuell.

125 pounder Talon Vickers followed Norton with an 8-5 decision over Beau Hessler to give the Wolverines a 12-6 lead, giving Vickers a personal best 22 wins on the season.

Senior Erkin Tadzhimetov ended his college career with a 15-2 major decision over Kyle Swenson at 133 pounds, earning him his school record 30th win of the year and giving Utah Valley a 16-6 lead.

At 141 pounds Daniel Polkowske got a big win for the Wolverines when he pinned Richard Lohr with :47 seconds left in the first period, giving UV a big 22-6 advantage and deflating Northern Colorado's spirits.

Justin Rawle then clinched it for Utah Valley State when he scored a 7-3 decision over Kyle LeValley, giving UV an insurmountable 25-6 lead.

Wolverine junior Tanner Cowan topped Nathan Gerrard in an 11-2 major decision at 157 pounds to stretch the lead to 29-6 before Devin Siddoway made it 32-6 with a 9-4 decision over Devan Lewis.

Northern Colorado's Shawn Hart won by major decision, 10-1 over Garret Story in the final match of the night.

In the day's opening dual against Air Force, Bigney began the match by pinning Zane Hershey 1:21 into the match. Following a Air Force major decision at 197, Dallin Norton scored a 4-2 decision over Frank McGrath.

Then, thanks in part to a forfeit at 125 pounds by Air Force, the Wolverines built a 21-4 lead after Tadzhimetov's fall over Brandon Strong with 1:20 left in the 2nd period.

Air Force then came back to win a decision at 141 pounds and a fall at 149 to cut the lead to 21-13.

Tanner Cowan then scored a big 7-2 decision over Bridger Lord to extend the lead to 24-13 and force the Falcons two win twice by fall to have a chance to win the match.

Utah Valley State clinched it at 165 pounds despite the fact that Devin Siddoway lost to Zach Lord 4-3. The match made the score 24-16 with just one match to go.

"Beating Air Force is a huge win for this program," said Sanderson. "They've been around a long time. This is a major step for us to beat them."

Vickers (22-10), Tadzhimetov (30-8), Polkowske (17-16), Bigney (17-13) and Norton (14-13) all finished the season above .500 for Utah Valley State.

Match Results

Utah Valley State 24 - Air Force 20

• 184 - Ivan Bigney (UVSC) pinned Zane Hershey (AF), 1:21

• 197 - Brenden McLean (AF) maj. dec. Jaime Thornblad (UVSC), 12-3

• HWT - Dallin Norton (UVSC) dec. Frank McGrath (AF), 4-2

• 125 - Talon Vickers (UVSC) wins by forfeit

• 133 - Erkin Tadzhimetov (UVSC) pins Brandon Strong (AF), 3:40

• 141 - Jake Kreigbaum (AF) dec. Daniel Polkowske (UVSC), 5-3

• 149 - Chris Nissen (AF) pins Justin Rawle (UVSC), 2:15

• 157 - Tanner Cowan (UVSC) dec. Bridger Lord (AF), 7-2

• 165 - Zach Lord (AFA) dec. Devin Siddoway (UVSC), 4-3

• 174 - Stephen Crozier (AF) maj. dec. Garret Story (UVSC), 10-2

Utah Valley State 32 - Northern Colorado 10

• 184 – Ivan Bigney (UVSC) dec. Tim Sexton (NCOL), 8-5

• 197 – #20 Reece Hopkin (NCOL) pinned Jaime Thornblad (UVSC), 1:00

• HWT – Dallin Norton (UVSC) pinned Justin Tuell (NCOL), 1:01

• 125 – Talon Vickers (UVSC) dec. Beau Hessler (NCOL), 8-5

• 133 – Erkin Tadzhimetov (UVSC) maj. dec. Kyle Swenson (NCOL), 15-2

• 141 – Daniel Polkowske (UVSC) pinned Richard Lohr (NCOL), 2:13

• 149 – Justin Rawle (UVSC) dec. Kyle LeValley (NCOL), 7-3

• 157 – Tanner Cowan (UVSC) maj. dec. Nathan Gerrard (NCOL), 11-2

• 165 – Devin Siddoway (UVSC) dec. Devan Lewis (NCOL), 9-4

• 174 – Shawn Hart (NCOL) maj. dec. Garret Story (UVSC), 14-1