Nine Wolverines Place; Delgado Crowned Cowboy Open Champ

LARAMIE, Wyo. — A total of nine Utah Valley University grapplers earned podium finishes on Saturday at the Cowboy Open and junior Isaiah Delgado led the way by winning the 141-pound championship while competing unattached on Saturday in Laramie.

The open tournament title marks the second straight for Delgado, as he previously was crowned the Roadrunner Open champion last weekend. Delgado, who is planning on redshirting the 2021-22 season for the Wolverines, went a perfect 4-0 on Saturday en route to winning the 141-pound Cowboy Open crown.

"This was a great chance for most of our younger guys to get matches against starters from top competition (ASU and Wyoming). Our two-year plan is to get as many top-level matches for our redshirts and non-starters as possible. This is a great young group, and they are hungry to develop. These matches, whether we won or lost them, will pay off for our wrestlers and our program moving forward," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "Isaiah has two ranked opponent wins in two weeks. We are excited for him and about his continued progress."

Wrestling unattached, Delgado recorded a trio of bonus-point wins on his way to advancing to the finals at 141 pounds. He opened with a 17-0 tech fall victory over Skyler Geier-Dodson of Chadron State (unattached) and followed that up with a 20-2 tech fall win over Western Wyoming's Dylan Catlin (unattached) to advance to the semis. In the semis, he looked strong against 24th-ranked Chase Zollman of Wyoming on his way to upsetting his second ranked foe in as many weeks, this time by an 11-2 major decision. Delgado then faced Wyoming's Darren Green in the title bout, and he managed to outscore Green on his way to winning the 141-pound title by a score of 5-3.

With the majority of UVU's starters sitting out Saturday's open tournament, usual starters Evan Bockman (197 pounds) and Chase Trussell (heavyweight) had strong outings for the Wolverines by placing second and third, respectively. The 197-pound redshirt sophomore Bockman went 2-1 en route to taking second while the redshirt sophomore heavyweight Trussell posted a 3-1 outing on the day to place third.

Sophomore 133-pounder Kobe Nelms too had a strong tournament for UVU on Saturday by placing fourth after going 4-2, while fellow sophomore 133-pounder Kainalu Estrella finished fifth at the same weight class with a 2-2 showing. Freshman Hunter Morse too placed for the Wolverines at the event by taking fifth at 174 pounds after going 4-2 at the tournament.

Behind Delgado's tournament title, fellow unattached Wolverines and freshmen Kase Mauger (125), Jack Forbes (197) and Mahonri Rushton (184) also placed by taking third, third, and fourth, respectively. Mauger went 5-1 to place third at 125, while Forbes went 3-1 to take third at 197, and Ruston finished with a 3-2 outing to finish fourth at 184.

Four other Wolverines competed for UVU at the event and second-year freshman Tanner Lofthouse led the way by going 2-2 at 165. Sophomore and Wyoming native Brigg Hoopes was next by going 1-1 at 157, while freshman 125-pounder Yusief Lillie finished 1-2, and redshirt freshman Sam Edelblute went 0-2 at 149. Competing unattached, freshman Tyson Humpherys wrestled his way to a 3-1 performance at 141, while fellow freshmen Merrell Morley (184) and Levi Kovacs (197) each went 0-2.

Up next, the Wolverines will continue tournament action next weekend by taking part at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 3-4 in Las Vegas. Following the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 19, UVU will host its 2021-22 home opener on Monday, Dec. 20 when it welcomes Big 12 power and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State to the UCCU Center. For ticket information, visit GoUVU.com/tickets.

Final Results

125 - Yusief Lillie (1-2)
Garrett Ricks (Western Wyo) DEC Yusief Lillie (UVU), 11-4
Yusief Lillie (UVU) DEC Darrick Stacey (WYO), 3-1
Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) FALL Yusief Lillie (UVU), 4:01

133 - Kobe Nelms (4-2) - 4th Place
Kobe Nelms (UVU) MD Kobe Lepe (Chadron St), 8-0
Job Greenwood (WYO) DEC Kobe Nelms (UVU), 8-1
Kobe Nelms (UVU) MD Destin Summers (Western Wyo), 13-2
Kobe Nelms (UVU) MD Josh Kyle (WYO-UN), 12-3
Kobe Nelms (UVU) DEC Kainalu Estrella (UVU), 3-1
3rd Place: Julian Chlebove (ASU) FALL Kobe Nelms (UVU), 3:17

133 - Kainalu Estrella (2-2) - 5th Place
Kainalu Estrella (UVU) MD Lou Fincher (ASU), 9-1
#7 Michael McGee (ASU) TF Kainalu Estrella (UVU), 18-2
Kobe Nelms (UVU) DEC Kainalu Estrella (UVU), 3-1
5th Place: Kainalu Estrella (UVU) DEC Joseph Mecham (Western Wyo), 7-1

149 - Sam Edelblute (0-2)
Branden Pagurayan (WYO-UN) DEC Sam Edelblute (UVU), 5-3
Ivan Morris (UNC-UN) FALL Sam Edelblute (UVU), 1:48

157 - Brigg Hoopes (1-1)
Brigg Hoopes (UVU) DEC Riggen Cordingley (Western Wyo), 4-0
Nathan Moore (UNC) FALL Brigg Hoopes (UVU), 0:23
Hunter Gonzales (NW Kansas Tech) M FOR Brigg Hoopes (UVU)

165 - Tanner Lofthouse (2-2)
Tanner Lofthouse (UVU) TF Brayden Engelking (UNC-UN), 18-2
Hayden Lieb (WYO-UN) MD Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), 12-2
Tanner Lofthouse (UVU) DEC Kevin Anderson (WYO-UN), 8-3
Max Wilner (ASU-UN) DEC Tanner Lofthouse (UVU), 12-5

174 - Hunter Morse (4-2) - 5th Place
Hunter Morse (UVU) DEC Keegan Gehlhausen (Chadron St-UN), 4-3
Ryan Rochford (ASU) MD Hunter Morse (UVU), 17-7
Hunter Morse (UVU) DEC Guillermo Escobedo (WYO-UN), 3-1
Hunter Morse (UVU) INJ DEFAULT Gage Hockett (WYO)
Zane Coleman (ASU) DEC Hunter Morse (UVU), 5-0
5th Place: Hunter Morse (UVU) DEC Damen Pape (UNC), 5-3

197 - Evan Bockman (2-1) - 2nd Place
Evan Bockman (UVU) MD Tyler Scheurn (Western Wyo), 19-6
Evan Bockman (UVU) MD Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St), 16-4
1st Place: #7 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) MD Evan Bockman (UVU), 12-2

285 - Chase Trussell (3-1) - 3rd Place
Chase Trussell (UVU) DEC Bradley Moore (WYO-UN), 8-1
#8 Brian Andrews (WYO) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 2-1
Chase Trussell (UVU) MD Koby Johnson (Western Wyo), 10-0
3rd Place: Chase Trussell (UVU) DEC Chad Porter (ASU), 2-1

125 - Kase Mauger (5-1) - 3rd Place
Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) FALL Cole Jensen (Western Wyo), 1:48
#3 Brandon Courtney (ASU) MD Kase Mauger (UVU-UN), 15-6
Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) FALL Kade Lincoln (Western Wyo), 0:44
Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) FALL Yusief Lillie (UVU), 4:01
Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) FALL Brendon Garcia (WYO), 1:34
3rd Place: Kase Mauger (UVU-UN) MD Jake Svihel (WYO), 18-7

141 - Isaiah Delgado (4-0) - 1st Place
Isaiah Delgado (UVU-UN) TF Skyler Geier-Dodson (Chadron St-UN), 17-0
Isaiah Delgado (UVU-UN) TF Dylan Catlin (Western Wyo-UN), 20-2
Isaiah Delgado (UVU-UN) MD #24 Chase Zollman (WYO), 11-2
1st Place: Isaiah Delgado (UVU-UN) DEC Darren Green (WYO-UN), 5-3

141 - Tyson Humpherys (3-1)
Darren Green (WYO-UN) DEC Tyson Humpherys (UVU-UN), 9-7
Tyson Humpherys (UVU-UN) FALL Caleb Nathan (Western Wyo), 1:53
Tyson Humpherys (UVU-UN) FALL Dylan Catlin (Western Wyo-UN), 2:30
Tyson Humpherys (UVU-UN) DEC Joseph Ritzen (Chadron St), 6-0
Ethan Leake (Chadron St) M FOR Tyson Humpherys (UVU-UN)

184 - Mahonri Rushton (3-2) - 4th Place
Mahonri Rushton (UVU-UN) DEC Daemyen Middlebrooks (Unattached), 10-7
Branson Britten (UNC-UN) DEC Mahonri Rushton (UVU-UN), 7-3
Mahonri Rushton (UVU-UN) DEC Andrew Nicholson (Western Wyo), 9-4
Mahonri Rushton (UVU-UN) FALL Rowdy Pfeil (Chadron St), 2:39
3rd Place: Branson Britten (UNC-UN) TF Mahonri Rushton (UVU-UN), 16-0

184 - Merrell Morley (0-2)
Damen Pape (UNC) DEC Merrell Morley (UVU-UN), 3-1
Guillermo Escobedo (WYO-UN) MD Merrell Morley (UVU-UN), 12-0

197 - Jack Forbes (3-1) - 3rd Place
Jack Forbes (UVU-UN) FALL Jayshon Hines (NW Kansas Tech), 2:16
#7 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) TF Jack Forbes (UVU-UN), 21-4
Jack Forbes (UVU-UN) DEC Tyler Scheurn (Western Wyo), 9-5
3rd Place: Jack Forbes (UVU-UN) DEC Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St), 5-4

197 - Levi Kovacs (0-2)
Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St) DEC Levi Kovacs (UVU-UN), 8-3
Tyler Scheurn (Western Wyo) MD Levi Kovacs (UVU-UN), 10-2