Trio of Wolverines On CKLV Podium

LAS VEGAS — Freshman 133-pounder Haiden Drury posted back-to-back overtime victories en route to recording a third-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday to lead the way for Utah Valley University wrestling, while redshirt sophomore Jacob Armstrong (184 pounds) and Evan Bockman (197) also reached the podium at the premier tournament by both placing eighth.

The three Wolverines earning podium finishes at the prestigious tournament tied for the second most placewinners in program history at the event and marked the most since the 2018-19 season when UVU posted a program best with four. The 29th-ranked freshman 133-pounder Drury finished third after going 4-1 with a trio of wins coming over fellow ranked foes at the prestigious tournament, while Armstrong recorded a 4-3 outing on his way to placing eighth at 184 pounds, and Bockman went 3-3 to take eighth at 197.

"Haiden wrestled a solid tournament this weekend. In his final two matches he fell behind early, but showed his character and mental toughness to keep grinding and get back into each match," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "Jacob and Evan both had great wins to earn podium finishes against ranked opponents. As a team we will build on the performances this weekend. This team is hungry to learn and develop."

After going a perfect 2-0 on Friday to reach Saturday's semifinal round, the seventh-seeded Drury then matched up with the third-seeded, 16th-ranked and 2021 NCAA qualifier Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. Ragusin jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead thanks to a pair of first-period takedowns but back came Drury to make things interesting. After riding Ragusin out in the second and earning a penalty point, the 29th-ranked Drury then got a quick escape in the third to pull within 4-3, but Ragusin managed to hold on for a hard fought 4-3 victory to send Drury to the consolation semis. Drury then bounced back nicely with a 4-2 overtime win over No. 33 Jake Gliva of Minnesota thanks to securing the winning takedown in sudden victory to head to the third-place bout.

In the third-place match against the three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time Pac-12 champ Devan Turner of Oregon State, the two headed for overtime as Drury was able to secure the tying takedown late in the third stanza to force the sudden victory period with the bout all knotted up at 4-4. Early in the OT period, Drury went to work and managed to scramble behind the 20th-ranked and fourth-seeded Beaver and secure the winning takedown to win his second straight overtime bout and lock up the third-place finish.

The Fresno State transfer Drury opened his first CKLV Invite appearance on Friday with an 11-3 major decision over Binghamton's Anthony Sobotker to advance to the quarterfinals. Drury then received a win by medical forfeit over 2021 NCAA qualifier, 11th-ranked and second-seeded Chance Rich of CSU Bakersfield to make Saturday morning's semifinal round. In all Drury went 4-1 with a trio of wins over fellow ranked foes and two of those coming against former NCAA qualifiers.

After going 2-1 on Friday to advance to Saturday, the 184-pound Armstrong recorded an 8-5 upset win over 2021 NCAA qualifier and 21st-ranked David Key of Navy to lock up a podium finish. Armstrong recorded a pair of takedowns, a nearfall, an escape, and a riding time point on his way to victory. He then fell for the second time of the tournament to 18th-ranked Darrien Roberts of Oklahoma to wrestle for seventh place. Then in the seventh-place bout against three-time NCAA qualifier and No. 16 Max Lyon of Purdue, Armstrong looked to sustain an injury and fell via injury default to finish eighth. With the 3-3 outing and the eighth-place finish, all three of Armstrong's victories came over former NCAA qualifiers in Key of Navy, Joe Accousti of Sacred Heart, and Collin McCracken of Kent State.

After going 3-1 on Friday to also move on to Saturday, the California Baptist transfer Bockman opened with a hard fought 3-1 decision over two-time NCAA qualifier and 22nd-ranked Alan Clothier of Northern Colorado to secure a podium finish. In another tightly contested battle, Bockman then fell in overtime to the 27th-ranked Princeton freshman Luke Stout by a score of 3-1 to wrestle for seventh. Then in the seventh-place bout against the two-time All-American and 11th-ranked Lou Deprez of Binghamton, Deprez managed to pull out an 8-2 decision for Bockman to finish eighth. After going 4-3 and placing eighth at the premier tournament, Bockman picked up two wins over nationally ranked foes and three over former NCAA qualifiers.

Two other Wolverines in redshirt freshman 174-pounder Kekana Fouret and redshirt sophomore heavyweight Jayden Woodruff also advanced to Saturday's second day of competition, but both had their 2021 CKLV Invite runs finish just one win shy of placing after falling to No. 19 Troy Fisher of Northwestern and No. 22 AJ Nevills of South Dakota State, respectively. Fouret finished with a 3-2 record at the premier tournament which included a first period fall over 20th-ranked Jared Krattiger of Minnesota, while Woodruff went 3-2 with a pair of bonus-point victories.

Five other Wolverine grapplers took part at the 2021 CKLV Invite, but all five had their outings come to a close on Friday. Freshman 125-pounder Yusief Lillie led the group by going 1-2, while Ty Smith (141), Alex Emmer (149), Jaxon Garoutte (157), and Danny Snediker (165) all posted 0-2 outings.

As a team, UVU finished 15th out of 26 teams with 34.5 points. Nebraska won this year's CKLV Invite with 125 points, while Ohio State took second (104), and Michigan third (94.5).

Both of UVU's 2021 All-Americans-in fourth-ranked junior Taylor LaMont (125) and seventh-ranked senior Demetrius Romero (174)-were sidelined this weekend due to injury.

The Wolverines will now return to Orem and will next send their non-starters to the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Dec. 19 in Reno, Nevada. The very next day, Monday, Dec. 20, UVU will welcome Big 12 power and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State to the UCCU Center for a Big 12 clash that evening at 7 p.m. For tickets, please visit GoUVU.com/Tickets.

UVU Results
125 - Yusief Lillie (1-2)
#7 Devin Schroder (Purdue) TF Yusief Lillie (UVU), 18-0 (3:00)
Yusief Lillie (UVU) DEC Kyle Randall (Sacred Heart), 7-4
Jake Svihel (WYO) DEC Yusief Lillie (UVU), 3-2

133 - #29 Haiden Drury (4-1) - 3rd Place
#29 Haiden Drury (UVU) MD Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton), 11-3
#29 Haiden Drury (UVU) MED FORFEIT #11 Chance Rich (CSUB)
#16 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) DEC #29 Haiden Drury (UVU), 4-3
#29 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC #33 Jake Gliva (Minnesota), 4-2 (SV-1)
3rd Place: #29 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC #20 Devan Turner (Oregon St), 6-4 (SV-1)

141 - Ty Smith (0-2)
#24 Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) DEC Ty Smith (UVU), 7-5 (SV-1)
#33 Chase Zollmann (WYO) DEC Ty Smith (UVU), 6-4 (SV-1)

149 - Alex Emmer (0-2)
#4 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) TF Alex Emmer (UVU), 22-4 (7:00)
Chris Sandoval (NC) DEC Alex Emmer (UVU), 6-1

157 - Jaxon Garoutte (0-2)
#14 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) TF Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 19-2 (6:54)
Charles Darracott (Stanford) DEC Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 6-4

165 - Danny Snediker (0-2)
#4 Shane Griffith (Stanford) TF Danny Snediker (UVU), 17-1 (5:43)
Val Park (Navy) DEC Danny Snediker (UVU), 8-4

174 - Kekana Fouret (3-2)
#15 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) DEC Kekana Fouret (UVU), 6-4
Kekana Fouret (UVU) DEC Billy Higgins (UNK), 9-3
Kekana Fouret (UVU) FALL #20 Jared Krattiger (Minnesota), 2:19
Kekana Fouret (UVU) DEC Michael Ferree (Kent St), 3-1
#19 Troy Fisher (Northwestern) DEC Kekana Fouret (UVU), 8-4

184 - Jacob Armstrong (3-3) - 8th Place
#18 Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) DEC Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 4-2
Jacob Armstrong (UVU) DEC Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 2-0
Jacob Armstrong (UVU) DEC Colin McCracken (Kent St), 4-1
Jacob Armstrong (UVU) DEC #21 David Key (Navy), 8-5
#18 Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) FALL Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 4:59
7th Place: #16 Max Lyon (Purdue) INJ DEFAULT Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 0:22

197 - Evan Bockman (4-3) - 8th Place
Evan Bockman (UVU) DEC #19 Jacob Koser (Navy), 7-3
#18 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) DEC Evan Bockman (UVU), 3-2
Evan Bockman (UVU) DEC Tyler Bates (Kent St), 8-3
Evan Bockman (UVU) DEC J.J. Dixon (Oregon St), 3-2
Evan Bockman (UVU) DEC #22 Alan Clothier (NC), 3-1
#27 Luke Stout (Princeton) DEC Evan Bockman (UVU), 3-1 (SV-1)
7th Place: #11 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) DEC Evan Bockman (UVU), 8-2

285 - Jayden Woodruff (3-2)
#18 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) DEC Jayden Woodruff (UVU), 4-1
Jayden Woodruff (UVU) MD Peter Ming (Stanford), 10-0
Jayden Woodruff (UVU) MD Robert Winters (NC), 10-0
Jayden Woodruff (UVU) DEC Lee Herrington (UNK), 9-4
#22 AJ Nevills (SDSU) FALL Jayden Woodruff (UVU), 6:14

* Individual rankings taken from the latest InterMat, FloWrestling and WIN Magazine polls.