Wolverines Drop Duals

OREM, Utah — Reigning All-American Taylor LaMont went a perfect 3-0 on the day and fellow 2021 NCAA qualifier Ty Smith recorded the win of the night by upsetting fifth-ranked Allan Hart in the final match of the evening, but Utah Valley University fell just short in a pair of Big 12 duals on Saturday night at Lockhart Arena by falling 18-15 to No. 13 Missouri and 23-17 to Wyoming.

Both duals came down to the final match of the contest, and Wyoming's Darren Green managed to pull out an overtime battle over the UVU 141-pounder Smith on a technicality to seal the first dual for the Cowboys, but Smith responded in the nightcap with a last-second takedown to defeat the two-time NCAA qualifier Hart of Mizzou by decision. But in the end UVU came up just short against the Tigers by falling by just three mere points.

UVU drops to 5-5 overall on the season with the setbacks and 0-4 in Big 12 action, while Wyoming improves to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in conference action, and the 13th-ranked Tigers move to 9-3 overall and 7-1 in league competition with a pair of victories. Mizzou also defeated Wyoming by a score of 30-6 in the first match of the day.

"We are shaking hands with Missouri here at the end of the night and they were disappointed because of their performance. I want our guys to be disappointed because we are not doing a good job when we are on the mat and in the bottom position. If we want to get better as a team, we've got to get better at that," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. The work ethic is there and the buy-in is there, but we noticed some gaps as we headed into the break here tonight. I felt like our energy was good, but we need to get some things corrected as we head down the stretch here in the season."

Trailing 16-0 after four matches in UVU's first dual of the day against Wyoming, the 28th-ranked redshirt sophomore Jacob Armstrong got things going for the Wolverines with an 8-1 decision over Cooper Voorhees at 184 pounds to make it 16-3. After a major decision from fifth-ranked Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming at 197 made it 20-3 Pokes, UVU then made its comeback attempt with back-to-back-to-back wins including a tech fall and a fall to make it 20-17 with one match to go.

UVU sophomore heavyweight Chase Trussell started the stretch for UVU with a 4-2 victory over Wyoming's Terren Swartz to make it 20-6. Reigning All-American and 13th-ranked redshirt junior LaMont then followed with a dominant 21-6 technical fall over UW's Brendon Garcia to pull Utah Valley within 20-11. The 13th-ranked freshman 133-pounder Haiden Drury then recorded a much-needed fall for UVU over Wyoming's Josh Kyle in 6:05 to make it 20-17 with one match to go.

Then with the dual on the line in the final bout of the contest between the UVU 2021 NCAA qualifier Smith and Wyoming's Green at 141 pounds, the two went toe-to-toe as the contest headed to overtime all knotted up at 4-4. With Smith and Green trading shot attempts in the first sudden victory overtime period, the Wyoming coaches then challenged the Smith grabbed Green's headgear. After the officials went to the video review, Green was awarded a penalty point to win the bout on a technicality by a score of 5-4 and help the Cowboys hang on to win the tightly contested Big 12 dual, 23-17.

In the nightcap against the 13th-ranked Tigers, Mizzou opened up an 8-0 advantage after claiming victories in the first two bouts at 149 and 157. Second-year freshman Danny Snediker then answered for the Wolverines with a 9-3 decision over Mizzou's Mitchell Bohlken at 165 pounds to make it 8-3. Holding to a 4-1 lead after two periods of action, Snediker then put the match away with a pair of final-period takedowns along with a riding time point to put UVU on the board.

After a win by major decision from Mizzou's Sean Harman at 174 to make it 12-3 Tigers, the 184-pound bout went down to the wire between UVU's 28th-ranked Armstrong and Mizzou's 16th-ranked Jeremiah Kent. Deadlocked at 2-2 in the final stanza, Kent then picked up the go-ahead escape late in the period to take a 3-2 advantage. Following a late stall call on Kent, Armstrong was then awarded the winning takedown as time expired but after review it was determined that the takedown occurred after time had expired and was wiped away as Kent held on to win the tightly contested battle by a score of 3-2.

The 24th-ranked sophomore Evan Bockman then struck back for UVU with an 8-1 decision over Mizzou's Jack Flynn at 197 pounds to pull Utah Valley within 15-6. Bockman looked strong in the bout as he racked up a trio of takedowns, an escape, and a riding time point to pull the contest out.

The Tigers then countered with a 5-0 victory from 15th-ranked heavyweight Zach Elam to extend Mizzou's lead to 18-6 with three matches to go.

In his third match of the evening, the 13th-ranked LaMont then matched up with 12th-ranked Noah Surtin at 125 pounds in one of the marquee matches of the night. Surtin jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but LaMont answered back with an escape and a takedown to go up 3-2 at the end of one. The 2021 NCAA qualifier Surtin then tied it in the second with an escape as the bout headed to the third and final stanza all squared up at 3-3. The three-time UVU NCAA qualifier LaMont then went ahead midway through the final period with a clutch reversal as he would go on to hold the lead from there to defeat Surtin, 5-3, and pull the team score to 18-9 with two bouts remaining.

Fellow 13th-ranked Wolverine Drury then again followed with a victory for UVU to pull the team score to 18-12 and give Utah Valley a chance heading into the final match. Drury just missed a major in the contest as he defeated Mizzou's Trey Crawford by a score of 9-2. Drury racked up four takedowns in the bout along with over 4:00 minutes of riding time on his way to pulling out the 9-2 decision.

Then with the dual on the line, UVU's Smith and Mizzou's fifth-ranked Allan Hart battled it out at 141 pounds. Scoreless heading into the final period, Mizzou's Hart was the first to get on the scoreboard with an escape to take a 1-0 lead. With the clock winding down and Smith looking to score the winning takedown, the 2021 UVU NCAA qualifier managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat with a last-second takedown just before time expired to pull out a big 2-1 victory over the fifth-ranked Hart.

In all, UVU and Mizzou split the contest at five matches apiece, but a pair of bonus-point wins proved to be the difference in the dual for the Tigers.

Four Wolverines also took part in five extra matches on the evening and LaMont defeated UW's Garcia by fall (0:41) for his third win of the day to improve to 5-1 on the year. UVU redshirt sophomore Kainalu Estrella also picked up a win by fall in an extra match at 133 pounds over Wyoming's Josh Kyle, while UVU's Kobe Nelms (133) and Ashton Seely (197) fell to Missouri's Connor Brown and Jack Flynn, respectively, and Brigg Hoopes (165) fell to UW's 20th-ranked Cole Moody.

Saturday's action marked UVU's first competition since Jan. 2 as it had its last five scheduled duals wiped out due to COVID-19. Saturday also marked UVU's final scheduled home duals of the season.

The Wolverines are next scheduled to close their dual season next by heading to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the WVU Mountaineers on Saturday, Feb. 12. The Big 12 Championships will then follow on March 5-6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stay tuned for any schedule adjustments for the Wolverines by visiting GoUVU.com.

Final Results

Wyoming 23, Utah Valley 17
149: Jaron Jensen (WYO) MD Sam Edelblute (UVU), 13-3
157: #13 Jacob Wright (MIZ) DEC Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 4-1
165: #20 Cole Moody (WYO) DEC Danny Snediker (UVU), 2-1 (TB-1)
174: #11 Hayden Hastings (WYO) FALL #32 Kekana Fouret (UVU), 3:59
184: #28 Jacob Armstrong (UVU) DEC Cooper Voorhees (WYO), 8-1
197: #5 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) MD #24 Evan Bockman (UVU), 13-4
285: Chase Trussell (UVU) DEC Terren Swartz (WYO), 4-2
125: #13 Taylor LaMont (UVU) TF Brendon Garcia (WYO), 21-6 (5:40)
133: #13 Haiden Drury (UVU) FALL Josh Kyle (WYO), 6:05
141: Darren Green (WYO) DEC Ty Smith (UVU), 5-4 (SV-1)
EX 125: #13 Taylor LaMont (UVU) FALL Brendon Garcia (WYO), 0:41
EX 165: #20 Cole Moody (WYO) MD Brigg Hoopes (UVU), 12-0
EX 133: Kainalu Estrella (UVU) FALL Josh Kyle (WYO), 1:25

#13 Missouri 18, Utah Valley 15
149: #17 Josh Edmond (MIZ) TF Sam Edelblute (UVU), 20-5 (7:00)
157: #18 Jarrett Jacques (MIZ) DEC Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 11-7
165: Danny Snediker (UVU) DEC Mitchell Bohlken (MIZ), 9-3
174: Sean Harman (MIZ) MD #32 Kekana Fouret (UVU), 17-4
184: #16 Jeremiah Kent (MIZ) DEC #28 Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 3-2
197: #24 Evan Bockman (UVU) DEC Jack Flynn (MIZ), 8-1
285: #15 Zach Elam (MIZ) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 5-0
125: #13 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #12 Noah Surtin (UVU), 5-3
133: #13 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC Trey Crawford (MIZ), 9-2
141: Ty Smith (UVU) DEC #5 Allen Hart (MIZ), 2-1
EX 133: Connor Brown (MIZ) MD Kobe Nelms (UVU), 8-0
EX 197: Jack Flynn (MIZ) DEC Ashton Seely (UVU), 3-0

#13 Missouri 30, Wyoming 6
125: #12 Noah Surtin (MIZ) DEC Brendon Garcia (WYO), 4-0
133: Trey Crawford (MIZ) TF Josh Kyle (WYO), 16-0 (5:14)
141: #5 Allen Hart (MIZ) DEC Chase Zollmann (WYO), 9-2
149: #17 Josh Edmond (MIZ) DEC Jaron Jensen (WYO), 3-1 (SV-1)
157: #18 Jarrett Jacques (MIZ) DEC #13 Jacob Wright (WYO), 5-3
165: #20 Cole Moody (WYO) DEC Mitchell Bohlken (MIZ), 8-3
174: Sean Harman (MIZ) DEC #11 Hayden Hastings (WYO), 4-2
184: #16 Jeremiah Kent (MIZ) FALL Cooper Voorhees (WYO), 2:51
197: #5 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) DEC #4 Rocky Elam (MIZ), 3-2
285: #15 Zach Elam (WYO) MD Terren Swartz (WYO), 17-4

Officials: Jimmy Chen, Don Christensen, Chas DeWitt
Attendance: 1,031

*Individual rankings listed are the highest ranking taken from the latest InterMat, FloWrestling, NCAA Coaches' Panel, and WIN Magazine polls.