Drury Advances to Semis; Nine Other Wolverines In Wrestlebacks

TULSA, Okla. — Freshman 133-pounder Haiden Drury led the Utah Valley University wrestling team during Saturday's opening session of action at the 2022 Big 12 Wrestling Championships by moving on to Saturday evening's semifinal round.

After receiving an opening-round bye, the sixth-seeded and 13th-ranked Drury took care of business in the quarterfinals by recording a 6-2 decision over Missouri's Connor Brown to advance to the semifinals. The semifinals and second session of action will begin at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

In Drury's quarterfinal victory, the Wolverine freshman looked strong early against Mizzou's Brown as he took a quick 5-0 lead after a takedown in the first and a quick escape and takedown in the second. Brown then made it 5-2 after a pair of escapes, but Drury held riding time as he went on to win by a score of 6-2 to reach the semis. Drury will now face the No. 2 seed from Northern Iowa Kyle Biscoglia in this evening's semifinals.

Nine other Wolverine grapplers remain alive in the tournament but will have to wrestle back in the consolation rounds after all nine suffered defeats during the opening session. Taylor LaMont (125 pounds), Ty Smith (141) and Danny Snediker (165) led the way by each picking up victories in the prelims, but they would then all go on to fall in the quarterfinals to also head to the consolation rounds.

Reigning All-American and second-seeded LaMont picked up a 3-1 overtime victory over South Dakota State's Tanner Jordan in one of the first matches of the day to move on to the quarterfinals. The three-time UVU NCAA qualifier and 2021 Big 12 runner-up LaMont then dropped a hard fought 7-5 decision to the No. 7 seed from Oklahoma Joey Prata in the quarters to fall to the consolation rounds. LaMont tied the bout at 4-4 in the final period after a reversal, but Prata would get a reversal and an additional riding time point to defeat the 17th-ranked Wolverine.

At 141 pounds, fellow UVU 2021 NCAA qualifier Smith had a big win in the prelims, as he was able to knock off the No. 5 seed Carter Young of Oklahoma State by a score of 6-2. Smith racked up a pair of takedowns, as well as an escape and riding time point to go on to defeat the nationally ranked Cowboy. In the quarterfinals however, Smith ended up falling to the No. 4 seed Allan Hart of Mizzou. In a rematch from when Smith was able to knock the highly ranked Hart off in a tightly contested dual meet in the end of January at Lockhart Arena in Orem, this time Hart managed to pull out the victory with a 9-2 decision over Smith.

Second year freshman Snediker too had a strong opening-round win for UVU on the day by defeating the No. 6 seed Tanner Cook of SDSU by a score of 9-4 in the prelims. Ahead just 4-3 in the final period, Snediker made his move with a pair of takedowns and a riding time point to pull out the bout by five and advance to the quarters. Then in the quarterfinals, Snediker found himself on the wrong end of a 4-1 decision to the No. 3 seed Austin Yant of UNI.

Fellow UVU NCAA qualifier Cameron Hunsaker (149), as well as eighth-seeded Jaxon Garoutte (157), Kekana Fouret (174), Jacob Armstrong (184), eighth-seeded Evan Bockman (197), and heavyweight Chase Trussell also remain in the double-elimination tournament, but all posted 0-1 records during Saturday's opening session.

In the team score race, UVU is currently tied with Air Force for 10th place with 11 points. Oklahoma State is leading the way with 57 points, followed by Northern Iowa in second with 55 and Iowa State in third with 54.

The Big 12 Championships continue on Saturday evening with the second session/semifinals at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT. The medal rounds will then take place on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, while the championship finals will conclude the event on Sunday at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT live on ESPN2.

UVU Results
125 - #2 Taylor LaMont (1-1)
#2 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 3-1 (SV-1)
#7 Joey Prata (OU) DEC #2 Taylor LaMont (UVU), 7-5

133 - #6 Haiden Drury (1-0)
#6 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC Connor Brown (Mizzou), 6-2

141 - Ty Smith (1-1)
Ty Smith (UVU) DEC #5 Carter Young (OK State), 6-2
#4 Allan Hart (Mizzou) DEC Ty Smith (UVU), 9-2

149 - Cameron Hunsaker (0-1)
#4 Josh Edmond (Mizzou) TECH FALL Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 19-4 (7:00)

157 - #8 Jaxon Garoutte (0-1)
#1 David Carr (ISU) 19-0 TECH FALL #8 Jaxon Garoutte (UVU), 18-3 (7:00)

165 - Danny Snediker (1-1)
Danny Snediker (UVU) DEC #6 Tanner Cook (SDSU), 9-4
#3 Austin Yant (UNI) DEC Danny Snediker (UVU), 4-1

174 - Kekana Fouret (0-1)
#6 Peyton Mocco (Mizzou) MAJOR DEC Kekana Fouret (UVU), 13-4

184 - Jacob Armstrong (0-1)
#7 Keegan Moore (OU) DEC Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 7-6

197 - #8 Evan Bockman (0-1)
#1 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) MAJOR DEC #1 Evan Bockman (UVU), 12-4

285 - Chase Trussell (0-1)
#4 AJ Nevills (SDSU) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 3-2

*Big 12 Championship seeds listed not national rankings