Frank and Morley On Western Colorado Podium

GUNNISON, Colo – Utah Valley wrestling had a contingent compete on Friday at the Western Colorado Open. Freshman Trevor Frank finished 3-1 on the day to take home second place, with his only loss coming in the finals. Merrell Morley went 5-1, placed third, and fought his way through the consolation rounds after suffering a first-round defeat.

Frank started his run to the finals with a hard-fought battle in the first round, where riding time favored the UVU freshman over Air Force Prep's Ej Beloncik. He advanced to the semifinals after a 13-6 decision over Ryan Dirksen (Western Colorado). He punched his ticket to the final with a dominant tech fall win over William Alvarado (Colorado Mesa).

In the finals, Andrew Harmon took an early lead, scoring on a takedown in the first period. Frank trailed 4-0 in the second before recording a takedown of his own to make it 4-3, but it wasn't enough as Harmon secured the match and first place with a takedown in the third period for the 7-3 decision.

Morley dropped his opening match in 4-3 fashion to the eventual second-place finisher but rallied to take home third place. He moved comfortably through the consolation rounds, winning by fall over Western Colorado's Erik Anderson, and advancing on a forfeit. He fought UVU teammate Nakoa Fouret and came out on top by tech fall before moving on to the third-place match after a medical forfeit by Minot State's Daniels Bendiks.

Morley scored a takedown in the first period of the third-place match to go up 3-0, and he would hold on for a 3-1 decision to take home third place.

A trio of other Wolverines competed, with Luke Van Orden finishing 1-1 after having been pulled due to injury. Cameron Haddock and Fouret finished the tournament with a 2-2 record. Kayd Craig and Tyler Jones both finished 1-2 at 157 for Utah Valley.

Utah Valley is back in action on Friday, Jan. 12, with their Big 12 opening dual at No. 5 Iowa State. The action is slated to start at 6:00 p.m. MT from Ames. They will wrap up their visit to the Hawkeye State on Jan. 13 with No. 14 Northern Iowa at 6:00 p.m. MT in Cedar Falls.

The home opener is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 20, at 6:00 p.m. MT against Wyoming. The dual will take place inside Lockhart Arena and will air on Youtube.com/GoUVU.