The Wolverines (2-1) nearly knocked off another ranked Big Ten foe on the day, as they dropped a tightly contested dual to No. 12 Nebraska earlier in the day by a score of 19-15. UVU posted a 2-1 outing at the dual meet tournament, however, with a dominant 47-6 victory over Niagara County CC.
"Great wrestling from all of our guys today. We had some opportunities to win some big individual matches in against a couple of highly ranked teams. We succeeded in some of those situations, but also missed out in couple of others," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "We were mostly impressed with the higher level of toughness that we showed throughout our line-up. That especially showed with our top and bottom positions.
"Great wins for both Matt Findlay and Grant LaMont, as they both wrestled strong and beat top-10 wrestlers. We are excited for the guys and the success they had today. We look forward to improving on what we accomplished today."
LaMont was one of two Wolverines to record a victory over a top-10 ranked opponent on the day, as 141-pounder Matt Findlay arguably had the biggest win with a 10-8 upset over 2018 All-American and sixth-ranked Chad Red of Nebraska.
With the Wolverines trailing Rutgers (4-1) 14-6 after four matches, LaMont managed to record a 9-6 hard fought victory over No. 9 John Van Brill to pull UVU to within 14-9. With Van Brill holding to a 6-5 lead midway through the final period, the Wolverine junior 157-pounder managed to record an escape point to tie it followed by a late go-ahead takedown and an addional riding time point to seal the victory over the top-10 ranked opponent and two-time NCAA qualifier.
LaMont's victory was the first of six straight UVU wins, as 14th-ranked Demetrius Romero followed with a 8-3 decision over Stephen Glasgow at 165, fellow 14th-ranked Kimball Bastian then recorded a 6-2 victory over Joe Grello, Will Sumner followed with a 3-1 decision over Jordan Pagano, two-time NCAA qualifier and 18th-ranked Tanner Orndorff managed to pull out an 8-2 win over Matt Correntti, and his younger brother and 16th-ranked then sealed the victory for UVU with a 4-3 decision over Christian Colucci to propel the Wolverines to the 24-14 come-from-behind victory.
UVU's other victory in the contest against the Scarlet Knights was a third-period fall from 141-pounder Matt Findlay (6:58).
In the opening dual against the 12th-ranked Huskers (3-0), Utah Valley got off to a 9-3 start after an opening forfeit victory from senior Josh Jensen (125 pounds) followed by another huge upset by Findlay at 141 pounds. After Mitch Brown dropped a 13-6 decision to Tucker Sjomeling, Findlay responded by pulling out a huge 10-8 decision victory over the reigning All-American and sixth-ranked Chad Red of Nebraska. Findlay took a 7-5 advantage over the Husker All-American into the third period and managed to record a third-period escape followed by a late takedown to lock up the upset by a score of 10-8 and give the Wolverines the early 9-3 advantage in the dual.
The Huskers then responded with a decision at 149 followed by a major decision at 157 to take a 10-9 lead. Returning NCAA qualifier Romero then helped get the Wolverines back on top with a 10-4 decision victory over John Blankenship at 165 to make it 12-10 UVU. But back countered Nebraska with back-to-back-to-back victories from ranked grapplers in No. 12 Mikey Labriola (174), No. 3 Taylor Venz (184) and No. 18 Eric Schultz (197) to give the Huskers the late 19-12 lead and secure the victory for Nebraska.
In the final bout of the contest, UVU redshirt freshman and 16th-ranked Tate Orndorff responded for the Wolverines with a hard fought 2-1 decision over Christian Lance to close the meet at 19-15.
In the 47-6 win over Niagara County CC (1-3), UVU found itself leading by just a 9-6 score after three matches. But back responded the Wolverines by winning each of the final seven matches of the contest to earn the dominant victory over the Junior College foe. Mitch Brown (133), Landon Knutzen (149), Jakob Discher (157), Koy Wilkinson (165), Dante Springsteen (174), Gary Jantzer (184), Ashton Seely (197) and No. 16 Tate Orndorff (285) all earned bonus-point wins, while Jensen (125) picked up a win via decision for the Wolverines in the 41-point victory against the Thunderwolves.
Utah Valley's lone setback in the contest against NCCC was a forfeit at 141 pounds.
The redshirt freshman heavyweight Tate Orndorff led UVU on the day by going a perfect 3-0 in his first collegiate dual action, while Findlay and Romero each went an unblemished 2-0. Findlay and LaMont both each knocked off a top-10 ranked foe during the Journeymen Northeast Duals.
The Wolverines will continue the trip by taking part in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday. The tournament will begin at 7 a.m. MT/9 a.m. ET at Hudson Valley CC and will be streamed live on the FloWrestling.org (for a fee).
JOURNEYMEN NORTHEAST DUALS RESULTS
Hudson Valley CC - McDonough Sports Complex
#12 Nebraska 19, Utah Valley 15
125 - Josh Jensen (UVU) FORFEIT #6 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska)
133 - Tucker Sjomeling (Nebraska) DEC Mitch Brown (UVU), 13-6
141 - Matt Findlay (UVU) DEC #6 Chad Red (Nebraska), 10-8
149 - Jordan Shearer (Nebraska) DEC Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), 5-3
157 - #3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) MD Grant LaMont (UVU), 13-3
165 - #14 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC John Blankenship (Nebraska), 10-4
174 - #12 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) DEC #14 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 11-7
184 - #3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) DEC Will Sumner (UVU), 9-5
197 - #18 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) DEC #18 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 6-5
285 - #16 Tate Orndorff (UVU) DEC Christian Lance (Nebraska), 2-1
Utah Valley 47, Niagara County CC 6
125 - Josh Jensen (UVU) DEC Greg Quinn (NCCC), 8-6
133 - Mitch Brown (UVU) FALL CJ Walz (NCCC), 2:00
141 - Freddy Eckles (NCCC) wins by FORFEIT
149 - Landon Knutzen (UVU) TF Katrell Jackson (NCCC), 16-1 {2:51}
157 - Jakob Discher (UVU) MD Michael Phelps (NCCC), 8-0
165 - Koy Wilkinson (UVU) M FORFEIT Anthony Bell (NCCC), 6-4 {2:33}
174 - Dante Springsteen (UVU) TF Thomas Berner (NCCC), 18-3 {6:28}
184 - Gary Jantzer (UVU) wins by FORFEIT
197 - Ashton Seely (UVU) wins by FORFEIT
285 - #16 Tate Orndorff (UVU) FALL Anthony Robinson (NCCC), 1:09
Utah Valley 24, #15 Rutgers 14
125 - Shane Metzler (Rutgers) MD Josh Jensen (UVU), 11-3
133 - #3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) MD Mitch Brown (UVU), 14-2
141 - Matt Findlay (UVU) FALL Mike Van Brill (Rutgers), 6:49
149 - #2 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) FALL Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), 6:58
157 - Grant LaMont (UVU) DEC #9 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 9-6
165 - #14 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC Stephan Glasgow (Rutgers), 8-3
174 - #14 Kimball Bastian (UVU) DEC Joe Grello (Rutgers), 6-2
184 - Will Sumner (UVU) DEC Jordan Pagano (Rutgers), 3-1
197 - #18 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) DEC Matt Correntti (Rutgers), 8-2
285 - #16 Tate Orndorff (UVU) DEC Christian Colucci (Rutgers), 4-3
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