With the Wolverines up 21-16 and one match to go, 184 senior Ivan Bigney put it away, never leaving the outcome in doubt with a big 14-0 major decision over Levi Krehmeyer.
"Ivan has just come up huge for use these last few matches," said UV head coach Cody Sanderson. "He's getting wins for us and he's scoring bonus points. We got to the point where the match was still on the line and he goes out there and dominates and puts it away."
The Wolverines won six of the 10 matches, including a win by forfeit and a pin by Talon Vickers.
South Dakota State took an early 6-0 lead after 197 pounder Cody Nehl pinned Jaime Thornblad 2:06 in.
Heavyweight Dallin Norton put the momentum back on Utah Valley's side, avenging a November loss to South Dakota's Jason Stripling, winning a 5-2 decision to get the Wolverines on the board. Stripling beat Norton 5-4 at the Cyclone Open on November 12th in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
"For Dallin to struggle like he did mid-season and come back and beat a guy that had beaten him before is excellent. I'm proud of him," said Sanderson.
At 125 pounds, Talon Vickers earned his ninth straight win with a fall over Marcus Waters with just :07 seconds to go in the first period. Utah Valley gained a 15-6 lead after the Jacks forfeited at 133 pounds, giving senior Erkin Tadzhimetov his 26th win of the season.
SDSU's Derek Pirner then scored a 10-2 major decision over Daniel Polkowske at 141 pounds to cut the UV lead to 15-10.
At 149 pounds it looked as though Justin Rawle would go down in defeat, but a reversal with just :25 seconds on the clock tied the match at four and eventually gave Rawle riding time to give him a 5-4 win and and the Wolverines three more points, extending the lead to 18-10.
"If he loses that match it's a whole different story for those last few," said Sanderson. "That should give him a lot of confidence."
The 157 pound bout was another tight match with Tanner Cowan scoring a reversal with :14 seconds to go to hold of Andy Everson 7-4 and give UV a 21-10 advantage.
South Dakota State would fight back though, when Brad Gregory topped Devin Siddoway 6-5 at 165 pounds making the team score 21-13 Utah Valley.
The Jacks' Travis Gottschalk kept the Jackrabbits in the match with a 5-0 win over DJ Meis at 174 pounds, setting up the deciding match between Bigney and Krehmeyer.
"We're wrestling well. The guys are excited and they're confident and they're just wrestling better," said Sanderson.
Up next for Utah Valley State is North Dakota State next Tuesday night at 7:00pm in the Activity Center.
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