Utah Valley wrestlers David Evans and Ed Scott have both earned top eight finishes at the U.S. Senior Open, with competition continuing on Saturday at the Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas, according to an April 24 announcement.
The achievement is significant for Utah Valley, as Evans and Scott are among four Wolverines representing the Brunson Utah Valley Regional Training Center in the Men’s Senior U.S. Open. Their performances place them in contention during Saturday’s consolation semifinals, which begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
Evans (65kg) began his tournament with a technical fall victory over Kyison Garcia before losing by criteria to Brock Hardy. He then secured wins against Bronson Richins and Ethan Fernandez to advance to face two-time NCAA Champion Vito Arujau in the next round of consolations.
Scott (70kg), who recently finished his first season as an assistant coach under Adam Hall, also reached the consolation semifinals after three victories, including a fall over Alex Castaneda and a technical fall against Connor Pierce. He narrowly lost his quarterfinal match to Tyler Kasak of Penn State but will face Melvin Miller on Saturday.
Other Utah Valley competitors included Layne Kleimann (61kg) and Terrell Barraclough (74kg), who each recorded three wins but did not reach the top eight. Former Wolverines Dylan Gregorson and Tate Orndorff also competed strongly in Senior Greco-Roman events; Orndorff will wrestle for fifth place on Saturday.
Looking ahead, six current Utah Valley wrestlers are set to compete in the U20 Championships beginning Saturday morning.
