Utah Valley University junior Caleb Uhlenhopp secured a top-eight finish at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday. This result guarantees him a spot at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. Three other UVU wrestlers remain in contention for NCAA berths as the tournament continues.
David Evans advanced through two victories during Friday evening’s session and will face Max Peterson of North Dakota State in the consolation semifinals at 149 pounds. If Evans wins, he secures his place in Cleveland; if not, he will need to win a fifth-place match to claim one of the five Big 12 allocations for his weight class.
Hudson Rogers and Haiden Drury are also competing for NCAA qualification at 174 and 141 pounds, respectively. Both weights have seven allocations available. Rogers is set to compete against Cael Valencia and Drury will wrestle Pierson Manville, with both opponents representing Arizona State. Earlier, Rogers lost to Riley Davis of Wyoming in sudden victory, while Uhlenhopp was defeated by Aidan Brenot of North Dakota State.
Uhlenhopp earned his national championship berth after defeating Nick Fox of Northern Iowa with a 4-1 win in sudden victory. Rogers also upset Jared Simma of Northern Iowa with a 7-3 decision. Uhlenhopp is expected to be awarded seventh place after Zack Ryder of Oklahoma State withdrew due to injury.
“We had a tough start to our day in the first round. However, I am glad the way our team responded after we challenged them. Caleb punched his ticket to the NCAA championships automatically. We have four other guys remaining tomorrow who are fighting for their spot in Cleveland. I expect us to have a good start out of the gate tomorrow. Go Wolverines!”
Kael Bennie scored an upset over Evan Bates of Missouri with an 11-1 major decision but fell short against Bennett Berge from South Dakota State, losing 8-5. Bennie later faced Eli Sheeren from California Baptist and will compete for ninth place on Saturday—a position that could become significant if any top-eight finisher cannot compete at Nationals.
In session two action, Evans opened with a major decision over Hunter Hollingsworth from Oklahoma and followed up by defeating Willie McDougald from West Virginia with an 8-5 decision.
Drury won his first match against Easton Hilton from Missouri but was narrowly defeated by Carter Nogle from Air Force in his next bout.
The Big 12 Wrestling Championships continue Saturday at the BOK Center as Utah Valley athletes seek additional qualifications for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
