Utah Valley University will send five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland next week after Kael Bennie and Jack Forbes received at-large berths on Tuesday, March 10.
This marks only the third time in program history that Utah Valley has qualified at least five wrestlers for nationals. The school record was set in 2019 with six qualifiers, while the Wolverines also sent five athletes when the championships were last held in Cleveland in 2018.
“I’m so excited for Kael and Jack earning at-large qualifications. The at-large committee saw their body of work from the whole year and rewarded them,” head coach Adam Hall said. “I’m glad that Jack gets to finish out his career at the NCAA championships and seeing Kael display his growth, not only from this season but over the last two years, has been exciting. This is a big statement for our staff and program in having the most qualifiers since 2019. We are riding five deep to Cleveland! Go Wolverines!”
Bennie (197 pounds) and Forbes (285 pounds) join three automatic qualifiers from last week’s Big 12 Championships: Haiden Drury, David Evans, and Caleb Uhlenhopp. Evans placed third at 149 pounds, while Drury finished seventh at 141 pounds and Uhlenhopp took seventh at 184 pounds. For all but Drury—who first competed at Nationals in 2022—this will be their debut appearance.
The brackets for the NCAA Championships will be announced during Wednesday’s Selection Show on NCAA.com, with competition beginning Thursday, March 19 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Over its 17 seasons of Division I postseason eligibility, Utah Valley has now produced a total of 52 NCAA qualifiers and six All-Americans, including Terrell Barraclough who earned All-American honors last season.
