A record crowd of 5,541 attended the Utah Valley versus Nebraska wrestling dual at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah, on Saturday night. Nebraska, ranked fifth nationally, won eight out of ten matches to secure a 32-6 victory in the final regular season dual for both teams.
Utah Valley (5-8) picked up wins from Caleb Uhlenhopp and No. 7 David Evans. Evans defeated No. 19 Chance Lamer by an 8-5 decision.
“I’m proud of the fight that our guys displayed against the number five team in the country,” said head coach Adam Hall. “We were in tight matches with several of their returning All-Americans. Kael Bennie was significantly closer this year in a rematch from last year and David Evans got another ranked win at home. Even though we were outclassed in a few weight classes, our future is bright. I’m grateful for the fans who showed out tonight to set a new attendance record! We will spend the next two weeks dialing in to be at our best for the Big 12 Championships. Go Wolverines!”
Nebraska (13-6) started strong with three bonus-point victories from defending national champion and No. 3 Antrell Taylor, No. 7 LJ Araujo, and No. 4 Christopher Minto. Taylor earned a technical fall over Ian Fritz at 157 pounds, Araujo pinned Zyon Trujillo at 165 pounds, and Minto won by major decision over Hudson Rogers at 174 pounds.
Uhlenhopp faced Tyler Eise in the 184-pound match and secured a takedown with less than a minute left to win by decision, 4-1.
Nebraska continued its run by winning five straight bouts, including ranked matchups at 197 and heavyweight divisions. Camden McDanel defeated Kael Bennie at 197 pounds while AJ Ferrari earned a technical fall over Jack Forbes at heavyweight after pulling away with four takedowns in the third period.
The Cornhuskers added victories from Kael Lauridsen over Bridger Ricks at 125 pounds and Jacob Van Dee over Geronimo Rivera at 133 pounds before Brock Hardy defeated Haiden Drury at 141 pounds.
Evans provided one of Utah Valley’s highlights late in the dual by breaking a tie with nine seconds remaining to secure his win over Lamer.
Utah Valley will prepare for its next competition at the Big 12 Championships scheduled for March 6-7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Nebraska won by technical fall or pinfall in several matches throughout the evening as they finished their regular season with thirteen wins.
The event officials were Titus Godbolt and Jonathan Sutton.
Attendance reached an all-time high for Utah Valley wrestling home events during this dual meet.
