@UNCBearsWrestle Back at BOCA for Utah Valley, No. 12 Wyoming

Friday, February 15

Greeley, Colo.

7 PM

University of Northern Colorado

Utah Valley

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Photo by: Woody Myers

2/13/2019 3:31:00 PM | Wrestling

Northern Colorado will host Big 12 Opponents on Friday and Sunday

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

After almost three weeks away from competition, Northern Colorado wrestling is back at Bank of Colorado this weekend for two Big 12 duals. UNC will take on Utah Valley on Friday night and then host No. 12 Wyoming on Sunday afternoon.

"We're certainly excited to be back at home and back competing," said head coach Troy Nickerson. "It's been a couple of weeks off and it has been good for our guys to get a couple of weeks to get better. They've worked on some technical areas that we may not have had a chance to this year. It's also a good opportunity to get guys healthy. We're excited to be back home and to come away with some wins."

The Bears have been off since late January, when they dropped a road dual against No. 25 North Dakota State, 30-7.

Both Rico Montoya and Jacob Seely look to finish the season strong and secure their spots for the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh.

Montoya is ranked No. 17 at 125 lb in the coaches' panel for his highest mark. He is listed at No. 18 by The Open Mat, No. 19 by W.I.N. Magazine, and No. 22 by Trackwrestling.com. On the season, Montoya has a 12-5 record, going 5-4 in dual matches and 9-5 against Division I opponents. Montoya leads the team with four tech falls and five major decision wins.

Seely is also No. 17 in the coaches' rankings at 197 lb and is slated at No. 15 by W.I.N. Seely is also No. 19 in Trackwrestling's rankings.
This season, Seely has an 11-5 record, all against DI opponents, and is 7-3 in dual matches. Seely leads the team with six decision wins, while ranking behind Montoya with three major decision.

With a break from competition, UNC is rested and ready to get back on the mat with two high-level opponents.

"[Big 12] is good competition," Nickerson explained. "More importantly, it's for Big 12 championship seeding purposes. All these matches are going to count for seeding purposes. They guys can set themselves up in a nice spot or hurt themselves if they falter. It's a good opportunity for everyone to go out individually and do their part. Both teams are very good"

Scouting the Wolverines
Utah Valley has a 9-13 record, with an 0-7 record in Big 12 contests and was ranked as high as No. 22 in the NWCA Division I coaches poll earlier this season. The Wolverines pulled off a big upset in November, defeating No. 15 Rutgers 24-14. That same day, Utah Valley almost upset No. 12 Nebraska, but falling short 15-19. Most recently, the Wolverines dropped duals against No. 13 Wyoming(6-27) and No. 17 Northern Iowa(12-29). Utah Valley currently has five ranked wrestlers, with No. 9 Demetrius Romero(165), No. 10 Kimball Bastian(174), No. 26 Will Sumner(184), No. 15 Tanner Orndorff and No. 18 Tate Orndorff.

Last season, Northern Colorado topped Utah Valley in Orem 22-20, with Rico Montoya providing the major decision win to secure the victory.

Scouting the Cowboys
Wyoming travels down 1-25 on Sunday, carrying a 15-4 record and is ranked No. 12 in the most recent coaches' poll. The Cowboys are coming off a dominating performance against South Dakota State at home, defeating the Jackrabbits 32-9. Wyoming also defeated Utah Valley, 27-9, on the road last Friday. The Cowboy's starting lineup fields six ranked wrestlers, headlined by No. 8 Branson Ashworth(156), No. 16 Cole Verner(125), No. 10 Montorie Bridges(133), No. 12 Sam Turner(141), No. 19 Tate Samuelson(184) and No. 20 Cale Davidson(197).

UNC dropped its dual last season against Wyoming in Laramie, 38-4.

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado will take on Utah Valley at Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday, Feb. 15^th at 7 pm MST. UNC will then host No. 12 Wyoming on Sunday, Feb. 17^th at 2 pm.

Tickets for both duals are $8 for adults and $5 for youth and can be purchased online by clicking the link here.The dual against Utah Valley is Defend the Den and students have an opportunity to win a textbook gift card from the UNC Bookstore.

Both duals can be streamed live on PlutoTV(Ch. 205) and live scoring is available on Trackwrestling.com. Follow the matches on Twitter for live updates and results with @UNCBearsWrestle.

Projected Lineups

Northern Colorado [4-7, 0-5 Big 12]
125- No. 17 Rico Montoya, Sr. (12-5) OR Michael Johnson, RSo. (3-4)
133- Sean Cannon, Jr. (3-12)
141- Chris Sandoval, So. (4-6) OR Armando Santillan, So. (1-7)
149- Dante Rodriguez, RSr. (1-1)
157- Jordan Robison, So. (6-12)
165- Macoy Flanagan, RSo. (6-11)
174- Sethan Bogulski, RSo. (2-11) OR Trenton Schultz, So. (5-7)
184- Dalton Robertson, Jr. (11-8)
197- No. 15 Jacob Seely, RJr. (11-5)
285- Robert Winters Jr., RSo, (8-10)

Utah Valley [9-13, 0-7 Big 12]
125 – Josh Jensen, Sr. (9-16)
133 – Mitch Brown, RSr. (6-7, 3-4) OR Isaiah Delgado, Fr. (7-13)
141 – Dylan Gregerson, Fr. (5-7)
149 – Landon Knutzen, RSo. (10-15) OR Cameron Haddock, Fr. (10-10)
157 – Spencer Heywood, RFr. (4-14)
165 – No. 9 Demetrius Romero, RJr. (20-3) OR Koy Wilkinson, RSo. (11-8)
174 – No. 10 Kimball Bastian, RJr. (14-8) OR Kyle Snelling, RFr. (3-7)
184 – No. 26 Will Sumner, RSr. (15-9)
197 – No. 15 Tanner Orndorff, RJr. (13-9) OR Ashton Seely, RFr. (11-12)
285 – No. 18 Tate Orndorff, RFr. (19-6) OR Benjamin Andrew, RSo. (10-7)

No. 12 Wyoming [15-4, 5-2 Big 12]
125 – No. 16 Cole Verner, RJr. (20-11)
133 – No. 10 Montorie Bridges, RSo. (26-7)
141 – No. 12 Sam Turner, So. (24-10)
149 – Jaron Jensen, Fr. (17-17)
157 – Jed Loveless, RFr. (11-11)
165 – No. 8 Branson Ashworth, Sr. (29-3)
174 – Hayden Hastings, RFr. (22-10)
184 – No. 19 Tate Samuelson, Fr. (20-4)
197 – No. 20 Cale Davidson, RFr. (22-12)
HWT – Brian Andrews, So. (28-8)