University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Utah Valley
Bears Edge Utah Valley 22-21 in Thrilling Big 12 Matchup
2/14/2025 9:29:00 PM | Wrestling
Dominant Wins Propel Bears to Narrow Victory Over Wolverines at Lockhart Arena
OREM, Utah – The Northern Colorado Bears (10-5, 3-3) secured a thrilling 22-21 victory over Utah Valley (7-9, 3-6) in Big 12 action on Friday at Lockhart Arena. The Bears recorded two major decisions, a tech fall, and a pin to edge out the Wolverines.
The dual kicked off at 133 pounds, where junior Dom Serrano, ranked No. 14, delivered the first win of the night with an 8-2 decision over Kase Mauger. At 141, senior Andrew Alirez, ranked No. 2, extended Northern Colorado's lead with a dominant 12-3 major decision over Haiden Drury. Redshirt junior Benji Alanis followed suit with a commanding 14-4 major decision over Smokey McClure, pushing the Bears to an 11-0 advantage.
Redshirt junior Vinny Zerban, ranked No. 18 at 157, showcased his control with five takedowns en route to an 18-3 technical fall over Tanner Frothinger, finishing with 2:55 of riding time. Senior Clayton Ulrey suffered an 11-1 major decision loss to No. 3 Terrell Barraclough, bringing Northern Colorado's lead to 16-4 at the midway point.
Junior Aydin Rix-McElhinney was defeated by Mark Takara, falling 15-5 in a major decision. At 184, freshman Aj Heeg faced a tough opponent in redshirt sophomore Caleb Uhlenhopp, ultimately losing by a 16-1 technical fall.
At 197, junior Andrew Donahue dominated Kael Bennie from start to finish, securing a decisive pin and extending Northern Colorado's lead to 22-13. Heavyweight senior Jose Valdez dropped his match to Jack Forbes by a 5-1 decision. In the final bout at 125, freshman Bryson Valdez was defeated by Bridger Ricks, who won 18-3 by technical fall.
The Bears held on for a dramatic 22-21 win over Utah Valley, claiming five of the ten bouts, including one fall, two major decisions, and two technical falls.
133 | Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) over Kase Mauger (Utah Valley) (Dec 8-2)
141 | Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) over Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) (MD 12-3)
149 | Benji Alanis (Northern Colorado) over Smokey McClure (Utah Valley) (MD 14-4)
157 | Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado) over Tanner Frothinger (Utah Valley) (TF 18-3 5:35)
165 | Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) over Clayton Ulrey (Northern Colorado) (MD 11-1)
174 | Mark Takara (Utah Valley) over Aydin Rix-McElhinney (Northern Colorado) (MD 15-5)
184 | Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley) over AJ Heeg (Northern Colorado) (TF 16-1 6:41)
197 | Andrew Donahue (Northern Colorado) over Kael Bennie (Utah Valley) (Fall 2:25)
285 | Jack Forbes (Utah Valley) over Jose Valdez (Northern Colorado) (Dec 5-1)
125 | Bridger Ricks (Utah Valley) over Bryson Valdez (Northern Colorado) (TF 18-3 6:53)
UP NEXT
The Bears will hit the road for their final road match on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Wyoming, with a 2 p.m. start. The team will return home for their final dual of the season against Air Force at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Players Mentioned
