OREM, Utah — South Dakota State's Zach Carlson and Clay Carlson each recorded pins to lead the Jackrabbit wrestling team to a 24-12 victory over host Utah Valley in the Big 12 Conference dual opener for both teams Friday.
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The Jackrabbits evened their overall dual record at 1-1, while UVU dropped to 1-2 on the season.
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SDSU got out of the gates quickly, winning each of the first three matches by decision for a 9-0 advantage. Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked 16th by FloWrestling, scored an 8-4 victory over Landon Knutzen at 149 pounds, followed by a 13-6 victory by Colten Carlson in the 157-pound bout. Garrett Jordan finished the run with a 3-2 win over Koy Wilkinson at 165 pounds.
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The Wolverines got on the board with a decision by Kimball Bastian in the 174-pound matchup before Zach Carlson gave SDSU some added cushion with a second-period pin of Gary Jantzer. Ranked 19th by Intermat, Carlson upped the Jackrabbit lead to 15-3 at the halfway mark in improving to 6-1 on the season.
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Utah Valley pulled to within 15-9 with back-to-back victories in the top two weight classes. The Wolverines' Tanner Orndorff pulled off an upset by knocking off fourth-ranked Jackrabbit Tanner Sloan in the 197-pound match, 5-3. Sloan led 2-1 through two periods, although the 19th-ranked Orndorff began to gain the momentum by riding out the entire second period from the top position. Orndorff escaped early in the third period and came up with a takedown moments later for a 4-2 lead, securing the final point via riding time after Sloan escaped in the closing seconds.
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The Jackrabbits nearly pulled off an upset of their own in the heavyweight bout as Blake Wolters lost a 6-4 overtime decision to third-ranked Tate Orndorff. Wolters forced the extra session with a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, while Orndorff recorded the decisive takedown with less than 10 seconds to go in the first overtime session.
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With the dual shifting back to the lower weights, senior 125-pounder Kahlen Morris stemmed the tide for SDSU with a 4-2 decision over Josiah Nava.
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After the Wolverines stayed within striking distance at 18-12 following a Taylor LaMont decision at 133 pounds, Clay Carlson sealed the SDSU win with a first-period pin Cameron Hunsaker in the 141-pound matchup. Carlson entered the dual ranked 32nd by TrackWrestling.
 NOTES
Utah Valley leads the all-time series, 8-7, although the Jackrabbits have won the last six matchups
SDSU improved to 25-9 in duals against Big 12 opponents since joining the league as an affiliate member at the start of the 2015-16 season
Colten Carlson and Jordan each wrestled in their first duals of the season
Pohlmeyer and Clay Carlson each improved to 2-0 in duals this season
 UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return to action by wrestling in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 6-7.
 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 24, UTAH VALLEY 12
149: #16 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. Landon Knutzen (UVU), 8-4
157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) dec. Jed Loveless (UVU), 13-6
165: Garrett Jordan (SDSU) dec. Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 3-2
174: #13 Kimball Bastian (UVU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 4-0
184: #19 Zach Carlson (SDSU) def. Gary Jantzer (UVU), by fall 3:55
197: #19 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) dec. #4 Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 5-3
285: #3 Tate Orndorff (UVU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 6-4 [SV-1]
125: Kahlen Morris (SDSU) dec. Josiah Nava (UVU), 4-2
133: Taylor LaMont (UVU) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 7-4
141: #32 Clay Carlson (SDSU) def. Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), by fall 2:34
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