JACKRABBITS OUTLAST WOLVERINES, 19-16

Friday, January 16

Orem, Utah

8 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

Utah Valley

A wrestler in a blue singlet has his hand raised by a referee in a black and white shirt.

Photo by: Amber Seaton

1/16/2026 10:37:00 PM | Wrestling

OREM, Utah - The Jackrabbits got themselves back in the win column Friday night as they scored a victory over the scrappy Utah Valley Wolverines, 19-16.

Brady Roark continued his impressive season at 125 pounds, where he took on Bridger Ricks to start the dual. Roark fended off Ricks' offense throughout the dual and scored the only takedown of the match at the end of the first period, securing a 5-1 decision and putting the Jacks in the lead, 3-0.

Cale Seaton once again stepped up for the Jacks against Geronimo Rivera at 133 pounds. Seaton found himself on the wrong end of a 8-3 decision after getting caught in the first and third periods. Rivera's decision win tied the score back up at 3-3.

In the first ranked matchup of the night, Julian Tagg took on No. 21 Haiden Drury at 141 pounds. Drury was able to force two stall calls against Tagg to gain a penalty point in the second period, which led Tagg to choose neutral in the third period. Tagg however was unable to score and dropped a tight decision, 2-0, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the night.

Another ranked matchup occurred at 149 pounds as Alek Martin returned to the mat against No. 15 David Evans. Evans started out hot scoring in the first and second periods before Martin went into concussion protocol at the end of the second period. Once Martin returned, Evans got back to work and racked up a major decision over Martin, pushing the Wolverine lead to 10-3.

Cael Swensen hit the mat at 157 pounds against Mark Takara. After scoring in the first and second periods, Swensen held a 7-1 lead going into the third period. From the bottom position, Swensen was able to score a reversal and get near-fall swipes to end the period, securing a 13-1 major decision, cutting the Wolverine lead to 10-7

Marcus and Moses Espinoza-Owens returned to their home state and competed at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Both were able to grind out back to back decision wins at their weight classes and give the Jackrabbit back the lead, 13-10.

But the Wolverines wouldn't go down without a fight as Caleb Uhlenhopp took on Brock Fettig at 184 pounds. Both wrestlers were able to score escapes throughout the match, but with 25 seconds left in the third, Uhlenhopp forced a second stall call on Fettig, giving him the lead and ultimately the win, as the score was knotted up at 13.

No. 7 Bennett Berge took on Kael Bennie at 197 pounds. Berge came out of the gates strong scoring in the first and second periods before Bennie chose bottom position in the third period. Bennie attempted to stand up, but Berge was able to pull him to the mat and land on his chest, pinning his shoulders to the mat for the six-point win, giving the Jacks a 19-13 lead.

With the match all but secure, Luke Rasmussen went out and took on Jack Forbes. After giving up an early takedown and a reversal, Rasmussen attempted to rally back in the third period but fell just short, dropping a 2-8 decision.

NOTES:

Bennett Berge scored his first pin of the season over Kael Bennie.
Marcus and Moses Espinoza-Owens won their matches in their home state of Utah.
Moses scored his team-leading 19th win of the season.

UP NEXT
The Jacks head to Laramie, Wyoming, next to take on the vote-receiving Wyoming Cowboys Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

RESULTS:
#10 SDSU 19, Utah Valley 16
125| #22 Brady Roark (South Dakota State) over Bridger Ricks (UVU) (Dec. 5-1)
133| Geronimo Rivera (UVU) over Cale Seaton (South Dakota State) (Dec. 8-3)
141| #21 Haiden Drury (UVU) over #22 Julian Tagg (South Dakota State) (Dec. 2-0)
149| #15 David Evans (UVU) over #22 Alek Martin (South Dakota State) (MD 15-6)
157| #18 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) over Mark Takara (UVU) (MD 13-1)
165| #27 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State) over Zyon Trujilo (UVU) (Dec. 4-1)
174| #18 Moses Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State) over Hudson Rogers (UVU) (Dec. 7-5)
184| Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) over Brock Fettig (South Dakota State) (Dec. 2-1)
197| #7 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) over Kael Bennie (UVU) (Fall, 5:13)
285| Jack Forbes (UVU) over #19 Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State) (Dec. 8-2)