Photo credit: Dave Iba/ UVU Review
The Utah Valley University wrestling team held an open tournament at UVU on Jan. 9. With approximately 120 grapplers in attendance, four UVU team members placed first in their weight classes.
Those winning titles included freshman Josh Wood weighing 197, Wyatt Ray at 141 and 149-pound Ikeru Abe. Jeb Clark, a junior weighing 165, also placed first.
Next for the team is the Lone Stare Duals in Arlington, Texas followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Nothum named GWC student athlete of the month
On Wednesday UVU cross country runner Mary Nothum was named the Great West Conference Women’s Student Athlete of the Month for October. This marks the second consecutive month that Nothum has won the conference honor.
Nothum, a junior from Washington, Mo., was named the Great West Women’s Runner of the Year after she won the GWC Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31, with a blazing time of 22:16.49. With her top finish at the championship, she helped lead the Wolverines to a first place finish at the conference meet for the second straight year. Nothum also placed second overall at Southern Utah’s Color Country Invitational on Oct. 10, helping her team to a second place finish.
Nothum was UVU’s top runner all season long and helped earn her team a spot in the NCAA Mountain Regional for the first time in school history.
Several wrestlers place in top three at the Cowboy Open to lead UVU
Several grapplers from UVU’s wrestling team placed high at the Cowboy Open on Saturday to lead the Wolverines. The open, hosted by the University of Wyoming, marked the first action of the season for the majority of UVU’s wrestlers.
UVU’s No. 9 nationally ranked junior, Benjamin Kjar (125 pounds), started off his season by going 2-1 to earn a second place finish. Senior Jeffrey Newby (133 pounds) also placed second for UVU after he went 3-1 on the night. Sophomore Brad Darrington (174 pounds) performed well for the Wolverines as he also finished second at the open. Darrington won his first three matches before falling in the championship bout. He went 3-1 on the day. At 184 pounds junior Casen Eldredge finished his day with an impressive 5-1 record as he earned himself a third place finish.
The UVU wrestling team began its season with the Annual Green-Gold intra-squad match earlier this month. This match gave the team an opportunity to gain experience before the official start of the season, which began Nov. 14 in Laramie, Wyo. at the Cowboy Open.
UVU’s fourth year head coach, and 14-time coach of the Utah National wrestling team, Greg Williams said that these tournaments have given them an opportunity to see where they’re at.
With three starters out due to injury, the team is susceptible to gaps in the rotation, but Coach Williams is confident in the skill and determination of the 18 freshmen new to the team this year.
“They have the work ethic it takes to be successful,” said Williams of the freshman group. He credits this to the great leadership and hard working examples of the 12 returning wrestlers.
After a great previous season, Coach Williams is optimistic about this year’s talent. “We have more talent in the room this year than ever before,” stated Williams, “with a full lineup, it would show.”
Coach Williams’ main focus for the team right now is to prepare them for success in every aspect. “We’re working on mentally being able to push the pace of the match all the way through,” said Williams. The Wolverine grapplers have added extra endurance training to accompany the in-season peak conditioning.
“They are getting more exposure to situations that allow them to work through fatigue and adversity,” said Williams. This prepares the team for success both mentally and physically.”
According to coach Williams, each member of the team has individual goals this season. “My goal is to help them reach those,” said Williams. “We have a better team this year than last.”
While UVU will be losing two team members at the end of the season, the remaining wrestlers will be well prepared for next year.
Coach Williams predicts number-one ranked Iowa to be a tough competitor this season. The Wolverines will compete against at least five nationally ranked teams this year and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite is expected to be the teams’ most difficult competition.
Nothum honored as the GWC runner of the week
UVU’s Mary Nothum and NJIT’s Umar Saeed have been selected as Great West Conference Runners of the Week for their performances last weekend. The awards were announced Wednesday by the conference office.
Nothum won the Montana State Invitational, helping the Wolverines to a second place finish over Division I teams Montana, Montana State, USU, Weber State, and Utah, as well as seven Division II teams. Weber State won the meet held Saturday at Bozeman, Mont.
The junior from Washington, Mo., completed the three-mile race with a blazing time of 17 minutes, 10 seconds, finishing a full nine seconds ahead of the next competitor. Her top finish puts her tied for eighth place all-time in the 30th year of the meet.
Saeed, NJIT’s senior captain from Parlin, N.J., led the field at the NJIT Classic from the start, completing the 8K race with a time of 27:11. His finish propelled the Highlanders to first place over Hofstra, Saint Peter’s, Siena and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Other runners nominated for this week’s honors were South Dakota’s Ramsey Fitzsimmons and Rob Gregoire and UVU’s Joshua McCabe.
Nothum is the second Wolverine to win this weekly honor after freshman Jason Lynch won the award Sept. 9.
UVU Wrestling Announces duel with NCAA National Champion Iowa
The UVU 2009-10 wrestling schedule released Tuesday, features a dual with the NCAA National Champion Iowa and three home duals as well as the Third Annual UVU Open.
The dual with Iowa is scheduled for Feb. 6 at Uintah High School in Vernal, Utah, hometown of two-time Hawkeye All-American Phillip Keddy.
“It will be great to wrestle Iowa and a number of top 10 teams this year,” said fourth-year UVU head wrestling coach Greg Williams. “It will be a wonderful opportunity for us and we are excited to see what we can do. Our schedule will help mentally prepare us for the postseason this year.”
The 2009-10 season marks a new era for UVU wrestling as this is the first year in which the Wolverines are eligible to compete at the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships for a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
“The whole team is excited for the opportunity to be able to compete in the postseason,” Williams added. “It will be great to be able to go to conference and prove ourselves there and also to get some guys to nationals.”
