UVU wrestlers compete well at Cliff Keen Invitational

This weekend the UVU Wrestling team went to Las Vegas to wrestle in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The team placed 25th out of 39 teams, an improvement over last season where they placed 29th out of 37 teams.

Chasen Tolbert, 125, won his first match in the round of 32.  In his second round match, the round of 16, he fell to Ryan Millhof, by the slim margin of 4-2. Tolbert went on to tear through the consolation bracket, beating his opponents by an average of eight points per match. He made it to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket but had to forfeit due to medical reasons.

Derek Thomas, 197, won his first two matches and made it to the quarterfinals where he wrestled the No. 1 seed in his weight class, J’Den Cox. Cox defeated Thomas, who moved down to the consolation bracket. Thomas also made it to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket before ultimately being defeated by Jeric Kasunic from American University.

Jade Rauser, 133, started in the round of 32 and made it to the round of 16 before barely dropping a match, 8-6. Rauser fought back in the consolation bracket, making it to the round of 8 before he was defeated by Zach Davis of Navy.

Raider Lofthouse, 157, had a longer journey, as he started in the round of 64. He won his first two matches by a combined 13 points before falling short in the round of 16. In the consolation bracket Lofthouse made it to the round of 8 before being ultimately stopped by No. 3 seed Aaron Walker of Citadel.

Ross Taylor, 174, had a rough start by dropping his first match. Taylor came storming back in the consolation bracket, scoring 13 points against one opponent and making it to the round of 16 where his comeback run was halted by Davonte Mahomes of Michigan.

Dustin Denison, 275, started off hot by beating his first opponent 11-5. He lost in the round of 16 and dropped to the consolation bracket where he fell to his first opponent there. Pat Gillen of Virginia ended the day for Dennison.

The Utah Valley Wolverines made their presence known across many weight classes during the two-day tournament, with Chasen Tolbert and Derek Thomas falling one win short of reaching the podium.

The next tournament for the team will be the Reno Tournament of Champions, which will take place on Dec. 20, 2015.

Photos courtesy of UVU Athletics