UVU wrestling: Wolverines split Friday night WWC doubleheader

OREM — Utah Valley got key decisions from Blake Mangum and Avery Garner as the Wolverines overcame two falls to defeat South Dakota State 21-18 and pick up its first Western Wrestling Conference dual victory of the season Friday night in the UCCU Center. But UVU (6-8, 1-4 WWC) came up just short in the nightcap, falling 24-18 to North Dakota State.

The Wolverines will have a quick turnaround and return to action Saturday evening for the biggest home dual in program history. Defending national champion and second-ranked Penn State rolls into the UCCU Center at 7 p.m. The match will air live on UVU-TV and will be tape delayed on Fox College Sports next week.

The dual with the Nittany Lions will be the final home match for UVU this season.

The Wolverines' top wrestler, 14th-ranked Josh Wilson, got the home squad off to a nice start to the evening by controlling his bout with the Jackrabbits' Andrew Youngblom from the start. Wilson compiled 3:13 of riding time and picked up a 6-0 decision.

SDSU answered in the 157-pound matchup when the Jacks' Nick Flynn pinned Napoleon Aniciete after the two had battled to a 5-5 tie over two periods.

But Ethan Smith (165 pounds) put the Wolverines back in front, 9-6, when he forced a fall of his own, pinning Dillon Reid as the second period wound to a close. The win was Smith's fourth in a row, three of which had been pins.

Monte Schmalhaus (174) and David Prieto (184) each took care of business in their bouts with a pair of decisions to push UVU ahead 15-6, but SDSU would reel off 12 straight points to quickly overcome the deficit.

The Jacks' Nick Mart defeated Brian Chamberlain by decision in the 197-pound match, then Joe Skow got a huge result when he pinned Dustin Dennison (285) just 1:58 into the first period. Finally, Aaron Pickrel, SDSU's top wrestler, held on for a 7-2 decision over Colby Christensen in the 125-pound match to cap the comeback late into the dual.

Desperately needing points, UVU's Blake Mangum (133) and Nick Chavez ground to a 1-1 tie late into the third period. But Mangum secured a takedown with just 33 seconds remaining and held on for a gritty 3-1 decision to tie the dual at 18-18 with one match left.

Avery Garner, who was ranked 28th in the latest RPI list for UVU, faced off with another of SDSU's top wrestlers, Dustin Walraven, in the winner-take-all bout.