Three Wolverine grapplers punch tickets to NCAA Championships
Jade Rauser, Ethan Smith and Chasen Tolbert will all wrestle at the NCAA Division Wrestling Championships.
FARGO, N.D. – Three Utah Valley University wrestlers punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships in Fargo. Junior Jade Rauser led the way by winning the conference title at 133 pounds, while senior Ethan Smith took second at 174 and junior Chasen Tolbert placed third at 125.
Rauser became just the sixth Wolverine in program history to win a conference championship at the event, as he went a perfect 2-0 en route to his title. Smith finished with a 2-1 clip to earn his second-place finish while Tolbert went 3-1 to finish in third.
"We are thrilled to send three guys to nationals. We knew that we had two guys who had a good shot of getting in, so we feel good about sending three," said head coach Greg Williams. "I'm extremely proud of Ethan for the way he wrestled today as a senior. A lot of guys dream about getting on the podium (at nationals), and Ethan has given himself a chance to do just that."
After receiving a bye in the first round, the top-seeded Rauser advanced to the finals after defeating Anthony McHugh of Air Force in the semis by a score of 7-3. Rauser then earned his third straight trip to nationals by pinning South Dakota State's Brance Simms in the title bout in 4:37.
Smith began his impressive tournament outing with a 5-2 decision over Air Force's Scott Reilly in the opening round. The senior then punched his first trip to the NCAA Championships with a big upset win over the top seed from Wyoming's Andy McCulley in the semifinals. With the score all tied at 1-1 in overtime, Smith managed to secure the victory over the 14th-ranked foe, despite sustaining an injury in the match, with a clutch takedown in the second sudden-victory overtime period to win by a score of 3-1. With two automatic qualifier spots in his weight class, Smith then took an injury default in the title match to Kurtis Julson of North Dakota State to finish placing second.
"Ethan had one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen in his win over the number one seed (McCulley of Wyoming)," added Williams. "I was very impressed how he managed to fight through an injury to win a trip to nationals."
With five automatic spots on the line at 125, Tolbert managed to earn his bid with a third-place finish. After an 8-1 win over Northern Colorado's Trey Andrews in his opening match, the 17th-ranked Tolbert suffered a 6-3 setback to the top seed from NDSU's Josh Rodriguez in the semis -- who was later named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Following the loss, Tolbert took care of business with a 7-2 win over SDSU's Isaac Andrade and a hard fought 7-4 win over the three-seed and two-time NCAA qualifier from Air Force Josh Martinez in the third-place bout.
The trip will mark both Tolbert and Smith's first to nationals, while Rauser will head to the 'Big Show' for the third consecutive season.
Utah Valley finished in fourth place in the team-score race with 39 points, as four other wrestlers placed on the day. Junior Derek Thomas finished taking third at 197 while freshmen Matthew Ontiveros (141) and Jordan Karst (285), as well as sophomore Trevor Willson (149) all placed fourth.
"We felt like we wrestled better today than we have all year," added Williams. "We counted six matches that we won today over guys who we lost to during the regular season. Things are really starting to click for a number of our guys, and overall I was very pleased with how we wrestled."
Thomas finished with a 3-2 record on the day after winning his third-place match over Air Force's Jack Carda (12-2) and falling in a true-second place bout in overtime to Northern Colorado's Trent Noon. Thomas and Noon each earned an escape point apiece in regulation but Noon managed to win the final automatic berth to nationals at 197 pounds via a takedown in the first sudden-victory period.
Karst finished with a 2-2 record en route to his fourth-place finish while Ontiveros and Willson each went 1-2.
Freshman Dalton Harmon (165), sophomore Logan Addis (174) and junior Ross Taylor (184) too competed for UVU on Saturday and they all finished going 0-2 in their first conference tournament appearances.
North Dakota State won the tournament for the second consecutive year with 67.5 points, while Wyoming took second with 63 and South Dakota State finished third with 56.5. Air Force placed fifth with 24 points while Northern Colorado finished in sixth with 23.5.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 70 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
The 2015 NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
"We feel like we can compete at that stage and we're excited about getting there and looking forward to that opportunity," concluded Williams.
2015 NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championship Results
Final Team Scores
1. North Dakota State, 67.5
2. Wyoming, 63.0
3. South Dakota State, 56.5
4. Utah Valley, 39.0
5. Air Force, 24.0
6. Northern Colorado, 23.5
NCAA West Regional/WWC Automatic Qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Championships, March 19-21, Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Mo.
(Champions listed first)
125: Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
125: Tyler Cox, Wyoming
125: Chasen Tolbert, Utah Valley
125: Josh Martinez, Air Force
125: Trey Andrews, Northern Colorado
133: Jade Rauser, Utah Valley
141: Mitch Bengtson, North Dakota State
149: Clay Ream, North Dakota State
157: Cody Pack, South Dakota State
165: Mitchell Polkowske, Northern Colorado
165: Dakota Friesth, Wyoming
174: Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State
174: Ethan Smith, Utah Valley
184: Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State
184: Ben Stroh, Wyoming
197: Shane Woods, Wyoming
197: Trent Noon, Northern Colorado
285: J.J. Everard, South Dakota State
285: Tanner Harms, Wyoming
Tournament Awards
Outstanding Wrestler: Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
Most Pins: Andy McCulley, Wyoming (Fastest Time)
Coach of the Year: Roger Kish, North Dakota State
Regular Season Team Champion: North Dakota State
Tournament Champions: North Dakota State
Attendance: 423
Bonus Matches
True 5th-Place at 125: Trey Andrews (UNC) over Isaac Andrade (SDSU), DQ
True 2nd-Place at 165: Dakota Friesth (WYO) over Jesse Stafford (AFA), Med. FF
True 2nd-Place at 197: Trent Noon (UNC) over Derek Thomas (UVU), SV-1 3-1
True 2nd-Place at 285: Tanner Harms (WYO) over Evan Knutson (NDSU), Med. FF
Rauser became just the sixth Wolverine in program history to win a conference championship at the event, as he went a perfect 2-0 en route to his title. Smith finished with a 2-1 clip to earn his second-place finish while Tolbert went 3-1 to finish in third.
"We are thrilled to send three guys to nationals. We knew that we had two guys who had a good shot of getting in, so we feel good about sending three," said head coach Greg Williams. "I'm extremely proud of Ethan for the way he wrestled today as a senior. A lot of guys dream about getting on the podium (at nationals), and Ethan has given himself a chance to do just that."
After receiving a bye in the first round, the top-seeded Rauser advanced to the finals after defeating Anthony McHugh of Air Force in the semis by a score of 7-3. Rauser then earned his third straight trip to nationals by pinning South Dakota State's Brance Simms in the title bout in 4:37.
Smith began his impressive tournament outing with a 5-2 decision over Air Force's Scott Reilly in the opening round. The senior then punched his first trip to the NCAA Championships with a big upset win over the top seed from Wyoming's Andy McCulley in the semifinals. With the score all tied at 1-1 in overtime, Smith managed to secure the victory over the 14th-ranked foe, despite sustaining an injury in the match, with a clutch takedown in the second sudden-victory overtime period to win by a score of 3-1. With two automatic qualifier spots in his weight class, Smith then took an injury default in the title match to Kurtis Julson of North Dakota State to finish placing second.
"Ethan had one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen in his win over the number one seed (McCulley of Wyoming)," added Williams. "I was very impressed how he managed to fight through an injury to win a trip to nationals."
With five automatic spots on the line at 125, Tolbert managed to earn his bid with a third-place finish. After an 8-1 win over Northern Colorado's Trey Andrews in his opening match, the 17th-ranked Tolbert suffered a 6-3 setback to the top seed from NDSU's Josh Rodriguez in the semis -- who was later named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Following the loss, Tolbert took care of business with a 7-2 win over SDSU's Isaac Andrade and a hard fought 7-4 win over the three-seed and two-time NCAA qualifier from Air Force Josh Martinez in the third-place bout.
The trip will mark both Tolbert and Smith's first to nationals, while Rauser will head to the 'Big Show' for the third consecutive season.
Utah Valley finished in fourth place in the team-score race with 39 points, as four other wrestlers placed on the day. Junior Derek Thomas finished taking third at 197 while freshmen Matthew Ontiveros (141) and Jordan Karst (285), as well as sophomore Trevor Willson (149) all placed fourth.
"We felt like we wrestled better today than we have all year," added Williams. "We counted six matches that we won today over guys who we lost to during the regular season. Things are really starting to click for a number of our guys, and overall I was very pleased with how we wrestled."
Thomas finished with a 3-2 record on the day after winning his third-place match over Air Force's Jack Carda (12-2) and falling in a true-second place bout in overtime to Northern Colorado's Trent Noon. Thomas and Noon each earned an escape point apiece in regulation but Noon managed to win the final automatic berth to nationals at 197 pounds via a takedown in the first sudden-victory period.
Karst finished with a 2-2 record en route to his fourth-place finish while Ontiveros and Willson each went 1-2.
Freshman Dalton Harmon (165), sophomore Logan Addis (174) and junior Ross Taylor (184) too competed for UVU on Saturday and they all finished going 0-2 in their first conference tournament appearances.
North Dakota State won the tournament for the second consecutive year with 67.5 points, while Wyoming took second with 63 and South Dakota State finished third with 56.5. Air Force placed fifth with 24 points while Northern Colorado finished in sixth with 23.5.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 70 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
The 2015 NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
"We feel like we can compete at that stage and we're excited about getting there and looking forward to that opportunity," concluded Williams.
2015 NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championship Results
Final Team Scores
1. North Dakota State, 67.5
2. Wyoming, 63.0
3. South Dakota State, 56.5
4. Utah Valley, 39.0
5. Air Force, 24.0
6. Northern Colorado, 23.5
NCAA West Regional/WWC Automatic Qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Championships, March 19-21, Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Mo.
(Champions listed first)
125: Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
125: Tyler Cox, Wyoming
125: Chasen Tolbert, Utah Valley
125: Josh Martinez, Air Force
125: Trey Andrews, Northern Colorado
133: Jade Rauser, Utah Valley
141: Mitch Bengtson, North Dakota State
149: Clay Ream, North Dakota State
157: Cody Pack, South Dakota State
165: Mitchell Polkowske, Northern Colorado
165: Dakota Friesth, Wyoming
174: Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State
174: Ethan Smith, Utah Valley
184: Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State
184: Ben Stroh, Wyoming
197: Shane Woods, Wyoming
197: Trent Noon, Northern Colorado
285: J.J. Everard, South Dakota State
285: Tanner Harms, Wyoming
Tournament Awards
Outstanding Wrestler: Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
Most Pins: Andy McCulley, Wyoming (Fastest Time)
Coach of the Year: Roger Kish, North Dakota State
Regular Season Team Champion: North Dakota State
Tournament Champions: North Dakota State
Attendance: 423
Bonus Matches
True 5th-Place at 125: Trey Andrews (UNC) over Isaac Andrade (SDSU), DQ
True 2nd-Place at 165: Dakota Friesth (WYO) over Jesse Stafford (AFA), Med. FF
True 2nd-Place at 197: Trent Noon (UNC) over Derek Thomas (UVU), SV-1 3-1
True 2nd-Place at 285: Tanner Harms (WYO) over Evan Knutson (NDSU), Med. FF
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