ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Utah Valley University junior Jade Rauser(133 pounds) had his 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship run ended during Friday morning's third session by getting pinned by the two-time All-American and No. 9 seed A.J. Schopp of Edinboro in the wrestlebacks. With the loss, Rauser ends his third trip to nationals with a 1-2 clip.
 
After going 1-1 on Thursday with a big first-round win over the 2014 All-American and No. 10 seed Mason Beckman of Lehigh, Rauser came out looking determined in the first period against the two-time All-American Schopp (21-3) on Friday morning. The Utah Valley 133-pounder was the first to get on the board with a quick takedown to jump out to a 2-0 advantage. Following an escape, Schopp then turned a Rauser shot into a takedown of his own late in the opening frame to take a 3-2 lead. With Rauser on the bottom position in the second stanza, Schopp then managed to tilt Rauser's shoulders down on the mat for just long enough for the Edinboro senior to record the fall (3:17).
 
"Jade started the match aggressively and got that first takedown," said head coach Greg Williams. "He wrestled tentative after that though and it cost him."
 
With the defeat, Rauser ends his junior campaign with a team-best and career-high at 22-8 overall.
 
"Jade is capable of being on the podium," added Williams. "There are a couple of areas we will improve on this next year to get him there."
 
Two other Wolverines also competed at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships this weekend but had their inaugural runs cut short on Thursday. Both junior 125-pounder Chasen Tolbert and senior 174-pounder Ethan Smith finished going 0-2 at the 'Big Show' this weekend.
 
The NCAA Championships will continue on Friday evening (6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT) with the semifinals/session IV on ESPN. The tournament will then conclude on Saturday with the medal round/session V (9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT) on ESPNU and the finals/session VI (6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT) on ESPN.
 
"We're always trying to progress our guys and give them the opportunity to get on the podium. And eventually we want to get someone up on the top of it," concluded Williams. "I've been taking notes on things that we need to get better at throughout our lineup, but we'll have a more experienced group next year and we've got some good leaders in Chasen and Jade as well as others."
 
UVU's Results at the 2015 NCAA Championships
133: Jade Rauser (UVU) over No. 10 Mason Beckman (LeHigh), Dec. 5-3
133: No. 7 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) over Jade Rauser (UVU), Dec. 8-4
133: No. 9 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) over Jade Rauser (UVU), Fall 3:17
 
125: Zeke Moisey (WVU) over No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (UVU), MD 14-6
125: Tim Lambert (Nebraska) over No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (UVU), MD 9-1
 
174: Nathan Jackson (Indiana) over Ethan Smith (UVU), Dec. 11-4
174: Taylor Massa (Michigan) over Ethan Smith (UVU), MD 11-0