Kjar, Ray and Morrill All Win Titles to LeadUVU at the Wolfpack Open

Seven of the Wolverines eleven wrestlers placed to conclude a very successful road trip for UVU.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Seven of Utah Valley’s 11 wrestlers placed at NC State’s Wolfpack Open in Raleigh, N.C. to lead the Wolverines on Saturday. Juniors Benjamin Kjar (125-pounds), Flint Ray (133), and Justin Morrill (149) all won their respective weight divisions to conclude a very productive East Coast road trip for UVU.

During the weekend road trip to North Carolina, UVU went a perfect 3-0 in dual action and had a very impressive showing at the Wolfpack Open. During the trip the Wolverines picked up road wins over NC State, UNC Greensboro, and defeated Gardner-Webb on neutral territory.

“I felt the team wrestled with intensity today,” UVU head coach Greg Williams said. “We are learning to fight hard in situations and how to win close matches. I was very proud of the whole team today. We are improving with every match which is important for a team with five freshmen in the lineup.”

Kjar, the No. 11 ranked grappler in the country at 125-pounds, went a perfect 3-0 on the day on route to his championship. Kjar picked up wins over The Citadel’s Tyler Sim, Hofstra’s Jaime Franco and in the title match beat Tennessee-Chattanooga’s Demetrius Johnson by decision, 11-4. With the three victories Kjar is now 8-1 on the year.

At 133-pounds UVU entered two of its wrestlers in senior Jeffrey Newby and Ray. The two battled unscathed through the championship bracket, going a combined 8-0 and eventually the teammates met one another in the finals. In a very close contest Ray got the better of Newby as he defeated him with a 3-2 decision. Ray won the bracket as Newby placed second.

At 149-pounds Morrill had a very good day for the Wolverines, going 5-0 including picking up two of his victories by fall. In the semis, Morrill picked up the win over the No. 19 ranked Justin Accordino of Hofstra by injury default and then defeated The Citadel’s Pierre Frazile by a score of 2-1 in the championship match to win his bracket.

Two other Wolverine grapplers placed second in their respective weight divisions as sophomore Brad Darrington (174-pounds) and freshman Josh Wood (197-pounds) both did so. Junior Casen Eldredge also placed for UVU as he wrestled back in the 184-pound bracket to capture a fourth place finish.

Darrington finished 3-1 on the day as he won his first three matches before falling to the No. 11 ranked Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra, 3-1 in the finals. Wood finished with a 2-1 clip as Eldredge put up a 4-2 record.

UVU freshmen Marty Carlson (141-pounds), Richard Winger (157-pounds), Monte Schmalhaus (165-pounds), and Dylan Stadel (285-pounds) also competed for UVU at the open. Winger, Schmalhaus, and Stadel all finished 3-2 as Carlson went 1-2 to round out Utah Valley’s wrestlers on the day.

At the open UVU competed against wrestlers from host-school NC State, No. 19 Virginia, No. 21 Old Dominion and No. 23 Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Auburn, Citadel, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Hofstra, North Carolina, Newberry, UNC Greensboro, UT Chattanooga, and several unattached wrestlers.

After the impressive week, the Wolverines will now have a two week layoff before competing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 4-5.

Courtesy of Utah Valley Sports Information.

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