Bears tranquilized
UVU wrestling defeated the Northern Colorado Bears 39-0 on Jan. 26
This is the first time in school history that the Wolverines have posted a shutout performance against an opponent. Head coach Greg Williams has set the bar high for the program and is seeing the fruits of those labors.
“I really like this team and I really like their work ethic,” Williams said. “We’ve still got a lot of things to work on, but I’m really pleased with the way the guys are wrestling and the progress we’re making.”
The night started out with very dominant performances by Avery Garner (141 lbs), Josh Wilson (149) and Abner Cook (165) getting dominant performances. Garner started by defeated his opponent 10-1. Wilson earned a tech fall in the first period, winning 16-1. That performance was followed up by a first-period pin by Cook to start the first three matches.
Jade Rauser (125) also had a good showing for the crowd. Everyone in the stands knew something big was coming from the redshirt freshmen.
Rauser wasted no time getting a takedown, getting it in the first 15 seconds of the match. With 1:34 left in the period, Rauser got his opponenet in an arm bar and pinned him. Rauser won yet again, much like he did the week before against Arizona State, keeping him perfect in dual play. The crowd erupted with joy and was anticipating the free shirts to follow. They knew he was going to get the pin.
It seemed that the only chance Northern Colorado had to get a win was with their heavyweight who had been showing good numbers in this year’s matches.
Henry Chirino (285) of Northern Colorado posted a record of 19-7 and was undefeated in duals at 5-0. This looked to be a tough matchup for UVU’S Adam Fager (285).
Fager took the challenge and came out aggressive. He took the fight to his opponent and scored fast, getting a takedown and earning his first points of the match. In the second period, Fager started on bottom and got an early escape, increasing his lead. Fager continued being the aggresor, adding another takedown, outlasting his opponent and handing him his first dual loss of 5-2.
“It was an overall team performance and we feel like everyone went out there and handled their business,” Williams said.
The team as a whole was pleased with the performance and will continue to work to add to their success when they face a Pac-12 school in Stanford on Feb. 1.