The Utah Valley University wrestling team will debut its 2016-17 roster to the public for the first time on Saturday at 4 p.m., with the annual UVU Intrasquad Dual. The exhibition contest is free and will be held in UVU's Grande Ballroom due to ongoing renovations to the PE Building.
The Wolverines, who will enter their second season of competition as a member of the Big 12 Conference, crowned their second All-American in program history a season ago when Jade Rauser managed to reel off an impressive four-match winning streak at the 2016 NCAA Championships en route to earning All-American honors. With Rauser (133 pounds) and fellow 2015-16 nationally ranked Wolverines — Chasen Tolbert (125) and Derek Thomas (197) — gone now, 11th-year head coach Greg Williams looks to a new group of returners to lead the way for his youthful squad.
"We not only lost our three nationally ranked wrestlers, but also four of the five that placed at last year's Big 12 Championship. We'll now look to a new group of guys to lead the way for us this year, including a number of new starters and a very gifted redshirt class," Williams said. "There's a lot of talent in our room, and we're very excited for what lies ahead."
The lone returning place winner from last year's conference tournament is junior Dustin Dennison, who placed fourth at heavyweight at the 2016 Big 12 Championship. Along with Dennison, the Wolverines also welcome back fellow 2015-16 starters in junior 133-pounder Jarod Maynes, senior 141-pounder Trevor Willson, junior 149-pounder Matthew Ontiveros, sophomore 157-pounder Raider Lofthouse and sophomore 184-pounder Will Sumner.
With six starters coming back, UVU also looks to a number of its newcomers or 2015-16 redshirts to help carry the load this season. Probable new starters this season include 125-pound redshirt sophomore Mitch Brown (Payson, Utah/Air Force), 141-pound redshirt freshman Chase Call (Shelley, Idaho/Shelley HS), 149-pound redshirt freshman Grant LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Mapleton HS), 165-pound freshman Koy Wilkinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS), 174-pound redshirt freshman Kimball Bastian (Mapleton, Utah/Maple Mountain HS) and 197-pound redshirt freshman Tanner Orndorff (Spokane, Washington/University HS).
UVU is also welcoming in a highly talented freshmen class that will mainly redshirt the 2016-17 season in four-time Fargo national champion and 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Taylor LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Maple Mountain HS), 2016 FloNational runner-up Durbin Lloren (Clovis, California/Buchanan HS), 2013 folkstyle national champion Benjamin Andrew (Mesa, Arizona/Mesa HS), four-time state champion Matt Findlay (Draper, Utah/Alta HS), three-time state champion Gary Jantzer (Coos Bay, Oregon/Marshfield HS) and fellow three-time state champion Kyle Snelling (Albuquerque, New Mexico/La Cueva HS).
Saturday's matches will be contested simultaneously on two mats in UVU's Grande Ballroom. The Grande Ballroom is located on campus in the Sorensen Student Center.
Up next for UVU
The Wolverines officially begin their 2016-17 season on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyoming. Following next Saturday's opener at Wyoming, UVU will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for a pair of duals against Nebraska-Kearney and host Northern Iowa on Nov. 11, before closing the trip at Iowa State's Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on Nov. 13. Utah Valley's first home meet is on Dec. 15, when it welcomes Pac-12 foe Oregon State to town for a dual.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.