Utah Valley redshirt senior Terrell Barraclough competing against Stanford’s Hunter Garvin in dual meet action.
Adam Hall walked into the Utah Valley wrestling room for the first time as head coach last April and asked his team one thing—Does anyone here know what a wolverine is?
“It’s the meanest, angriest, toughest, 40-pound animal in the woods and that is exactly what we are going to embody,” Hall explained to his first crop of Wolverine wrestlers. Being gritty is embedded in the foundation Hall and his staff are starting to build out West.
After nine years on staff as an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Hall took over the Utah Valley program last spring for longtime head coach Greg Williams, who served in the role for 18 seasons. A native of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and a two-time All-American for the now defunct Boise State program, Hall is back to his roots as he seeks to build a powerhouse in Orem, Utah.
Also undergoing a homecoming of sorts is redshirt senior Terrell Barraclough, who transferred to Utah Valley from Penn State shortly after Hall accepted the position. Barraclough grew up in the Greater Salt Lake City area and was a four-time Utah high school state champion for Layton.
During his four seasons in State College, Barraclough was a spot starter for the Nittany Lions, but always found himself on the outside looking in when it came time for postseason. He sat behind talents such as Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines and Mitchell Mesenbrink in the Penn State lineup, all of whom have appeared in the NCAA finals. Barraclough never had a true shot to test his mettle against the Division I field. Until now.
“In terms of my journey here at Utah Valley now, it’s like, dang, I’ve got my shot. I’ve been waiting four and a half years for this,” Barraclough said. “I loved my time at Penn State, and I enjoyed every second of it, but it’s tough. That room is tough. There’s a reason why every single guy, first or second guy on the team, is that tough.”
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The grittiness Hall expects of his roster, plus the battle-hardened experiences gained by Barraclough in the Penn State system, are a perfect pairing that has the college wrestling world taking notice.
Entering December, Barraclough holds a 7-0 record at 165 pounds with wins over multiple All-Americans and a No. 4 ranking attached to his name. The next big test for Barraclough and the Wolverines is the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which is now considered the deepest in-season tournament on the college calendar.
Barraclough put his name on the short list of NCAA title contenders by taking out Stanford All-American Hunter Garvin, 11-9, and Oklahoma State All-American Cam Amine, 5-4, in overtime during early season dual meet action. Both Garvin and Amine held top five rankings at the time.
“I think I’ve always been at the level,” Barraclough noted of his recent successes. “The thing I’ve really been focusing on this year is being me. I get to go compete. I get to wrestle guys who I’ve watched, like Amine, he’s a stud. I’ve watched him for the last few years and I’m like, man, I want to get my chance at him.”
Getting chances at top athletes and creating electric competition environments is a big part of Hall’s plan to lay the foundation. Over 5,000 fans filled Utah Valley’s UCCU Center on November 15 to watch the Wolverines dual the tradition-rich Oklahoma State program, something unheard of before Hall’s arrival.
The key to early tenure buy-in for Hall is simple, connect people to the program and keep the best in-state talent home. As evident by the high fan turnout at home meets, and a recruiting class that signed three of Utah’s top high school prospects—Layne Kleimann, Geronimo Rivera, and Jason Worthley—things are going according to plan for Hall.
“When you’re trying to establish a foundation, you’re establishing it at a really high level and making sure it’s set before you can move forward. You’re not putting the cart before the horse and we’re currently building the cart right now,” Hall noted.
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An emphasis on increased social media presence married with an exciting brand of wrestling is another key bullet of the Utah Valley overhaul. Less than a year into the Hall era, the wrestling program has remarkably taken over the top spot in Utah Valley’s athletic department social media portfolio.
A quality fan experience is also key. Custom t-shirts were made for Utah Valley’s dual against the Cowboys, now a coveted collector’s item for the Wolverine faithful. You’ll also find university president Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez cheering on the team matside, another rare indicator of the strong community support in Orem.
“At the end of the day if we want to grow wrestling and want people to come and watch, kind of like this last match, which was awesome, against Oklahoma State, wrestlers, we’ve got to go out there and be willing to score,” Barraclough explained.
Keeping the momentum is the primary goal in front of both Hall and Barraclough the remainder of this season. Hall is trying to build the belief in his guys that they can compete with the best. Barraclough is aiming to put that belief into action.
“I can win nationals. I know I can. I can be a national champ,” Barraclough mused on the possibilities of his final season. He sees a path to the top of the podium, one that would undoubtedly involve besting a former Penn State team member and friend. Hall shares this vision, going so far as comparing Barraclough to his former protégé at NC State Trent Hidlay.
“He has injected just everything you want at the highest level,” Hall said of Barraclough. “He’s just a very motivated person and he’s wanting to be successful in anything and everything he has his hands on.”
More than anything Barraclough wants to take in this final ride and not take the opportunity for granted.
“I never had the chance to wrestle every match. Every time I have stepped out there on the mat this year, I just am, like, so excited to be there. As a wrestler I just think it’s super important to be excited for cool moments like that. They go by so quick,” Barraclough added.
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