In the first of a series of upcoming "On This Day in UVU History" articles, former Utah Valley University wrestling greats Benjamin Kjar and Jade Rauser both achieved their dreams by recording the program's only All-American finishes in school history on March 19, 2011 at the 2011 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and March 19, 2016 at the 2016 NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  
 
March 19, 2011
 
PHILADELPHIA – Utah Valley University senior Benjamin Kjar (125 pounds) put an impressive run together when it mattered the most as he placed fourth at the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to become UVU's first-ever wrestling All-American. During his run the unseeded Kjar defeated three top-seven seeded wrestlers on his way to capping his career with the All-American finish.
 
"Ben peaked at the right time and did his best wrestling of his career here this weekend. He was mentally and physically ready and knew what he had to do," UVU head coach Greg Williams said. "We're really excited for him and feel that it was appropriate for him to become our program's first All-American. All of his hard work has truly paid off."
 
In his first match of day three of the tournament -- the consolation semifinals that determined whether or not he would wrestle for third or fifth place -- Kjar kept his impressive NCAA tournament run going as he pulled off a 3-1 win over the No. 7 seed from Stanford Ryan Mango.
 
After a scoreless first period in the contest against Mango, Kjar took the first lead when he picked up a quick escape point to start the second period. Later in the second, Kjar got in on a deep shot and finished it off with the two-point takedown to lead 3-0. Mango then got on the board with an escape point in the beginning of the third period but Kjar wrestled solid defense the rest of the bout to pull out the 3-1 victory.
 
Mango was the third seeded grappler that Kjar defeated at this year's NCAA Championships. He previously upended the No. 4 seed from Old Dominion James Nicholson on Thursday and the No. 5 seed from Minnesota Zachary Sanders on Friday.
 
With the win Kjar then took on the No. 3 seed and two-time All-American from Northwestern Brandon Precin in the third-place match. After it looked like the two would end the first period scoreless, Precin managed to get a late takedown to lead 2-0 at the end of one. In the second period Precin scored three more points -- off of an escape and a takedown -- to go up 5-0. In the final period Kjar gave it everything he had as he tried multiple offensive attacks but Precin managed to hold on and win 5-0.
 
The loss to Precin resulted in a fourth-place finish for Kjar. Kjar went an unprecedented 4-2 at this year's nationals at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. His two losses came to the No. 3 seeded Precin and the No. 1 seeded and eventual national champion Anthony Robles of Arizona State.
 
Kjar received another loud ovation from the more than 17,000 fans on hand when they announced that he had placed fourth to become UVU's first-ever All-American after his match against Precin.
 
Kjar was only one of seven unseeded wrestlers in the entire tournament to earn All-America honors.
 
Kjar became UVU's first and only grappler to reach the semifinal round at the NCAA Championships that year after knocking off Hofstra's Steve Bonanno, 5-2, fourth-seeded Nicholson of Old Dominion, 2-1, and fifth-seeded Sanders of Minnesota in the quarterfinals, 5-3. He then matched up with the No. 1 seed and undefeated Robles of ASU in the semis. Kjar then gave the eventual 2011 national champion Robles his toughest match of the season by falling by a mere score of 4-2 to drop to the consolation semis. 
 
"It all came together for him here this weekend," Williams added. "Everyone that he wrestled here at this tournament was very tough. For him to put this run together and to earn that All-American finish, that's the dream. Ben's been coming here for years and dreaming about standing up on that podium and it will be an emotional time when he does that tonight."
 
Kjar finished his senior season with an impressive 30-8 overall record. After an outstanding four-year career, he will leave UVU as its most decorated wrestler in school history. He is the program's all-time winningest wrestler with a career record of 129-35 and the single-season wins leader with 39 (39-9) in 2007-08. He will also leave as a two-time NCAA qualifier and a 2011 All-American.
 
Fellow UVU seniors Flint Ray (133 pounds) and Justin Morrill (141 pounds) too competed at this year's championships. Ray finished just one-win shy of becoming an All-American as he went 3-2 and Morrill finished with a 0-2 record.
 
In the team score, UVU finished in 30th place out of 73 teams with 18.5 points. Cael Sanderson's Penn State Nittany Lions won the national team title with 107.5 points, while Cornell finished second with 93.5 points and Iowa came in third with 86.5 points.
 
UTAH VALLEY'S 2011 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
*Tournament seeding listed 
 
125: Benjamin Kjar (4-2) - 4th Place 
Benjamin Kjar (UVU) DEC Steve Bonanno (Hofstra), 5-2
Benjamin Kjar (UVU) DEC #4 James Nicholson (ODU), 2-1
Benjamin Kjar (UVU) DEC #5 Zachary Sanders (Minn), 5-3
#1 Anthony Robles (ASU) DEC Benjamin Kjar (UVU), 4-2
Benjamin Kjar (UVU) DEC #7 Ryan Mango (Stanford), 3-1
#3 Brandon Precin (NW) DEC Benjamin Kjar (UVU), 5-0
 
133 - Flint Ray (3-2)
Flint Ray (UVU) DEC #10 Rollie Peterkin (Penn), 7-5
#7 Bernard Futrell (Illinois) MD Flint Ray (UVU), 12-4
Flint Ray (UVU) DEC Ridge Kiley (Nebraska), 7-0
Flint Ray (UVU) FALL Zach Stevens (Michigan), 4:40
#8 Mike Grey (Cornell) DEC Flint Ray (UVU), 8-5
 
141 - Justin Morrill (0-2)
#4 James Kennedy (Illinois) DEC Justin Morrill (UVU), 9-3
Corey Manson (Cornell) DEC Justin Morrill (UVU), 7-3
 
March 19, 2016
 
NEW YORK CITY – Utah Valley University senior Jade Rauser capped his 2016 NCAA Championship journey with an eighth-place finish at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon in New York City to earn All-American honors. With the placement, Rauser becomes just the second Wolverine wrestler in the program's history to achieve such a feat.
 
"I'm excited that I was able to achieve my goal of becoming an All-American. I can't believe that it's already over," Rauser said. "I knew that it was my last tournament so I decided to really give it my all and go for the gusto. I'm glad that the championships were here in New York City this year and it's awesome that I was able to end my career competing at Madison Square Garden."
 
Rauser advanced to Saturday's medal round after running off a four-match winning streak during his NCAA Championship run this weekend. Following an opening session loss to the two seed and 2016 NCAA finalist Cory Clark of Iowa, the Townsend, Montana native reeled off four straight victories in the wrestlebacks to secure his All-American status. The 17th-ranked Rauser knocked off two seeded foes during the stretch, with wins over No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia (8-6) and No. 9 Mack McGuire of Kent State (5-3). He also defeated 16th-ranked Nathan Kraisser of Campbell (17-4) and 18th-ranked Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State (12-4) all in elimination matches.
 
Rauser's toughest test during the stretch was in the Round of 12 (Blood Round) against the No. 6 seed and three-time NCAA qualifier DiCamillo. With the winner locking up All-America status and the loser going home, the Wolverine senior managed to overcome a 5-0 third-period deficit by scoring eight unanswered points in the final stanza to secure the All-American finish. UVU's first-ever four-time NCAA qualifier picked up a takedown and a four-point nearfall to take a 6-5 advantage. With DiCamillo holding the riding time advantage and the clock winding down, Rauser then managed to tilt DiCamillo for a two count and a two-point nearfall just as time expired to avoid overtime and knock off the seeded foe by a score of 8-6.
 
Following the upset win over DiCamillo, Rauser then faced off against the No. 7 seed Eric Montoya of Nebraska on Friday night in a battle for what final placement he would wrestle for on Saturday. The Wolverine 133-pounder then once again looked for a late comeback, but Montoya managed to roll through a late takedown attempt by Rauser to get a two-point takedown of his own to defeat Rauser by a slim 9-6 margin and send the UVU senior to the seventh-place bout.
 
In Saturday's seventh-place match, Rauser then matched up with a fellow Big 12 Conference foe in the No. 8 seed from Iowa State Earl Hall. Hall was the aggressor in the contest, as he built a quick lead after a trio of nearfalls. The Cyclone grappler went on to take the bout by technical fall (17-1) to end Rauser's 2016 NCAA Championship run with the eighth-place finish.
 
"I couldn't be more proud or excited for an individual. Jade has put five years of sweat and tears into trying to achieve this dream of his. I know he didn't end those last two matches the way that he would've liked, but he came here to earn All-American status and he did just that," said head UVU coach Greg Williams. "It was just an incredible journey."
 
Rauser went 4-3 during his fourth and final trip at nationals to finish his senior year with a career best 24-9 record. With the 24-win season, Rauser moves into fifth place in all-time victories at UVU with a 77-32 career record.  
 
By taking eighth and becoming UVU's second All-American in the program's seven-year history as an NCAA Division I postseason eligible program, Rauser joins former 125-pound standout Benjamin Kjar as the only two to accomplish the feat (Kjar placed fourth in 2011).  
 
Fellow Wolverine senior Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) too competed for UVU at the NCAA Championships but had his 2016 run come to a close on Thursday with a 1-2 record. Following a 6-1 win over Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske in the Pigtails, Tolbert then dropped a pair of bouts to the three-time All-American and third-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State (18-5) and Sean Fausz of North Carolina State (7-4) to have his season and outstanding collegiate career come to a close. Tolbert, who made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships this weekend, finishes his UVU career in the top-10 in all-time victories at Utah Valley with a 65-36 career record.
 
"The thing that I love about both Chasen and Jade is that it is the process and not the outcome that counts. We don't always get to control the outcome," Williams added. "We're so proud of both of these guys. They are exemplary of what we are looking for as Utah Valley wrestlers. We're just so happy for both of them and what they were able to do."
 
As a team, the Wolverines finished in 38th place out of 72 teams with eight points. Cael Sanderson's Penn State Nittany Lions won their fifth national championship in the past six years by leading the way with 123 points, while Big 12 member Oklahoma State took second with 97.5 and Ohio State finished third with 86 points. By placing 38th, UVU finished ahead of teams such as Boise State, Pitt, Purdue, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, West Virginia, Air Force and Northern Colorado. 
 
UTAH VALLEY'S 2016 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
*Tournament seeding listed 
 
125 - Chasen Tolbert (1-2)
Chasen Tolbert (UVU) DEC Brandon Jeske (ODU), 6-1
#3 Nico Megaludis (PSU) MD Chasen Tolbert (UVU), 18-5
Sean Fausz (NC State) DEC Chasen Tolbert (UVU), 7-4
 
133 - Jade Rauser (4-3) - 8th Place
#2 Cory Clark (Iowa) MD Jade Rauser (UVU), 8-0
Jade Rauser (UVU) MD Gary Wayne Harding (OK State), 12-4
Jade Rauser (UVU) MD Nathan Kraisser (Campbell), 17-4
Jade Rauser (UVU) DEC #9 Mack McGuire (Kent State), 5-3
Jade Rauser (UVU) DEC #6 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 8-6
#7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) DEC Jade Rauser (UVU), 9-6
#8 Earl Hall (Iowa State) TF Jade Rauer (UVU), 17-1 (2:16)