ST. LOUIS – For the first in program history, the Utah Valley University wrestling team will have multiple grapplers compete in the quarterfinal round at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as both
Taylor LaMont and
Demetrius Romero have advanced to Friday's quarterfinal round.
After each picked up opening-round victories during the tournament's first session on Thursday morning, the No. 7 seed at 125 pounds LaMont and the No. 2 seed at 174 Romero both won again in the championship round of 16 on Thursday evening to reach the quarterfinals. They will become just the third and fourth Wolverines in program history to compete in the championship quarterfinals on Friday.
The three-time UVU NCAA qualifier LaMont picked up a hard earned 2-1 decision over the No. 23 seed from Penn State Robert Howard to head to the second quarterfinal appearance of his collegiate career (he previously reached the quarterfinals as a freshman in 2018). The two-time Big 12 champion and fellow three-time NCAA qualifier for Wolverines Romero advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time with an 11-5 decision over Big 12 foe and 18th-seeded Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State on Thursday night.
"We are excited that both Taylor and Demetrius are still on track to reach their goals," head UVU coach
Greg Williams said. "They both have big matches tomorrow (Friday). They will need to stay aggressive and wrestle the way they are capable of to move on to the semis."
In a tightly contested battle against the Penn State freshman Howard, the UVU redshirt junior LaMont and Howard both fought off a number of shots in a scoreless first period. The three-time UVU NCAA qualifier LaMont then got on the scoreboard first in the second with an escape point to take a 1-0 advantage. Then with LaMont in the top position in the third, the 2021 Big 12 finalist for the Wolverines rode out Howard for a majority of the period to lock up riding time. Howard did gain a late escape point, but it wasn't enough as LaMont took the bout, 2-1, thanks to riding time to move on to the quarterfinals for the second time in his career.
LaMont previously started his 2021 NCAA Championship run off with a bang by defeating the two-time NCAA qualifier and 26th-seeded Jackson DiSario of Stanford by technical fall, 18-1, on Thursday morning.
LaMont, who improves to 11-1 on the year after going 2-0 on the day, will now take on the No. 2 seed and 2021 ACC champion Sam Latona of Virginia Tech (12-0) in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
The redshirt senior Romero got off to a strong start in the championship round of 16 against the OK State freshman Plott by building a 5-1 lead after one. Plott then made things interesting in the second with an escape and a takedown to pull within one at 5-4. In the third, Romero responded with an escape, a pair of takedowns and an additional riding time point to lock up the victory.
The second-seeded Romero opened his third trip to nationals with a 9-6 decision over the No. 31 seed from Lehigh Jake Logan on Thursday morning. Romero racked up a trio of takedowns, a pair of escapes, and a riding time point on his way to earning the opening-round victory.
With the 2-0 day, Romero also remains undefeated on season as he ups his record to a perfect 18-0. He moves on to face the No. 7 seed and 2020 NWCA All-American Kaleb Romero of Ohio State on Friday.
Redshirt freshman
Ty Smith (133) and sophomore
Cameron Hunsaker (149) also competed on the day for UVU at the NCAA Championships, but both had their inaugural trips come to a close. The 33rd-seeded Hunsaker led the way by picking up a victory in the pigtails to finish with a 1-2 outing, while the 28th-seeded Smith went 0-2. Hunsaker defeated Hofstra's Greg Gaxiola, 5-1, in his opening match before falling to No. 1 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State by fall (6:34) and No. 16 PJ Ogunsanya, 5-3. Smith dropped his two contests to the two-time ACC champion and 2020 All-American Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh, 14-3, and No. 21 Jared Van Vleet of Air Force, 5-3.
As a team, UVU currently finds itself in 26th place out of 63 teams with 6.5 points.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships continue on Friday morning with quarterfinal and consolation action at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT on ESPNU (session three). LaMont will compete in the quarterfinals early in session three, while Romero will compete in the quarterfinals in session four at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT (also on ESPNU). The semifinals will then follow on Friday evening at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT in the tournament's fifth session live on ESPN.
UTAH VALLEY NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
125 - #7
Taylor LaMont (2-0)
#7
Taylor LaMont (UVU) TF #26 Jackson DiSario (STAN), 18-1 (5:37)
#7
Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #23 Robert Howard (PENN ST), 2-1
Will face No. 2 Sam Latona of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals
174 - #2
Demetrius Romero (2-0)
#2
Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC #31 Jake Logan (LEH), 9-6
#2
Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC #18 Dustin Plott (OKST), 11-5
Will face No. 7 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State in the quarterfinals
133 - #28
Ty Smith (0-2)
#5 Micky Phillippi (PITT) MD #28
Ty Smith (UVU), 14-3
#21 Jared Van Vleet (AF) DEC #28
Ty Smith (UVU), 4-1
149 - #33
Cameron Hunsaker (1-2)
#33
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) DEC #32 Greg Gaxiola (HOF), 5-1
#1 Sammy Sasso (OHIO ST) FALL #33
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 6:34
#16 PJ Ogunsanya (ARMY) DEC #33
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 5-3
