TULSA, Okla. – Utah Valley University's Taylor LaMont and Demetrius Romero have advanced to the semifinal round at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championships after posting identical 2-0 performances during Saturday's first session of action at the BOK Center in Tulsa. 
 
The second-seeded 125-pound redshirt junior LaMont picked up wins over Northern Colorado's Jace Koelzer and the No. 7 seed Kysen Terukina of Iowa State on Saturday afternoon to move on, while the top-seeded 174-pound redshirt senior Romero defeated both Fresno State's Zack Gonzalez and the No. 8 seed from Oklahoma Anthony Mantanona to also advance to Saturday evening's semifinals. 
 
"Taylor and Demetrius took care of business the first two rounds," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "We are looking for both to have great energy in the semis tonight to stay on track to bring home championships."
 
Opening his 2021 Big 12 Championship run in the prelims, LaMont moved on to the quarterfinals with an 11-5 decision over Northern Colorado's Koelzer. The fourth-ranked UVU junior racked up four takedowns, a pair of escapes and a riding time point on his way to defeating UNC's Koelzer. Then in the quarterfinals against the No. 7 seed from Iowa State Terukina, LaMont found himself in a battle with the Cyclone freshman. With LaMont trailing 4-3 in the third period, the two-time UVU qualifier locked in a headlock and a throw for the go-ahead takedown and take a late 5-4 lead. Terukina then managed to escape LaMont's hold in the closing seconds to send the contest to overtime. In the first sudden victory period, LaMont didn't waste any time, however, as he struck back with the winning takedown to record the 7-5 victory and move on to the semis.
 
The 2019 Big 12 champion and top-seeded Romero also opened his 2021 Big 12 Championships in the prelims and picked a 12-2 major decision over Fresno State's Gonzalez to move on to the quarters. In the opener against Gonzalez, the third-ranked Romero controlled the match with five takedowns, and escape and a riding time point to earn the bonus-point win. Then in the quarterfinal round against the 2020 NCAA qualifier and NWCA All-American Mantanona, Romero too looked strong on his way to pulling out an 11-6 decision. Leading 7-5 after the second period, the two-time UVU NCAA qualifier made his move with an escape, a takedown and a riding time point to pull out the bout and move on to the semifinals. 
 
The Big 12 Championship semifinal-round appearance will mark the third of Romero's career and the second for LaMont. LaMont will take on the No. 3 seed from Oklahoma State Trevor Mastrogiovanni, while Romero will face the No. 5 seed from Air Force Cody Surratt.
 
In his first Big 12 Championship appearance, seventh-seeded UVU freshman 157-pounder Danny Snediker also looked strong in the early stages of the day by picking up a preliminary-round victory over Northern Iowa's Cayd Lara. Snediker racked up a pair of takedowns, a reversal, a two-point nearfall, a trio of escapes and a penalty point on his way to defeating Lara by a score of 12-7. Then in the quarterfinals, Snediker battled but ended up dropping a 5-1 decision to the two-time NCAA qualifier and No. 2 seed Justin Thomas of Oklahoma. 
 
The seventh-seeded sophomore 149-pounder Cameron Hunsaker, senior 165-pounder Koy Wilkinson and sophomore Jacob Armstrong all also wrestled tough in their respective matches on the day, but all three dropped tightly contested contests to head to the consolation rounds. Hunsaker dropped a 3-2 quarterfinal contest to Wyoming's Jaron Jensen, while Wilkinson fell 7-6 to the No. 2 seed Peyton Hall of West Virginia, and Armstrong dropped a 5-3 decision to the No. 1 seed Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. 
 
In all, UVU has eight grapplers now in the wrestlebacks after dropping matches during Saturday's first session in eighth-seeded Ty Smith (133 pounds), Stockton O'Brien (141), the seventh-seeded Hunsaker (149), the seventh-seeded Snediker (157), Wilkinson (165), Armstrong (184), Hunter Morse (197), and Chase Trussell (heavyweight). 
 
"We thought the team wrestled hard this morning," Williams added. "We had some opportunities to win some big matches where we were considered heavy underdogs. As these younger guys mature and get better in a couple of areas, they will start winning those matches. The guys will need to put that same energy forth tonight to get some wins."
 
Session II of the Big 12 Championships will begin on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT and will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Sunday's third session (the medal rounds) will then take place on Sunday at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT on ESPN+, while the finals will be televised live on ESPN2 on Sunday at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT. 
 
UTAH VALLEY SESSION I RESULTS
125 - #2 Taylor LaMont (2-0)
#2 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC Jace Koelzer (NC), 11-5
#2 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #7 Kysen Terukina (ISU), 7-5 (SV-1)
 
133 - #8 Ty Smith (0-1)
#1 Daton Fix (OK State) MD #8 Ty Smith (UVU), 16-4
 
141 - Stockton O'Brien (0-1)
#7 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) MD Stockton O'Brien (UVU), 15-2
 
149 - #7 Cameron Hunsaker (0-1)
Jaren Jensen (WYO) DEC #7 Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 3-2
 
157 - #7 Danny Snediker (1-1)
#7 Danny Snediker (UVU) DEC Cayd Lara (UNI), 12-7
#2 Justin Thomas (OU) DEC Danny Snediker (UVU), 5-1
 
165 - Koy Wilkinson (0-1)
#2 Peyton Hall (WVU) DEC Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 7-6
 
174 - #1 Demetrius Romero (2-0)
#1 Demetrius Romero (UVU) MD Zack Gonzalez (FS), 12-2
#1 Demetrius Romero (UVU) DEC #8 Anthony Mantanona (OU), 11-6
 
184 - Jacob Armstrong (0-1)
#1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) DEC Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 5-3
 
197 - Hunter Morse (0-1)
#8 Kayne Hutchinson (AF) TF Hunter Morse (UVU), 16-1 (3:35)
 
285 - Chase Trussell (0-1)
#1 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) DEC Chase Trussell (UVU), 6-2
 
*Big 12 Championships seeds are listed instead of national rankings.