DETROIT – Taylor LaMont and Haiden Drury each went 1-1 on day one at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena to advance to Friday's second day of competition.
 
LaMont fell in Thursday's second round to fellow 2021 All-American and 2022 Big 12 champ Killian Cardinale of West Virginia to drop to the consolation rounds while Drury won his first NCAA Championship match on Thursday evening with a 10-5 decision over No. 32 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell to move on in the wrestlebacks. Evan Bockaman was also in action for the Wolverines but had his first NCAA Championship appearance come to a close with an 0-2 record. 
 
After recording a 7-2 victory over four-time NCAA qualifier and the 12-seed Malik Heinselman of Ohio State in the opening session earlier on Thursday, the UVU four-time NCAA qualifier LaMont then continued right where he left off in a battle of 2021 All-Americans as he jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead over the No. 5 seed Killian Cardinale of West Virginia. LaMont landed a headlock and throw which resulted in a 6-0 lead in the opening period as he picked up a takedown and a four-point near fall. Cardinale would start chipping away at the deficit, however, as he responded with a pair of escapes and a takedown of his own in the second period to make it 6-4. The three-time NCAA qualifier for the Mountaineers then followed it up with two more takedowns in the third to LaMont's pair of escapes to send the bout to overtime deadlocked at 8-8. Then midway through the first sudden victory period and with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, Cardinale converted the winning takedown to earn a hard fought 10-8 victory to send LaMont to the wrestlebacks. 
 
After going 1-1 on Thursday, the 21st-seeded LaMont will now head to the wrestlebacks and will face No. 22 Ryan Miller of Penn on Friday. Despite being in the consolation rounds, LaMont can still earn All-American honors and finish as high as third in his weight class. 
 
After dropping a hard fought 5-4 decision to #16 Josh Koderhandt earlier on Thursday, the 17th-seeded Drury responded with a must-win 10-5 decision over No. 32 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell on Thursday night. With LaJoie holding to an early 2-0 lead, Drury bounced back nicely with a pair of first period takedowns and an escape to take a 5-3 lead after one. The Wolverine freshman then picked up another takedown in the third to extend his advantage to 7-4 and secured the win in the final period with an escape and takedown to record the 10-5 decision. 
 
In his first NCAA Championship appearance, Drury also is 1-1 and will open his second day of competition on Friday against No. 15 Kai Orine of NC State. 
 
After falling in his first NCAA Championship bout by a tightly contested 6-4 score to four-time NCAA qualifier and No. 9 seed Cameron Caffey of Michigan State earlier in the day, the No. 24 seed Bockman then battled against the No. 25 seed Jaron Smith of Maryland on Thursday evening but in the end dropped a 16-4 contest to have his first trip to nationals come to the close with an 0-2 showing. In the nightcap against Smith, Bockman jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a quick takedown, but Smith responded with an escape, takedown and near fall to take a 7-2 advantage after one. Bockman then made it 8-4 in the third with another takedown, and scrambling for more points late in the contest, he got caught on his back as Smith went on to record more back points on his way to recording the major decision. 
 
To read more about Thursday's first session of action, click HERE.
 
The 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships will continue on Friday with the third session at 9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET live on ESPNU. The fourth session will then follow on Friday night at 6 p.m. MT/8 p.m. ET on ESPN and the 2022 NCAA Championships will conclude on Saturday.
 
UTAH VALLEY RESULTS
125 - #21 Taylor LaMont (1-1)
#21 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #12 Malik Heinselman (Ohio St), 7-2
#5 Killian Cardinale (WVU) DEC #21 Taylor LaMont (UVU), 10-8 (SV-1)
 
133 - #17 Haiden Drury (1-1)
#16 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) DEC #17 Haiden Drury (UVU), 5-4
#17 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC #32 Dominic LaJoie (Cornell), 10-5
 
197 - #24 Evan Bockman (0-2)
#9 Cameron Caffey (Michigan St) DEC #24 Evan Bockman (UVU), 6-4
#25 Jaron Smith (Maryland) MD #24 Evan Bockman (UVU), 16-4