Romero Seeded No. 2

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA released seeding and brackets for next week's 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and Utah Valley University senior Demetrius Romero has earned the program's highest seed in school history by being seeded second at 174 pounds.

Now a two-time Big 12 champion after winning the 174-pound title this past weekend, Romero has earned the No. 2 national seed in his weight class as he will enter his third trip to the NCAA Championships with an undefeated 16-0 record.

UVU redshirt junior Taylor LaMont is next as he has earned the No. 7 seed at 125 pounds after holding 9-1 record on the season and earning a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championships last weekend. Redshirt freshman Ty Smith, who earned an at-large bid to compete at the 2021 NCAA Championships on Tuesday, will enter his first trip to nationals as the No. 28 seed at 133 pounds. Smith will enter with an 8-5 record on the year and off of an eighth-place finish at the 2021 Big 12 Championships last week.

Romero, who entered his last trip to nationals as the No. 9 seed in 2019 at 165 pounds, finished one win shy of earning All-American honors that year after having his 2019 run come to a close in the "blood round". After missing the 2019-20 season with an injury, the now two-time Big 12 champion and three-time NCAA qualifier will look to reach the podium for the first time next week as a senior. Romero is also currently ranked second in the nation in his weight class by InterMat and third on the latest NCAA Coaches Panel Ranking, marking the highest a UVU wrestler has ever been nationally ranked in school history on both polls.

Romero will open his 2021 NCAA Championship run with an opening-round matchup against the No. 31 seed Jake Logan of Lehigh (4-5 record on the season).

LaMont, who is now also a three-time NCAA qualifier for the Wolverines, too previously reached the "blood round" at the 2018 NCAA Championships as a freshman to finish one-win shy of earning All-American honors that season. This season's seventh seed will mark the second time that LaMont will enter the NCAA Championships as the No. 7 seed at 125 pounds, as he previously entered as the No. 7 seed in 2018 (which marked the highest national seed in program history at the time). LaMont then was set to enter as the No. 17 national seed at 133 pounds last year before the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID-19.

LaMont will enter the 2021 NCAA Championships with a first-round matchup against the No. 26 seed Jackson DiSario of Stanford (7-3 on the season). LaMont defeated DiSario, 12-8, in dual competition last month. LaMont is currently ranked seventh in the nation in the latest InterMat poll and seventh on the most recent NCAA Coaches Panel Ranking.

Smith earns the the No. 28 national seed after picking up four wins over ranked opponents on the season and being ranked 27th in his weight class in the most recent NCAA Coaches Panel Ranking. The 133-pound UVU redshirt freshman will enter his first trip to nationals with an opening-round match against the two-time ACC champion, three-time NCAA qualifier and No. 5 seeded Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh (8-1 on the season). Smith is currently ranked 18th nationally on the latest FloWrestling poll.

The 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. All seven sessions of this year's national tournament will be televised live on the ESPN Family of Networks.

UVU'S First Round 2021 NCAA Championships Matches

• 125 - #7 Taylor LaMont, 9-1 (UVU), 9-1 vs. #26 Jackson DiSario, 7-3 (STAN)
• 133 - #28 Ty Smith, 8-5 (UVU) vs. #5 Micky Phillippi, 8-1 (PITT)
• 174 - #2 Demetrius Romero, 16-0 (UVU) vs. #31 Jake Logan, 4-5 (LEH)