LaMont and Drury's NCAA Championships Come to a Close

DETROIT — Four-time qualifier Taylor LaMont and first-time qualifier Haiden Drury both had their 2022 NCAA Championship runs for Utah Valley come to a close during Friday morning's session at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

LaMont (125 pounds) led the way by winning his first bout on Friday to advance for a second match in the session in a rematch against No. 19 seed and two-time NCAA qualifier Joey Prata from the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. LaMont held a late lead in the bout, but Prata responded to send the contest to overtime and went on to defeat the 2021 All-American for the Wolverines in the tiebreakers.

"Our staff and administrators are proud of Taylor, Haiden, and Evan. They all put everything into their matches and that is what we ask of them. All three are disappointed with their end result. They expect a lot of themselves and had higher aspirations for this weekend," head UVU coach Greg Williams said.

After dropping his second match in the second round on Thursday night to Big 12 champ and fellow 2021 All-American and fifth-seeded Killian Cardinale in overtime, LaMont then started Friday's morning session off with a hard earned 6-5 decision over No. 22 Ryan Miller of Penn in a must-win match to move on in the wrestlebacks.

In LaMont's first match of the day against Miller of Penn, the Wolverine four-time NCAA qualifier got off to a nice start with a quick takedown to take a 2-1 lead after one. He then added an escape and another takedown to build a 5-2 advantage heading into the final period. Miller then made things interesting with an escape and a late takedown to tie things up at 5-5, but riding time was the difference as LaMont held over a minute of riding time to gain an additional point and move on with a 6-5 decision.

Then in his second match of the day and with the bout scoreless after one, the UVU redshirt junior 125-pounder got off to a strong start with a second period takedown to take a 2-1 lead after two. LaMont then recorded a quick escape in the third and held a 3-1 lead late in the match, but Prata managed to roll through and tie the bout with a takedown in the closing seconds to force overtime. After a scoreless sudden victory period, the contest then headed to the tiebreakers. Prata then managed to ride LaMont out in the first 30-second period and the Sooner senior followed it up with a decisive reversal late in the second 30-second period to claim the hard-fought OT battle by a score of 5-3.

A year removed from reaching the semifinals and earning All-American honors, LaMont finished this year's NCAA run with a 2-2 outing and one-win shy of reaching Friday evening's "Blood Round". He also capped the 2021-22 campaign with a 12-6 clip.

UVU freshman and No. 17 seed Drury (133 pounds) also advanced to Friday's second day of action but had his first trip to nationals come to a close in his first bout on Friday morning. After going 1-1 on Thursday, Drury then matched up with fellow first-time NCAA qualifier and No. 15 seed Kai Orine of NC State. After a scoreless first period, Orine then got on the board first with an escape and later managed to slip a Drury shot and turn it into a takedown of his own to take a 3-1 lead after two. Then following an escape from Drury and with the clock winding down in the third, the Wolverine freshman hit a headlock and throw on Orine for what looked to be the winning takedown, but after video review the takedown was waved off as time had expired and Drury's first run came to a close with a hard fought 3-2 defeat.

Drury, who entered as UVU's highest national seed at this year's national tournament, finished his freshman campaign with a 20-8 record.

Sophomore 197-pounder Evan Bockman also competed at his first trip to nationals for UVU this weekend but had his inaugural run cut short on Thursday with an 0-2 outing.

As a team, UVU is currently tied for 52nd with 2.0 points after three sessions. Penn State is leading the way with 73 points, while Michigan is in second (62.5), and Arizona State in third (53).

The 2022 NCAA Championships will continue on Friday evening with the semifinals at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT on ESPN. This year's championships will then conclude on Saturday.

UVU Results
125 - #21 Taylor LaMont (2-2)
#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)
#21 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #22 Ryan Miller (Penn), 6-5
#19 Joey Prata (OU) DEC #21 Taylor LaMont (UVU), 5-3 (TB-1)

133 - #17 Haiden Drury (1-2)
#16 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) DEC #17 Haiden Drury (UVU), 5-4
#17 Haiden Drury (UVU) DEC #32 Dominic LaJoie (Cornell), 10-5
#15 Kai Orine (NC State) DEC #17 Haiden Drury (UVU), 3-2

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