Three Wolverines Going to NCAAs; Five Placers at Big 12s

TULSA, Okla. — A trio of Utah Valley University wrestlers automatically qualified to compete at the 2020 NCAA Championships while a total of five Wolverines earned podium finishes during the final day of the Big 12 Championships on Sunday afternoon at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Kimball Bastian (174 pounds), Tate Orndorff (285) and Taylor LaMont (133) all earned auto bids to the 2020 NCAA Championships, as Bastian and Tate Orndorff both finished fifth while LaMont wrestled back to earn a true eighth-place finish in a challenge match to claim the final spot in his weight class. Fellow Wolverines Cameron Hunsaker (149) and Tanner Orndorff (197) also earned podium finishes at the event by placing seventh and eighth, respectively.

With the No. 4 seed and eighth-ranked Bastian opening up in the consolation semifinals on the day against the No. 3 seed and 11th-ranked Sam Colbray of Iowa State, the bout headed for overtime all tied up at 1-1 at an escape apiece. After a scoreless sudden victory period, the two then traded escapes in the first tiebreaker round to send it to sudden victory number two all knotted at 2-2. Both sides then looked to gain the winning takedown and Colbray managed to get in on a leg on the edge of the mat to secure the two to win 4-2 and send Bastian to the fifth-place match.

Wrestling for fifth and for an auto bid to nationals, Bastian then responded by posting a 5-4 decision over the No. 6 seed and 18th-ranked Hayden Hastings of Wyoming. After a takedown and an escape, the senior Bastian took a quick 3-2 lead at the end of the first period. The UVU 174-pounder then added an escape and a stall point in the second to take a 5-2 advantage. Hastings looked to respond with an escape and a late stall point of his own, but Bastian did what he needed to do to hang on for the victory.

With the fifth-place finish, Bastian earns a podium finish at the Big 12s for the fourth time in his career as well as qualifies for his third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. The senior Bastian capped his 2020 Big 12 Championship run with a 3-2 outing and now holds a 17-8 record on the season.

Also with the top seed and fourth-ranked Tate Orndorff opening in the consolation semis on the day versus the No. 3 seed and 11th-ranked Josh Hokit of Fresno State, overtime was needed to determine a winner with the contest all squared up at 1-1 at an escape apiece. With the 2019 All-American Hokit in on a scramble in sudden victory, Hokit managed to roll through and secure the winning takedown to claim the bout by a score of 3-1 and send the UVU heavyweight to the fifth-place bout.

Tate Orndorff then also responded by pulling out an 11-0 major decision victory over the No. 6 seed and 15th-ranked Dalton Robertson of Northern Colorado to finish fifth and earn his second straight trip to nationals. Orndorff dominated the match with a pair of takedowns, a reversal, a four-point nearfall and 3:45 of riding time on his way to capping his tournament run with the fifth-place finish.

The placement marks Tate Orndorff's second straight podium finish at the Big 12s as well as his second straight trip to nationals. Orndorff went 2-2 at the 2020 Big 12s and now holds an 18-4 record on the season.

With eight auto bids to nationals at 133 pounds and looking to force a true eighth-place bout, the top seed and 10th-ranked Taylor LaMont avenged an earlier season loss to the No. 5 seed and 16th-ranked Todd Small of Iowa State by topping him in overtime on Sunday morning. Trailing 3-2 late in the third period and with LaMont on the attack, Small was hit with his second stall call to give LaMont the tying point to force OT. With both sides trading shots in sudden victory, LaMont managed to muscle the winning takedown with 13 seconds remaining to earn a hard fought 5-3 win and force a true eighth-place bout.

Then in the true eighth-place match against West Virginia's Lucas Seibert, LaMont pulled out a decisive 17-2 technical fall victory on his way to winning his third straight match and securing the auto bid. The now two-time UVU NCAA qualifier racked up four takedowns and eight nearfall points on his way to earning the victory.

The true eighth-place finish marks LaMont's second Big 12 podium finish and his second trip to nationals. He posted a 3-2 outing at the 2020 Big 12s en route to upping his season record to 17-7.

After going 2-2 on Saturday to reach the seventh-place bout, the freshman Hunsaker looked strong early against the No. 7 seed Jaden Van Mannen by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead after one. Hunsaker then made it 9-0 with another takedown and escape in the second. In the third, Van Mannen then looked to stage a comeback with a takedown and a four-point nearfall to make it 9-6. Van Mannen then looked for more back points, but time expired prior to the count as Hunsaker managed to hold on to win 9-6 and take seventh place.

The freshman Hunsaker finished his first Big 12 Championship run with the podium finish, a solid 3-2 outing, and caps his 2019-20 campaign with an 11-16 record.

Wrestling for seventh place on the day and in hopes of winning the contest to force a true sixth-place match and a spot to nationals on the line, the No. 6 seed and 21st-ranked Tanner Orndorff found himself on the wrong end of a 5-2 decision to the No. 8 seed Cordell Eaton of North Dakota State to finish in eighth place. Trailing 2-1 after the first period of action, Eaton then made it 3-1 with an escape in the second period. The senior and three-time UVU NCAA qualifier Orndorff then pulled within a point at 3-2 with an escape of his own in the third, but Eaton responded with a late takedown to seal the victory.

Tanner Orndorff finishes his final Big 12 Championship run with the eighth-place finish after going 2-3 at the event. Currently ranked 21st on the lastest NCAA Coaches' Panel ranking and 32nd on the latest RPI, Orndorff (14-12) will hope to earn an at-large selection to the 2020 NCAA Championships in the coming days.

Five other Wolverines also took part in the 2020 Big 12 Championship, but all had their runs come to a close on Saturday with 0-2 showings in Josiah Nava (125), Kainalu Estrella (141), Jed Loveless (157), Koy Wilkinson (165) and Ashton Seely (184).

In the team race, Utah Valley finishes its 2020 Big 12 Championship run with 33 points to take 11th out of 12 teams.

The 2020 Big 12 Championships will conclude on Sunday evening with the championship finals. The finals will begin at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT and will be televised live on AT&T Sportsnet in Utah and a number of Fox Sports Regional Networks around the country.

The 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will then take place March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

UTAH VALLEY 2020 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
*Big 12 seeds are listed instead of national rankings

125 - Josiah Nava (0-2)
#5 Jace Koelzer (NC) TF Josiah Nava (UVU), 16-1 (6:47)
#7 Christian Moody (OU) DEC Josiah Nava (UVU), 6-2

133 - #1 Taylor LaMont (3-2) - True 8th Place
#8 Mosha Schwartz (NC) DEC #1 Taylor LaMont (UVU), 6-4
#7 Reece Witcraft (OK State) DEC #1 Taylor LaMont (UVU), 5-3
#1 Taylor LaMont (UVU) FALL Zach Price (SDSU), 4:42
#1 Taylor LaMont (UVU) DEC #5 Todd Small (ISU), 5-3 (SV-1)
#1 Taylor LaMont (UVU) TF Lucas Seibert (WVU), 17-2 (5:00)

141 - Kainalu Estrella (0-2)
#5 DJ Lloren (FS) TF Kainalu Estrella (UVU), 16-1 (7:00)
#7 Clay Carlson (SDSU) TF Kainalu Estrella (UVU), 16-1 (4:32)

149 - Cameron Hunsaker (3-2) - 7th Place
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) FALL #8 Jaron Jensen (WYO), 3:52
#1 Boo Lewallen (OK State) TF Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 15-0 (3:10)
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) DEC Dylan Martinez (AFA), 3-1 (SV-1)
#5 Andrew Alirez (NC) MD Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 8-0
Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) DEC #7 Jaden VanMannen (NDSU), 9-6

157 - Jed Loveless (0-2)
#8 Dewey Krueger (WYO) DEC Jed Loveless (UVU), 2-1
#6 Alex Hornfeck (WVU) MD Jed Loveless (UVU), 11-2

165 - Koy Wilkinson (0-2)
#8 Austin Yant (UNI) DEC Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 1-0
Jordan Robinson (NC) DEC Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 5-3

174 - #4 Kimball Bastian (3-2) - 5th Place
#5 Joe Smith (OK State) DEC #4 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 3-1 (SV-1)
#4 Kimball Bastian (UVU) DEC Cade King (SDSU), 2-1
#4 Kimball Bastian (UVU) DEC #8 Cody Surratt (AFA), 6-1
#3 Sam Colbray (ISU) DEC #4 Kimball Bastian (UVU), 4-2 (SV-2)
#4 Kimball Bastian (UVU) DEC #6 Hayden Hastings (WYO), 5-4

184 - Ashton Seely (0-2)
#1 Taylor Lujan (UNI) DEC Ashton Seely (UVU), 11-4
#6 Darrien Roberts (OU) DEC Ashton Seely (UVU), 5-2

197 - #6 Tanner Orndorff (2-3) - 8th Place
#6 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) FALL Casey Jumps (AFA), 5:54
#3 Jake Woodley (OU) DEC #6 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 6-2
#6 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) DEC Isaiah Patton (UNI), 8-3
#7 Jacob Seely (NC) MD #6 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 10-2
#8 Cordell Eaton (NDSU) DEC #6 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 5-2

285 - #1 Tate Orndorff (2-2) - 5th Place
#1 Tate Orndorff (UVU) MD Blake Wolters (SDSU), 11-3
#5 Brian Andrews (WYO) DEC #1 Tate Orndorff (UVU), 7-3 (TB-2)
#3 Josh Hokit (FS) DEC #1 Tate Orndorff (UVU), 3-1 (SV-1)
#1 Tate Orndorff (UVU) MD #6 Dalton Robertson (NC), 11-0