Four Wolverines Ranked by NCAA Coaches

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the second coaches ranking for the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and four Utah Valley University grapplers remain nationally ranked.

Senior 174-pounder Demetrius Romero leads the way for the Wolverines by being ranked fourth in his weight class, while junior Taylor LaMont is currently ranked sixth at 125 pounds. Redshirt freshman Ty Smith then checks in at No. 18 at 133 pounds while sophomore 149-pounder Cameron Hunsaker is tabbed 29th.

Both Romero and LaMont are two-time NCAA qualifiers for the Wolverines and are currently undefeated on the season with respective 12-0 and 6-0 records. Smith holds a 7-2 record this year while Hunsaker is 7-5.

The coaches rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each conference. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. For the second ranking, wrestlers must have three Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days. For the final coaches ranking that will be utilized during the at-large selection and seeding process, wrestlers will need a minimum of four Division I matches in the weight class.

The coaches ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.

In other national rankings, Romero is currently ranked as high as No. 3 nationally (by InterMat), while LaMont is as high as No. 4 (InterMat), Smith is tabbed 17th (FloWrestling) and Hunsaker is 27th (TrackWrestling).

The Wolverines will next head to the 2021 Big 12 Championships March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, UVU will look to qualify as many of its 10 competing wrestlers as it can for the 2021 NCAA Championships that will follow on March 18-20 in St. Louis. Two years ago, Romero became UVU's inaugural Big 12 champion.

The NCAA previously announced the pre-allocations for the NCAA Championships and the Big 12 Conference has been awarded the following: five at 125, five at 133, four at 141, five at 149, three at 157, five at 165, four at 174, four at 184, five at 197 and five at 285 for a total of 45 auto-bids to nationals.

UVU Wrestlers on the Second NCAA Coaches' Panel Ranking

• 125 - Taylor LaMont - 6th
• 133 - Ty Smith - 18th
• 149 - Cameron Hunsaker - 29th
• 174 - Demetrius Romero - 4th