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LaMont & Orndorff to compete at U23 World Championships

By UVU athletics, 10/31/19, 3:15PM MDT

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OREM, Utah – A pair of Utah Valley University wrestlers have qualified and will compete for the United States of America this weekend, Nov. 1-3, at the U23 Greco-Roman World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 
 
Junior Taylor LaMont and sophomore Tate Orndorff will both represent the USA at the age-group World Championship event. The Wolverine heavyweight Orndorff will open his 2019 U23 World Championship run at 130 kg on Friday, Nov. 1 at 10:30 a.m. local time in Budapest and 2:30 a.m. MT in Utah. The 133-pound LaMont will then begin his tournament on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 60 kg at 10:30 a.m. local time in Budapest and 2:30 a.m. MT in Utah. The event will mark both Orndorff and LaMont's first appearance at the U23 World Championships. 
 
Orndorff's first-round opponent has been announced and he will open against Deepak Poonia of India early on Friday morning. Brackets, live results and live video for the tournament can be viewed by visiting TrackWrestling.com.
 
Orndorff had a strong redshirt freshman campaign for the Wolverines in 2018-19 by posting a 26-9 overall record and qualifying for his first trip to the NCAA Championships. He also earned a third-place finish at the 2019 Big 12 Championships, as well as a second-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He capped his redshirt freshman season by earning both NWCA Scholar All-American and First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors. 
 
Orndorff was also a 2018 Senior National Team member in Greco and earned his spot to compete at the U23 World Championships after winning the U23 World Team Trials in May. The UVU heavyweight shined at the qualifying tournament by going a perfect 5-0 en route to qualifying for the U23 Worlds. 
 
LaMont arguably has the most experience of any American athlete competing at this weekend's U23 World Greco Championships, as this will mark his seventh-consecutive age-group World Championship. He's previously been on three Cadet World Teams (2013-15) and three Junior World Teams (2016-18). 
 
In 2016, LaMont won a Junior World bronze medal and then the following year he placed fifth at Junior Worlds. He also previously recorded a fifth-place finish at the 2015 Cadet World Championships. 
 
LaMont, who finished as the runner-up at the U23 World Team Trials in May, found out earlier this month that the World Team Trials winner Randon Miranda had to withdraw from the event and that LaMont would be replacing him. 
 
During his redshirt freshman campaign of 2017-18, LaMont became UVU's first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion and qualified for his first trip to the NCAA Championships. He entered the 2018 NCAA Championships as the program's highest seed in school history – seventh – and finished his run by reaching the 'Blood Round'. He posted a 27-5 record on the mat for the Wolverines that year and also earned both NWCA Scholar All-American and First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors. He then missed 2018-19 with an injury and has announced that he is planning to take an Olympic redshirt in 2019-20.  
 
For updates on LaMont and Orndorff's runs at the U23 World Championships, follow Utah Valley RTC on Instagram (@UtahValleyRTC). You can also follow live results and live video by visiting TrackWrestling.com.

2019 U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Budapest, Hungary (Oct. 28-Nov. 3)

Times listed in local Budapest time. Mountain Time is eight hours earlier.

Friday, Nov. 1
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)

Saturday, Nov. 2
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130kg)

Sunday, Nov. 3
3:30 p.m. – Repechage (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
5 p.m. – Finals (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)