NEW YORK CITY – Trailing No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia 5-0 heading into the final period, Utah Valley University senior Jade Rauser managed to reel off eight unanswered points to knock off the seeded foe in the Round of 12 at the 2016 NCAA Championships to secure All-American status at Madison Square Garden on Friday evening.
 
By locking up the All-American honors, Rauser (24-8) becomes just the second UVU wrestler in program history to achieve such a feat. The Wolverine 133-pounder will join former 125-pound standout Benjamin Kjar, who placed fourth at the NCAA's in 2011.
 
"It feels awesome. When the final whistle blew and I realized that I had won the match, I couldn't believe it," Rauser said. "This has always been the ultimate goal. I told my teammates that I didn't have any other choice than to come back with the hardware. I still have one more match, but this is just a phenomenal way to end my career."
 
Needing a win over DiCamillo (29-5) to secure his All-America status in his first bout on Friday evening, Rauser found himself trailing the UVA three-time NCAA qualifier by a score of 5-0 heading into the final period. UVU's first-ever four-time NCAA qualifier then came out determined in the final stanza as he managed to take DiCamillo down for two and promptly followed that up by locking DiCamillo's shoulders to the mat for a four-point nearfall to take a 6-5 lead. With the clock winding down and DiCamillo holding riding time advantage, Rauser managed to tilt DiCamillo one more time for a last-second two count to pick up a two-point nearfall to win the bout by a score of 8-6 right at the buzzer.
 
In his following match to determine what spot he would wrestle for on Saturday, Rauser then once again looked for a late comeback win against the No. 7 seed from Nebraska Eric Montoya. Trailing 7-6 with the clock winding down, the Wolverine senior looked to have secured a last-second takedown but Montoya (28-9) managed to roll through the maneuver to land a takedown of his own just before the clock expired to take the bout by a score of 9-6.
 
With the loss, Rauser will now enter the seventh-place match on Saturday against the eight seed and now two-time All-American from Iowa State Earl Hall (32-9). Rauser will enter Saturday's final match with a 4-2 record during his 2016 NCAA Championship run.
 
"Jade has been focused all tournament long. I'm just really proud of him and pleased for him that he was able to achieve his goal," head coach Greg Williams said. "It's very emotional. What an achievement after working so hard. We're all very excited for him."
 
After dropping his first bout of the tournament to the two seed and now three-time All-American Cory Clark of Iowa on Thursday morning, Rauser won four straight matches in the wrestlebacks to secure his All-America finish. During the four-match winning streak, Rauser defeated a pair of seeded grapplers in the sixth-seeded DiCamillo and No. 9 Mack McGuire of Kent State (5-3), as well as No. 16 Nathan Kraisser of Campbell (17-4) and No. 18 Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State (12-4).
 
Fellow Wolverine senior Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) too competed for UVU at the NCAA Championships but had his 2016 run come to a close on Thursday with a 1-2 record. Following a 6-1 win over Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske in the Pigtails, Tolbert then dropped a pair of bouts to the three-time All-American third-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State (18-5) and Sean Fausz of North Carolina State (7-4) to have his season and outstanding collegiate career come to a close. Tolbert, who made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships this weekend, finishes his UVU career in the top-10 in all-time victories at Utah Valley with a 65-36 career record.
 
Saturday's medal round/session V of the NCAA Championships will begin at 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT and will be televised live on ESPNU. The tournament will then conclude with the championship finals on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT.
 
UVU's 2016 NCAA Championship Results
133 - Jade Rauser (4-2)
Champ. Round 1 - #2 Cory Clark (Iowa) over Jade Rauser (UVU), MD 8-0
Cons. Round 1 - Jade Rauser (UVU) over Gary Wayne Harding (OK State), MD 12-4
Cons. Round 2 - Jade Rauser (UVU) over Nathan Kraisser (Campbell), MD 17-4
Cons. Round 3 - Jade Rauser (UVU) over #9 Mack McGuire (Kent State), Dec. 5-3
Cons. Round of 12 - Jade Rauser (UVU) over #6 George DiCamillo (Virginia), Dec. 8-6
Cons. Round of 8 - #7 Eric Montoya (Nebrask) over Jade Rauser (UVU), Dec. 9-6
 
125 - Chasen Tolbert (1-2)
Champ. Prelims - Chasen Tolbert (UVU) over Brandon Jeske (ODU), Dec. 6-1
Champ. Round 1 - #3 Nico Megaludis (PSU) over Chasen Tolbert (UVU), MD 18-5
Cons. Round 1 - Sean Fausz (NC State) over Chasen Tolbert (UVU), Dec. 7-4
 
Session IV Attendance – 18, 309