Wrestler Taylor LaMont heads to World Championships

Photo credit: Mike Smith/MatShots

Wolverine wrestler Taylor LaMont will be representing the United States at the 2018 Junior World Championships in Slovakia from Sept. 17-23.

Since securing a place on the U.S. Greco-Roman World Team in June, he hopes to claim the top spot on the podium during this year’s tournament. The Utah native, who won a bronze medal at the event in 2016, will be competing in his sixth straight world championship. In 2017, he came away with a fifth-place finish.

“I am really excited,” said LaMont. “Obviously the goal is to come home with the gold. This year more than other years, I’m not nervous.”

LaMont had a strong showing last season as a freshman for UVU. He was able to finish the year with an overall record of 27-5 and narrowly missed out on receiving All-American honors. Despite battling an ACL injury heading into the NCAA National Championships, the freshman was able to advance farther than any of his teammates, eventually falling in the quarterfinal round.

However, while LaMont has not yet fully recovered from this injury, when asked if it would affect his performance in this week’s tournament, he quickly responded with a “no.”

“If I can just focus on scoring points and having fun, I feel like I can come away with my ultimate goal of being a world champion,” said LaMont.

LaMont’s hopes for this year’s world championship don’t end there.

“I have an opportunity to be more of a leader on the United States team,” he said. “Me and a couple of the older guys are going to lead the Greco team. We’re hoping to come home with a team trophy as well.”

LaMont will be competing in the 60-kilogram weight class.