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LaMont makes U.S. age-group World Team for sixth straight year, as Peak misses weight for UWW Junior Wrestle-off

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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling

Competition portrait of Taylor LaMont from the 2017 Junior World Championships by Richard Immel.


ATLANTA, Ga. - Taylor LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Sunkist Kids) has made an unprecedented sixth straight U.S. age-group World Team, as the UWW Junior World Greco-Roman Special Wrestle-off for 60 kg was not held today. His opponent Benji Peak (Elkhorn, Wis/NMU-OTS) failed to make weight.


The best-of-three series between LaMont and Peak was scheduled to begin at 12:00 noon ET, but was cancelled when Peak missed weight at the 10:00 a.m. weigh-in.


LaMont will now compete on the Junior World Team in Greco-Roman for the third straight year (2016, 2017, 2018), after three straight years on the Cadet World Greco-Roman Team (2013, 2014, 2015). He was a bronze medalist at the 2016 Junior World Championships, and placed fifth at the 2017 Junior World Championships.


It is believed that he is the first athlete to make the U.S. World Team at his age-group for six straight years.


LaMont was a freshman at Utah Valley University in 2018, where he was seeded No. 7 at the NCAA Championships and reached the quarterfinals, before losing in the “blood round” at his weight class.


Peak, who competes with the Northern Michigan University Olympic Training Site, won the 2018 Junior Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind. on June 8. He is a very tall athlete for his weight class.


LaMont became eligible for the Special Wrestle-off based upon the Junior World Team Selection Procedures, which states “a delay in a final wrestle-off may occur if a 2017 Junior GR World Team Member places in the top 4 at the April 2018 U.S. Senior Greco-Roman Open and then competes in the June 2018 U.S. Senior Greco-Roman World Team Trials.”


LaMont was a member of the 2017 U.S. Junior World Team, where he placed fifth at the UWW Junior World Championships. LaMont placed third in the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at 60 kg in Las Vegas in April. LaMont then competed at the 2018 Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Tulsa, Okla. in June, where he was defeated in the semifinals by Mike Fuenffinger then did not compete in the consolation rounds.


The UWW Greco-Roman World Team for USA Wrestling is now complete. A Special Wrestle-off for the 77 kg spot on the UWW Junior World Greco-Roman Team was not held when 2018 UWW Junior World Team Trials champion Anthony Mantanona (Palm Desert, Calif./Oklahoma RTC) chose not to enter a Special Wrestle-off against 2017 Junior World champion Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo.,/Sunkist Kids) after Bey earned a Special Wrestle-off under the same rules as LaMont.


The rest of the 2018 U.S. Greco-Roman UWW Junior World Team was determined in the 2018 Junior Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind. on June 8.

2018 UWW JUNIOR GRECO-ROMAN WORLD TEAM

55 kg: Brady Koontz, Plover, WI (Ohio State-Unattached)

60 kg: Taylor LaMont, Mapleton, UT (Sunkist Kids)

63 kg: Alston Nutter, Fennimore, WI (NMU-OTS)

67 kg: Peyton Omania, Concord, CA (CYC)

72 kg: Tyler Dow, Stoughton, WI (BRTC)

77 kg: Kamal Bey, Colorado Springs, CO (Sunkist Kids/OTC)

82 kg: Andrew Berreyesa, Ithaca, NY (NYAC/FLWC)

87 kg: Barrett Hughes, Wagoner, OK (Cowboy Wrestling Club/TMWC)

97 kg: Chad Porter, Phoenix, AZ (Sunkist Kids)

130 kg: Cohlton Schultz, Parker, CO (New York AC)

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