While the move was reported at the end of May, former Utah Valley University All-American wrestler Taylor LaMont’s transfer to Wisconsin wasn’t made official until two weeks ago. “We are fired up to have Taylor join our program!” said UW head coach Chris Bono. “He has incredibly high goals and is passionate in his pursuit to be the best version of himself.”
All-American Taylor Lamont is transferring to the University of Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/CihHai80Zs
— WeAreWrestlers (@WeAreWrestlers) May 24, 2022
Per a UW release, LaMont has competed at both 125 and 133 pounds, earning NCAA qualifications at both weights (three times at 125, once at 133). He qualified for the national tournament in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022, earning his All-American honor after finishing fifth in 2021 at 125 (he completed a redshirt year during the 2016-17 season and medical redshirt during 2018-19 season). He has one year of eligibility remaining to wrestle for Wisconsin.
The native of Mapleton, Utah finished with a 12-6 overall record during the 2021-22 season with a 4-2 record in duals and was ranked as high as No. 4 at 125 pounds last season and finished fifth in the Big 12 to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Looking at the Badgers lineup for this upcoming season, it would make sense for LaMont to slot into the 133 spot for UW. All-American Eric Barnett has 125 locked down and Kyle Burwick had a disappointing year at 133 last year, going 14-17.
Speaking of Barnett, he is ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds in InterMat’s preseason rankings that were released last week. As a team, the Badgers are ranked No. 10 in duals and No. 11 in tournament and feature eight individual wrestlers ranked in their weight classes.
Too early for rankings?
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) June 23, 2022
Nah. We're here for it! Wisconsin is ranked in duals and 1⃣1⃣ in tournament with 8⃣ Badgers earning preseason rankings from @InterMat pic.twitter.com/jSEkxsCbWC
Here is the full list of UW wrestlers ranked:
- 125 pounds, Eric Barnett, No. 7
- 133 pounds, Taylor LaMont, No. 12
- 141 pounds, Joe Zargo, No. 13
- 149 pounds, Austin Gomez, No. 2
- 157 pounds, Garrett Model, No. 17
- 165 pounds, Dean Hamiti, No. 6
- 197 pounds, Braxton Amos, No. 19
- 285 pounds, Trent Hillger, No. 12
Predictably, the Big Ten is well represented in the top-30 for dual meets. Penn State and Iowa are the preseason top-two teams, Ohio State is No. 5, Michigan is No. 7 and Northwestern is No. 9. The Badgers round out the top-10, giving the Big Ten half of those teams. Minnesota is No. 11, Nebraska is No. 15, Illinois is No. 23, Rutgers is No. 26 and Purdue is No. 27.
Iowa’s Spencer Lee is ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds, Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young is ranked No. 1 at 133, Minnesota’s Brayton Lee is No. 1 at 157, PSU’s Carter Starocci is No. 1 at 174, PSU’s Aaron Brooks is No. 1 at 184 and PSU’s Max Dean is No. 1 at 197. Needless to say, the Nittany Lions are expected to be quite good this season.
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