OREM, Utah - Utah Valley University wrestling coach Greg Williams announced Thursday that he signed five recruits to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
Dalton Brady (Phoenix, Ariz./Chandler HS), Koelton Hardy (Brigham City, Utah/Box Elder HS), Grant LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Maple Mountain HS), Robbie Mathers (Ahwatukee, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) and Jed Mellen (Payson, Utah/Payson HS) have all signed to come and wrestle at UVU.
"We feel like between this group and the one a year ago, we are putting ourselves in a position to get to the next level," Williams said. "This is just a great recruiting class. They are all super hard wrestlers and very confident in what they'll be able to do in college. They are also very dedicated and ready to come in and get to work."
Brady, who is currently ranked third by USA Wrestling at 126 pounds, is a three-time State Champion and will be going for his fourth at Chandler High School this season. He also is a Cadet FILA National Champion and placed fifth at the Cadet World Championships in Hungary in 2011.
Brady was heavily recruited around the country and chose UVU over Iowa State, Arizona State and Cal Poly.
Hardy, who is currently serving an LDS Church mission in Texas, was a two-time State Champion at Box Elder High School and a three-time finalist. He was also a National Greco-Roman fourth-place finisher and a several time Western Regional Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. Hardy was also recruited by Boise State.
LaMont is currently ranked fifth in the nation by USA Wrestling at 152 pounds. He's a two-time State Champion at Maple Mountain High School and a two-time NHSCA High School National Champion (three-time finalist). LaMont has also been a National Greco-Roman Champion and a 2012 Cadet World Team member.
LaMont is a two-tim Utah All-Star and was recruited heavily by the Ivy League schools as well as Penn State.
"I'm super excited to go to UVU," LaMont said. "It's close to home and I really like the coaching staff. I'm also excited because the guys there right now have already made me feel like part of the team."
Mathers graduated from Desert Hills High School in 2012 and is currently spending a year at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was a three-time State Champion while at Desert Hills and placed third at Fargo, as he went 11-1 there. Mathers is spending the year at the OTC training with the Olympic development team and was also recruited by Oklahoma State.
"I decided to sign with UVU because it's a great program," Mathers said. "The coaches treat me well and I think that within the next year the program will continue to get better and that everyone is going to want to come here."
Mellen, who is ranked eighth currently by USA Wrestling at 138 pounds, is a two-time State Champion (three-time finalist) at Payson High School. He also is two-time Utah All-Star selection and a Rocky Mountain Rumble Champion. Mellen was also recruited by Boise State and was a NHSCA National third-place finisher last year.
"This is a great signing class," added Williams. "Three of them are currently ranked in the top 10 by USA Wrestling while another one is currently on a mission and the other is at the Olympic Training Center."
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit www.WolverineGreen.com.