Demetrius Romero Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
IRVING, Texas - Utah Valley University junior 165-pounder Demetrius Romero has been named the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week for the week of Nov. 26 - Dec. 2. The conference honor is Romero's first of the season and first of his career.
Romero went an impressive 7-1 with a trio of wins over nationally ranked foes en route to placing third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and help UVU post its highest team finish in program history at the prestigious tournament of eighth. After going 3-1 on Friday with a quarterfinal setback to the top seed and fifth-ranked Logan Massa of Michigan, the eighth-seeded and 13th-ranked Romero then responded with a perfect 4-0 day on Saturday to come all the way back to place third in his weight class. He started his impressive day with a come-from-behind 8-6 overtime win over Oklahoma's Jeremy Thomas and followed it up with back-to-back-to-back wins over ranked foes in the No. 5 seed and 12th-ranked Joey Gunter of Illinois (6-3), No. 3 seed and ninth-ranked Bryce Steiert of Northern Iowa (medical forfeit), and an impressive 9-6 revenge victory over the 2017 All-American and top-seeded Massa of Michigan in the third-place bout to record the bronze finish.
With the impressive tournament outing, Romero is now 11-2 on the season. The 2018 NCAA qualifier also moved up in the national rankings, as the Wolverine junior is now ranked as high as No. 8 at 165 pounds by both FloWrestling and TrackWrestling.
Other nominees on the week included Air Force's Alec Opsal (149), Iowa State's Austin Gomez (133), North Dakota State's Brent Fleetwood (125), Northern Iowa's Drew Foster (184), Oklahoma's Dom Demas (141) and Wyoming's Montorie Bridges (133).
Romero and the 22nd-ranked Wolverines will return to dual action following the Christmas holiday when they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to take part in the South Beach Duals on Dec. 29-30. There, UVU will face off against No. 7 NC State, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 13 Purdue and Virginia.
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