Benjamin Kjar Class: Senior Hometown: Centerville, Utah High School: Viewmont Weight: 125 Birthdate: 05/24/1983 Experience: 4V

At Utah Valley University ...
SENIOR ~ (10-11): All-American ... 30-8 overall record (8-1 duals) ... became UVU first-ever wrestling All-American after placing fourth at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Division I Championships ... named the WWC Wrestling of the Year ... named a WWC All-Conference Third Team selection and was a one-time WWC Wrestler of the Week ... was nationally-ranked all year until the postseason ... named to the NWCA Individual All-Academic Team and the WWC Coaches' Honor Roll ... after losing his opening match at the West Regional he wrestled all the way back and even won a true-second place match to earn an automatic berth to Nationals ... at the NCAA Championships he became the underdog story of the tournament as he went from unseeded all the way to the semifinal match against the eventual national champion in ASU's Anthony Robles ... he gave the undefeated Robles his closest match of the season losing just 4-2 ... went on to place fourth as he went 4-2, which included wins over the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 7 seeds ... in the final NCAA Coaches Ranking he was ranked 11th and was ranked No. 8 in the final RPI ... won both the Southern Scuffle and the Cowboy Open on the year and placed second at the Kaufman-Brand Open ... lost just one match in dual action and went 4-1 in WWC conference action ... won 10 bouts in a row during the end of the year ... won 24 bouts by decision, three by major decision, one by fall and one by tech fall ... did not lose a home match his entire career ... finished his career as UVU's all-time winningest wrestler as he went 129-35 during his tenure.

JUNIOR ~ (09-10): 31-10 overall record (11-2 duals) ... an NCAA Qualifier in UVU's first season eligible for postseason as he received a 12-seed at the NCAA D-I Wrestling Championships in Omaha and wrestled his way to a 1-2 record ... was UVU's first-ever athlete in school history to compete at any NCAA D-I Championship ... finished 2nd in his weight class at the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships in Brookings, S.D., to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships ... was ranked in the top-20 nationally at 125 lbs. nearly all season ... named to the Second Team All-WWC ... was a three-time WWC Wrestler of the Week on the season ... named a member of the NWCA All-Academic Division I Team with a 3.24 GPA ... named to the WWC Coaches' Honor Roll with a 3.17 GPA ... named the Wolverine Achievement Awards' Male Athlete of the Year ... placed 5th at the prestigious Midlands Championships at Northwestern and 7th at the Las Vegas Cliff Keen Invitational ... won the NC State Wolfpack Open in Raleigh, N.C. ... was a perfect 5-0 in conference dual matches on the year ... won four matches by fall, nine by major decision, and one by tech fall ... is currently UVU's all-time record holder in wins with 99.

SOPHOMORE ~ (08-09): 29-8 overall record (13-1 duals and a perfect 5-0 in WWC) ... finished the season ranked 19th Nationally at 125 lbs. by Intermat ... nominated for the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Year, finished third in the voting ... named to the WWC Coaches' Honor Roll with a 3.08 GPA while studying Business Management/Entrepreneurship ... a team captain ... won the Best of the West Open on Nov. 22, 2008 as he went 5-0 at 125 lbs. ... placed at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and at the prestigious Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. on Dec. 29-30 ... only loss in dual action was to the No. 8 ranked Tyler Clark of Iowa State, as he fell 4-2 back on Nov. 13, 2008 ... longest winning streak of the season was 13 ... finished the year winning his final nine bouts in a row ... recorded 10 victories by pinfall, six by major decision and one by technical fall ... helped lead his team to a 11-3 overall record (a School-Record for wins) and a 4-1 record in the WWC, good enough for a second place finish ... after only two season's at UVU has now become the All-Time wins leader with 68.

FRESHMAN ~ (07-08): 39-9 overall record (12-2 duals) ... a team captain ... now holds the UVU record for most single-season overall victories at the Division-I level with 39 ... named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week on January 30, 2008 after going a perfect 6-0 during that previous week ... finished fourth at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions, December 18, 2007 in Reno, Nev., after going 4-2 in the 125 pound weight-class ... took fifth place at the Eastern Michigan Open, November 3, 2007 in Ypsilanti, Mich., after going 6-1 ... placed second at the Cowboy Open, November 10, 2007 in Laramie, Wyo., as he won three of his four matches on the day ... recorded 10 of his victories via fall ... best win-streak of the season was nine victories in a row ... finished the season off by going an impressive 15-2 in his final 17 matches.

REDSHIRT ~ (06-07): Redshirted the 2006-07 season.

Before Utah Valley:
Is a three-time National Champion in 2002 in Folkstyle, Greco-Roman and Freestyle ... wrestled at Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah, helping Viewmont to its first state title in 2002 ... three-time Utah state champion from sophomore through senior seasons ... went a perfect 38-0 during sophomore season, 44-4 as a junior and 43-2 as a senior.

Personal:
Born May 24, 1983 in Pleasant Grove, Utah ... son of Scott and Stana Kjar ... is an Eagle Scout ... majoring in Entrepreneurship at Utah Valley ... served an LDS Mission to Tucson, Arizona ... graduated from Viewmont HS with a 3.4 GPA and was named to the honor roll ... enjoys dancing, the outdoors, spray paint art and music ... his uncle, Shandell Smoot, was a national champion at Ricks College, while another uncle, Greg Kjar, wrestled at BYU ... chose Utah Valley so his family could follow his career ... one of the most highly recruited athletes signed by Utah Valley ... was recruited by many schools including Oklahoma, Boise State, Cornell, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Arizona State ... has never lost a home meet throughout junior high, high school, and college.