By Jason Bryant

I can’t quite remember the year, but I remember where I was and I remember who walked past.                                                                                                               I was standing outside of the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Va., during the NHSCA Open Nationals and a recognizable face walked in front of me. It was Ben Kjar. The talents of the then-Utah high school wrestler was widely recognized by the nation’s top high school wrestling pundits.

            But because of Crouzon syndrome, Kjar’s face was also widely recognized.            The syndrome that causes a misshapen head and facial deformities isn’t why Kjar is worth talking about. At least, not anymore.

            The wait is over for Kjar and his team, Utah Valley.

            The school, located in Orem and formerly a two-year junior college known as Utah Valley State College, only began granting four-year degrees in 1993. In 2009, Utah Valley University is a full-fledged member of NCAA Division I and Kjar and his Wolverine teammates can see light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

             That light is the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Omaha. That tunnel has been a seven-year wait for the school and its fledgling wrestling program. When Utah Valley added wrestling to its slate of varsity athletic programs, Cody Sanderson was hired as the school’s first coach.

             But Sanderson’s tenure wouldn’t last through the program’s painful seven-year itch. He joined younger brother Cael at Iowa State, and then followed him to Penn State. After Sanderson’s four-year run at Utah Valley, local club coach Greg Williams took over, guiding the Wolverines through the final three years of the NCAA provisional period.

             Kjar has always referred to Williams as “my coach.”

             Kjar, who actually spent a year at Oklahoma (2002-03) after high school, was days from signing with Boise State while on his two-year LDS mission before committing to Williams.

            Kjar remembers what practices were like his first year on campus in Orem.

             “We were rolling out mats like we were in junior high,” said Kjar. “Coming from Oklahoma, that was way different.”

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