MT. PLEASANT– Teams came from all across the state this past weekend as North Sanpete hosted the annual Winter Classic Jan. 26 and 27.

Teams from as far north as Ben Lomond and as far south as Moab and Monticello traveled to Mt. Pleasant for the opportunity to take home the coveted wrestling trophy.

The Millard Eagles proved mightier than all the rest by easily outdistancing the field for first place, but the home North Sanpete Hawk wrestlers made a great showing, taking second place just a few points against the Juab Wasps.

The matches began Friday and both gym floors at the high school were covered with mats, allowing five matches to take place simultaneously.

To the novice wrestling observer, it looked like total chaos. Jason Strate, assistant wrestling coach, and a bevy of volunteer assistants, kept everything in order and running smoothly. The tournament ran on time pretty much all the way through and the mats were seldom empty.

By Saturday the number of wrestlers still in the tournament had been whittled down and it became pretty obvious that Millard had their title well in hand.

Twelve of the 14 championship rounds contained a wrestler from the 2A school in Fillmore.

The real battle was going to be between Juab and North Sanpete for second and third places. Millard had placed five of their wrestlers into the championship round while North Sanpete had four.

The Hawks had a slight points advantage going in to the finals by virtue of the team’s depth, but a lot would depend on how the championship matches ended.

In the 119 pound division, Fairview’s Zane Christensen was once again up against Tyson Ashworth from Juab. Christensen defeated Ashworth in a dual on Jan. 18, here in Mt. Pleasant, but the match had been tight all the way through.

This contest was not much different as both mat men had opportunities to pin their opponent. Christensen finally started to pull away and at the beginning of the third round it was obvious that if Christensen could keep his shoulders off the mat he would have the title.

Christensen dealt a powerful blow to Juab’s hopes of catching up to North Sanpete when he won by a 9-6 decision.

At 145 pounds, another senior Cody Bradley, stepped onto the mat to take on a Juab Wasp opponent. This match was also tight all the way through, but this one came out in favor of Juab as the Mt. Pleasant wrestler went down battling, 7-4.

Mt. Pleasant junior Dylan Clark, was the next Hawk on the mat and he was set to defend his undefeated 42-0 season record. In his way was Chris Glascock of the Millard Eagles.

The two had met previously this year at the Millard Ironman competition and Clark came out ahead in that battle.

Glascock came out with only survival and defense on his mind. He kept his arms in close to his body and forced Dylan to chase him around the mat.

The strategy worked for a little while, but Clark caught up to him in the second round and quickly put him on his back for a fall.

Curt Houghton, a Fairview senior, followed up Dylan’s act by coming out against Millard’s Sergio Pedroza. Houghton had also met this wrestler at Millard and in the first meeting between the two, Houghton finally came out ahead in a sudden death thriller.

This match was no different as the two were tied through regulation and the first overtime period. Houghton, starting out in bottom position for the second overtime, used his speed and strength to score the escape and hold on for the exciting victory.

Other top finishers for North Sanpete were Timmy Brewer, fourth and Kolton Cheney, sixth at 103 pounds. At 112 pounds, Shaun Poulsen took third place and Jorge Morales finished sixth.

Teejay Clawson and Jared Watts took third and fifth, respectively at 125 pounds, while Keaton Cheney took the third place consolation prize in the 135 pound division. Justin Stewart ended this tournament in fifth place at 140 pounds.

Jordan Walker, who had not been able to wrestle during the first semester and made a good showing as he took sixth at 152 pounds, and sophomore Cody Keisel took fourth at 160 pounds.

Chad Bradley and Skyler Richards had to wrestle each other and took fifth and sixth respectively. Danny Hansen closed the scoring out for the Hawks as he had a great tournament taking third place.

Hansen actually chipped a tooth during his final match and the pain seemed to focus him into victory.

The Hawks will now host the Region 8 wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday, Feb 2 and 3, starting at 4:30 p.m. and running into Saturday until the outcome is decided.

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