Area wrestlers shined in recent college and high school national tournaments as both coaches and competitors.

Former Springville wrestler Marlynne Deede helped Iowa claim the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) title by bringing home the gold at 155 pounds.

Deede went 5-0 in the tournament with two pins, two technical fall wins and then downed King University’s Cheyenne Bowman in a 9-3 decision to claim the title. Iowa (204 points) edged North Central (198) for the title while King University was third with 163 points.

“It was a more of a unique experience,” said Deede of her fifth time wrestling in this national event. “It was the first time I was on a team that was within reach of a title. I was super calm but also conscious of points we needed to win. It was a really fun experience.”

Deede is very grateful to have spent this season at Iowa, its inaugural one for the Hawkeyes, but one that turned out to be very successful.

“It was crazy being a new program,” Deede added. “It made for a lot more media coverage and some positive and negative talk.”

Deede said most of the negative stuff came from other programs that wanted to put the upstart Iowa program down.

“They wanted to take us down,” Deede said. “But all of it gave us more of an edge and we had to come together and perform. The semifinal round we won so many matches and there were so many upsets.”

The Hawkeye grappler also had great things to say about the community that is Iowa athletics.

“There’s a lot of interest in women’s basketball and men’s wrestling. But it was nice to be in a place where women’s sports matter and where wrestling matters. We had to carry our weight as trailblazers. This is a really cool place.”

Deede, along with Brooklyn Hays and Sage Mortimer, who prepped at Pleasant Grove and Springville respectively, will compete in the Olympic Trials on the campus of Penn State University on April 19-20.

At the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals for girl youth wrestlers, three Wasatch wrestlers won All-American honors at the USA Folkstyle Nationals held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kate Bird, Addyson Knight, and Tyler Richter all placed in the top eight in this prestigious national tournament.

Men’s wrestling

Former Wasatch High School 4-time state champion Cael Sanderson led Penn State to its 11th NCAA Division I title in 13 years as the Nittany Lions simply blitzed the field at the T-Mobile arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

Penn State scored an NCAA record 172.5 points, 100 points better than runner-up Cornell. The margin of victory was also an NCAA record. Penn State put six wrestlers in the championship finals and four won titles.

Carter Starocci (174 pounds) and Aaron Brooks (197) joined Sanderson in an elite club of 4-time NCAA champions. Because of the special COVID-19 eligibility rules, Starocci could return next year and become the sports first ever Division I 5-time champion. Levi Haines (157) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) also climbed to the top of the podium for the Nittany Lions.

With his 11th national title as a head coach, Sanderson tied Edward Gallagher of Oklahoma State for second most titles as a head coach. Dan Gable, who led Iowa to 15 national titles, still sits on top but it seems like Penn State will be a wrestling juggernaut for years, if not decades, to come.

One of Sanderson’s top assistants is his brother Cody, a 4-time state champion at Wasatch as well, and the first head coach for Utah Valley University wrestling.

Speaking of Utah Valley, Evan Bockman went 1-2 at 197 pounds as the Wolverines finished in a tie for 56th as 68 programs qualified wrestlers to this year’s tournament. It was the last national tournament for Utah Valley head coach Greg Williams as he retires and Adam Hall, a former Boise State All-American and current assistant coach at North Carolina State, takes over the reins of the program.

Brock Hardy, who prepped at Box Elder High School winning four state titles, finished third at 141 pounds for Nebraska as the Cornhuskers finished ninth. Behind Penn State and Cornell, rounding out the top five teams were Michigan, Iowa State, and Iowa.

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