This was the first big weekend of prep wrestling with several large invitational tournaments taking place on both the boys and girls front.

The two most prestigious boys tournaments were the Layton Invitational Tournament (L.I.T.) and the Millard Ironman. Pleasant Grove served notice that it could be the best team in the state in boys wrestling regardless of classification, and certainly the Vikings will be the team to beat in 6A.

It was a banner week for the Vikings as they went 9-0 at the Ironman beating some of the best small-school programs in the state including the returning 3A champions Juab, the 3A runner-ups Morgan and 2A powerhouse Millard.

The meet with Morgan was a great back-and-forth affair and going into the final bout, Morgan actually led 33-30. The last match of the dual at 126 pounds featured a battle between Pleasant Grove’s 2-time 6A runner-up Jacob Carson, a junior, and Morgan’s Will Korth, a senior that took 3A state two years ago.

After six minutes nothing was settled but then Carson got the takedown in sudden victory overtime to win 6-4. This tied up the dual at 33-33 and after going through a long list of criteria, Pleasant Grove was declared the winner by virtue of having the most first points scored.

Pleasant Grove then took care of Juab 36-25 and Millard 38-26. Juab actually beat Morgan to finish second in the tournament, Morgan was third, Millard fourth and Mountain View fifth.

Mountain View had a good first day in pool action going 4-1, but then struggled in the Gold pool on the second day of competition going 0-4 including dropping its match to Pleasant Grove 58-9.

Wrestlers that go undefeated at the Ironman are recognized and Pleasant Grove’s Israel Gonzalez (120 pounds), Koda DeAtley (138), Kort Wilkinson (285), along with Carson achieved that feat winning all nine of their bouts. Max Benson (144) and Trevyn Gates (175) lost just one match, both to returning state champions from Juab in Channing Warner (144) and Will Harmon (175) respectively.

It should be noted that Mountain View’s Cameron Williams won all nine of his matches at 165 pounds and Tyler Blevins (150) went 8-1 for the Bruins.

At the L.I.T. Payson and Wasatch finished third and fourth respectively as Uintah won the tourney with host Layton in second. Skyridge finished 18th and Lehi 19th in the 25-team field. This was an individual bracketed tournament versus a dual meet format.

Both Payson and Wasatch put multiple wrestlers on top of the podium.

Payson’s Ethan Boulton defeated Wasatch’s Parker Hayes 10-4 to win the 126-pound title. Boutlon’s teammates Landen Shutleff (175) and Angel Fuentes (215) also won titles. Colton Theobald (144) placed second for the Lions.

Wasatch got titles from Heath Clyde (132) and Ryder Robison (138). Robison beat teammate Austin Kelly for the title.

Skyridge’s Josh Millward, a returning 6A state champion and 3-time finalist, won an epic match with Uintah’s Dillon Dick, also a senior. Both wrestlers lost just once last year and are considered among the best wrestlers in the state, regardless of weight class. But in this meeting, the Falcon grappler took home a big 6-4 win.

Lehi’s Will McCleary had a strong tourney and finished second at 190 pounds for the Pioneers.

Salem Hills hosted the Skyhawk Showdown attracting 30 teams.

Riverton won the tournament as South Summit was second. Springville was the top county team as it placed fourth. Timpanogos placed sixth, Maple Mountain seventh, Salem Hills eighth, and American Leadership Academy (ALA) was eleventh. Other county teams in the event were Timpview (22nd), Cedar Valley (23rd), and Orem (27th).

Winning individual titles were Timpanogos’ Conner Knudsen (106), ALA’s Andrew Fox (113), Springville’s Andrew Weakley (144), Salem Hills’ Dawson Wood (175), and Maple Mountain’s Andrew Jensen (190). Jensen beat Salem Hill’s Monson Morley to claim his gold. Jensen’s teammate Cash Canto won the silver medal at 150 pounds.

In dual meet action from last week, Payson pinned Cedar Valley 78-0, Wasatch whipped Provo 48-6, Pleasant Grove pummeled American Fork 69-5, Westlake blasted Box Elder 69-10 and Skyridge 58-16, Mountain View mauled Lehi 50-24, Spanish Fork slipped past Green Canyon 39-36 and Corner Canyon crushed Lone Peak 60-24.

Girls Wrestling

At the first annual Thor Girl Classic, host Westlake came away with the gold trophy. Copper Hills edged out Slam Academy out of Las Vegas for second place. The tournament featured 29 teams and 265 total athletes.

The Thunder crowned five individual champions with Jamie Barton (110), Celeste Detoles (125), Quincy Peterson (130), Emmy Finlinson (145), and Keilikki Rarick (235).

Timpview’s Kaianne Sabagala (135) and Mountain View’s Esther Han (140) also won titles. Han, a nationally ranked move-in from Missouri, beat Westlake’s returning 6A champion Lizzie Shunn in the championship final. Maple Mountain’s Donna Wright (120) and Westlake’s Hailey Piig (145) finished second in this high profile tournament.

As teams, Maple Mountain finished fifth in the tournament while Mountain View was tenth. Other county teams in the field were Timpview (15th), Payson (23rd), and American Fork (27th).

At the F.I.G.H.T. UT tourney hosted by Farmington, Skyridge’s Lianny Barrena finished second in the 110-pound division. Skyridge finished tied for 21st in the 29-team field that featured 268 girl grapplers. Mountain Crest won the tournament.

In dual meet action the past week Mountain View downed Lehi 48-12.

Picking up wins for Mountain View were Elena Draper (110), Jasmine Golavar (115), Clarice Marambia (120), Cadynce Stubbs (130), Isla Baeza (135), Jocelyn Dean (140), Han (145), and Zarieh Power (170). Winning wrestlers for Lehi were Hailee Holmes (125) and Ajah Rajvong (170).

Westlake won two out of three matches in a contest between them and Skyridge. Winning for Westlake by fall were Detoles and Ashley Cannon at 125 pounds while Skyridge’s Barrena pinned Westlake’s Barton at 110 pounds.

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