The latest Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) alignment really shook up the Utah boys prep wrestling scene as 5A will not have a returning state champion team. In fact, the two top teams from last year, Uintah and Payson respectively, were put in 4A.

This means 5A is wide open and Spanish Fork is ready to jump into this void and claim its fourth state title in school history.

The Dons were impressive this weekend winning the Skyhawk Showdown hosted by Salem Hills by well over 200 points over second place 3A South Summit. A total of 32 teams competed in this tournament, so the Don performance was impressive and was pleasing to their head coach Kip Spencer.

“This whole week was awesome,” said Spencer. “We asked the wrestlers to score as many points as possible, and to battle no matter what the score was. They proved that working hard and not taking shortcuts pays off.”

The Dons crowned two individual champions with Karson Shelley (120 pounds) and Junior Wetzel (144). But overall the Dons placed 12 wrestlers in the top six. Taegen Leavitt (106), Brody Vogelsberg (113), Porter Olson (138), Edward Sears (150), Nathan Propopkiw (157), and Ryker Olson (175) all earned silver medals as the Dons put eight grapplers in the championship finals.

“It is fun to see how they feed off each other. Whether it is pushing each other harder in practice or competing in matches, they feed off one another’s effort and energy,” Spencer added.

The Dons will still have to get past traditional power Wasatch, which placed fifth as a team at the Millard Ironman Duals. The Wasps have placed third in the last three 5A state tournaments but won a state title in 2020. Ben Kohler (126) had an excellent tournament going 8-1 only losing to a grappler from SLAM Academy.

5A wrestling is definitely more wide open this year and that could make teams like Box Elder and Viewmont title threats. Each program has a rich tradition, and while they might not have a lot of star power, both programs will have a lot of depth that could score substantial points in a weaker field.

Springville will have some good upper weight wrestlers with the likes of Tevita Valeti, who won the 215-pound weight class at the Skyhawk Showdown, and the Red Devils could threaten to be in the top five when February rolls around.

Salem Hills also has huge aspirations as Breyton Banks (120) is a returning state champion for the Skyhawks who have good overall numbers in their program.

What did we learn in the first big weekend of wrestling? The 6A classification really flexed its muscles in some of these early tournaments. It was both at the team and individual level.

Host Layton won the Layton Invitational Tournament (L.I.T.) by over 50 points over Uintah, the 5A champion last season, now in 4A. Pleasant Grove placed fourth at the Millard Ironman tournament, which was a dual meet format. SLAM Academy out of Las Vegas went 9-0 in its duals to win the tournament, while Minico, Idaho was second. 2A Millard was the top Beehive State team placing third.

Pleasant Grove had three wrestlers go undefeated at the Ironman Duals as Brad Farrer (157), Trevyn Gates (190) and Cayaen Smith (215) went unscathed in their nine bouts.

At the L.I.T., Corner Canyon also had a good showing and surged past Payson to finish third place. That’s because the Chargers had four individual champions and Payson had just one.

And there were some surprising results. Corner Canyon’s Leimana Fager (190) beat Payson 2-time state champion Landen Shurtleff 4-2 to win gold. Layton sophomore Noah Bull scored another impressive 12-5 win over Payson’s other 2-time returning champion Colton Theobald in the championship finals at 144 pounds. Theobald’s younger brother Kael (132) also made the championship finals but was pinned by Farmington’s Hudson Palmer. Meanwhile, Uintah’s Michael Alexander (126), a senior going for his fourth individual state title, lost to Layton’s 2-time state champion Geronimo Rivera, 5-0.

Match of the Week: In the Skyhawk Showdown, two returning state champions from rival schools squared off in the 120-pound championship. Both wrestlers only lost one match last season. Salem Hills’ Breyton Banks won the 5A title at 106 pounds last year while Spanish Fork’s Karson Shelley was the 113-pound 5A state champion. Banks is a senior and Shelley is a junior.

This time around, the Don grappler prevailed 5-2. Shelley used two takedowns and an escape to build up a 5-0 lead before giving up a reversal to Banks in the third round. This might be the first of several meetings between these two county grappling stars.

Big-Time Performance of the Week: Payson’s Owen Cottle (215) won the L.I.T. from his fifth seed. Cottle pinned top-seed Ridge Lindley of Fremont in the semifinals and then won by fall in the championship final over third seed Luke Stearns of Logan.

Last year Cottle suffered a serious leg injury in football which led him to miss a lot of action last season on the mat. He went 0-2 at the 2023 5A state tournament but looks to be a key cog in the Lion attack this season.

Cottle does have some great lineage. His grandfather Don Holtry was a Utah state champ and a Hall of Fame coach at West High School. His Uncle Jeff Holtry was a 3-time state champion and was the first Beehive State wrestler to win in the prestigious Dapper Dan event which pits the best Pennsylvania grappler against the top wrestler from the rest of the United States.

Girls Wrestling: Ashlyn Ballantyne (100), Ameris Jensen (130), Celeste Detoles (135), and Keilikki Rarick (235) all nailed down individual titles at the Thor Classic for Westlake which won the tournament. Canyon View edged Wasatch for second place.

Salem Hills placed second in the Skyhawk Showdown as Grand Junction, Colorado won the tournament. Addie Brindley (100) and Paisley Nelson (125) won gold medals for the Skyhawks. Also winning individual titles were Springville’s Emeri Mortimer (105) and Hayley Harris (170), Maple Mountain’s Ellie Jensen (130) and Aurelia Ramos (190), Cedar Valley’s Arisna Stott (115) and AnnaLee Wright (140), and ALA’s Rachel Camacho (120).

Preece Power Poll Boys (all classification team rankings): 1. Layton (6A) 2. Uintah (4A) 3. Millard (2A) 4. Pleasant Grove (6A) 5. Corner Canyon (6A) 6. Payson (4A) 7. Westlake (6A) 8. Mountain Crest (4A) 9. Spanish Fork (5A) 10. Wasatch (5A).

Preece Power Poll Girls (all classification team rankings): 1. Westlake (6A) 2. Salem Hills (5A) 3. Canyon View (3A) 4. Cedar Valley (5A) 5. Uintah (4A) 6. Mountain Crest (4A) 7. Bear River (4A) 8. Grantsville (3A) 9. Springville (5A) 10. Wasatch (5A).

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