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Westlake athletes and coaches pose for a photo after the Thunder won the team title at the 6A state girls wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Provo High hosts the 13th Annual Wrestling Against Cancer Duals which featured 18 dual meets over two days of competition in Provo on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023.

Courtesy photo

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UVU wrestler Demetrius Romero (right) battles Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State during the NCAA wrestling finals at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Lawrence Slater, LBS Photo

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American Fork freshman Hanks Jacobson (right) competes in the quarterfinals of the 106-pound division on the first day of the 6A state wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Jacob Carson celebrates after winning the finals of the 126-pound division at the 6A state boys wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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The year 2023 was another stellar one for Utah County wrestling. It also saw the explosion of girls wrestling participants statewide, two valley wrestling legends inducted into the Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the announcement that another coach will hang up his whistle.

Here is the countdown of the Top 10 Utah Valley wrestling stories from 2023:

10. Wrestling Against Cancer Duals again starts season

The 2023-24 high school wrestling season kicked off at the Wrestling Against Cancer Duals hosted by Provo and American Fork. This year the competition was a two-day event with boys wrestling on Tuesday and the girls on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Two local teams had major success as Cedar Valley went 2-0 in its duals including knocking off last year’s 5A state champion Uintah, along with Springville in the girls competition. Timpanogos went 2-0 in the boys competition by defeating both Cedar Valley and Springville. Layton, the returning 6A boys champion also went 2-0, as did Canyon View in the girls portion.

Part of the proceeds went to Mindy Spencer as she battles breast cancer. Spencer’s husband Eric was the former head coach of American Fork High School.

9. Armstrong sets mark by winning the Reno Tournament of Champions

Jacob Armstrong (184 pounds) won the Reno Tournament of Champions becoming the first Utah Valley wrestler in program history to do so. The Wolverine grappler went 4-0 to climb to the top of the podium.

Armstrong prepped at Salem Hills High School winning three state titles and was singled out as the valley’s top prep wrestler in 2015.

8. Girls wrestling continues impressive growth

Girls wrestling has simply exploded in the state in participation and Utah County is a big part of this equation. Nearly 1500 female wrestlers went through the hydration process and over 700 girls competed in the Christmas Clash.

7. All-Star Dual sets tone for year

The 2023 Ross Brunson All-Star Dual was held again on the campus of Utah Valley University. Designed to help raise funds for the Wolverine wrestling program, the event brings together the top wrestlers across the state. The 3A/4A team won the girls division while the wildcard team won the boys competition.

There was one intra-county match up of note which featured Pleasant Grove’s Trevyn Gates against Landen Shurtleff of Payson at 190 pounds. Gates won 6-5. Both won state titles last year and both are seniors this year. Shurtleff is going for his third state title for the Lions.

6. Utah Valley boys wrestling teams stymied at state

For the first time since 2017, no Utah County boys program came away with a gold trophy at the state championships. Layton won the 6A title snapping Pleasant Grove’s title streak at five and Uintah bested Payson for the 5A title.

Pleasant Grove’s Jacob Carson was named as the top male wrestler in Utah Valley for the 2022-23 season after winning his second state title to go along with two runner-up finishes.

5. Moore and Chamberlain join Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame

The Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted former Pleasant Grove head coach Brock Moore and former Springville 4-time state champion and 2-time NCAA All-American Jason Chamberlain.

Moore was a state champion at Pleasant Grove in 1991 under legendary coach Darold Henry. Then Moore would lead the Viking program himself to 11 state titles in the traditional format and one dual meet state title. Only Kerry Anderson of Wayne High School has coached more state titles than Moore.

Besides coaching 12 state titles, Moore won over 600 dual meets and in 2021 was named as the top 6A coach in all sports. Beyond his coaching prowess, Moore was also recognized once as the state’s top physical education teacher.

Chamberlain is considered by many as the top prep wrestler in Utah history as he went 191-2 in his career at Springville High School from 2004-2008. Chamberlain would win the National High School Coaches Association Senior Nationals and also his match in the prestigious Dapper Dan Invitational.

Chamberlain then competed at Boise State and made the NCAA finals in 2013 after finishing third in 2011. Chamberlain competed both nationally and internationally and was an assistant coach at Fresno State before the wrestling program was dropped by the school.

4. Trio of Utah County women to compete in 2024 wrestling Olympic Trials

Three Utah County female wrestlers punched their ticket to compete in the Olympic Trials in April as former ALA wrestler Sage Mortimer and former Springville wrestler Marlynne Deede won their weight classes at the U.S. Senior Nationals.

Brooklyn Hays, who prepped at Pleasant Grove, placed fourth and also earned an opportunity to compete at the trials. Former Maple Mountain wrestler and current Wasatch head girls coach Hailey Corona also competed.

3. Reclassification shakes things up

The latest UHSAA realignment left 5A without a returning state champion in both boys and girls wrestling as Uintah was put in the 4A classification.

In regards to the boys, Payson, the runner-up for the past two seasons to Uintah, was also put in 4A and both look to dethrone Mountain Crest which has won three of the last four 4A state titles including two in a row.

Spanish Fork looks to be the favorite in the 5A ranks though Wasatch is formidable. Meanwhile, Pleasant Grove and Westlake hope to knock off Layton, the returning 6A champion, though the Lancers have been very stout again this season.

Mountain Crest has won the first three girl state titles in 4A but will be challenged by Uintah, while Cedar Valley looks to be the 5A favorite but valley programs like Maple Mountain and Springville appear to be right in the mix.

In 6A, Westlake has won the first three titles, but the competition in 6A has stiffened and programs like Copper Hills, Herriman, Northridge and Syracuse are very strong and look to seriously challenge the Thunder this season.

2. Westlake girls continue dominance at state

Westlake won its third straight 6A girls state title in 2023, while Cedar Valley finished second in the 5A ranks. For Cedar Valley, it was the first trophy earned by the school in any sport since the school opened in 2019.

Westlake’s Celeste Detoles, Emmy Finlinson and Lizzy Raleigh won their third official state titles and Raleigh was named as the top female wrestler in the valley. Detoles will go for her fourth title this year. Six Thunder wrestlers won state titles as Ashley Cannon, Hailey Piig, and Keilikki Rarick also brought home the gold. It was Rarick’s second state title and she is a junior this season. Rarick also won the 16-and under USA Nationals.

Alexia Woods became Cedar Valley’s first ever state champion in girls wrestling.

1. UVU head wrestling coach Greg Williams announces retirement

Longtime Utah Valley head coach Greg Williams announced that the 2023-24 season would be his last. Williams is in his 16th season leading the Wolverines and is the only the second coach the program has ever had since it started competition in 2001-02. Williams guided Utah Valley through the final years of its probationary status to full competition status and eventual entry into the Big 12 conference.

Williams coached five All-Americans including Ben Kjar who placed fourth in 2011. In 2021, Utah Valley had two wrestlers reach the semifinals with Taylor LaMont eventually finishing fifth and Demetrius Romero placing sixth. Wolverine wrestlers also excelled in the classroom as Matt Findlay was named an Academic All-American with a 3.94 grade point average, the highest GPA of the 330 NCAA tournament qualifiers in 2019.

As a competitor, Williams was a California state champion and one of the last All-Americans at Utah State before the program was dropped by the university.

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