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Provo wrestler Lacy Greer (left) competes during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Provo coaches Gwendolyn and Gerrit Greer watch their daughter Lacy Greer compete during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Salem Hills wrestler Addie Brindley celebrates winning her match during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Brian E. Preece, Herald correspondent

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Springville wrestler Annalise Stringham pins Roy's Kaydance Price during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain wrestler Karen Villegas competes against Northridge's Bailey Edwards during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Springville wrestler Kylee Pope wins her match during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Payson wrestler Payton Bishop pins Sky View's MJ Gonzales during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Payson wrestler Lorien Briscoe battles Braylyn Vicars of Sky View during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Cedar Valley wrestler Analeia Tilo pins Cyprus's Audrea Espejo during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain wrestler Hannah McCormick celebrates with her coach after winning a match during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Timpview wrestler Sophie Freeman battles Kearns's Yolanda Hernandez during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Cedar Valley wrestler Inaily Samaniego battles Audrey Kamerath of West during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Salem Hills wrestler Addie Brinley (right) competes during the first day of the 2024 state girls wrestling tournament at the UCCU Center in Orem on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Brian E. Preece, Herald correspondent

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Wrestling has often been about fathers coaching their sons but with the advent and growth of girls wrestling in Utah, more fathers (and even mothers) are coaching their daughters.

A generation ago TJ Brindley, who serves as the director of wrestling overseeing the boys and girls programs at Salem Hills, was donning his singlet for Spanish Fork. Brindley was a 3-time state place winner for the Dons, taking second in state as a senior.

Now his daughter — Addie Brindley, who is just a sophomore — is two matches away from a state title.

Addie Brindley (100 pounds) won both of her bouts on Wednesday by pin, one in just 29 seconds, to advance to the semifinals. Now Addie and her sparkling 42-2 record, will take on Hillcrest junior Antonia Ingabire, who sent Cedar Valley’s Nevi Brady to the consolations with a 11-5 victory.

Even though her father wrestled and coached the sport for years, Addie is relatively new to wrestling starting in just the eighth grade. And both father and daughter agreed on one thing: She didn’t like it at first.

“She cried and didn’t want to do it, but she ended up loving it,” TJ Brindley said. “She got a lot of her friends to come out and most of our team is her soccer friends and her other friends as well.”

Addie confirmed her fathers sentiments about the love for wrestling.

“I didn’t want to do it at first but when I went to my first practice, I fell in love with the sport. It’s my favorite sport,” Addie Brindley said.

TJ Brindley finds it more agonizing sitting in the coaching chair versus actually competing.

“It’s fun coaching the girls, it’s fun coaching your own kids but it’s also stressful,” said TJ Brindley, who even got Addie’s mother Candice involved with the program. “My wife was worried about it, she didn’t really want her to wrestle but once she saw what kind of girls wrestle, she loves it too and I recruited her to be an assistant (coach).”

For Addie she really enjoys having both of her parents involved.

“It’s fun having my Mom and Dad being my coaches,” Addie said.

At Provo High, Gerrit Greer serves as boys head wrestling coach while his wife Gwendolyn is the head girls wrestling coach. Gerrit Greer was a state placer for Provo in the late 1990s and actually wrestled on Utah Valley’s first wrestling team. He and his wife Gwendolyn both got involved in competitive grappling and now have both a son and daughter in the Bulldog program.

Their daughter Lacy went 2-1 on the first day of the tournament. After losing in the first round of the tourney, Greer overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat Logan’s Breanna Young 11-7 and her second match went to overtime sudden victory where Greer got a takedown in the final seconds to advance.

Gerrit (and Gwendolyn) both visualized the type of state tournament where hundreds of girls would be competing and having his own daughter being involved.

“I always planned on it,” said Gerrit Greer, whose personal journey of how he perceived girls wrestling has evolved. “My view on girls wrestling has really changed since I was wrestling myself. Once I had a girl, I wanted her to wrestle.”

Gwendolyn Greer concurred with her husband that wrestling is something she wanted to see her daughter do.

“Being around wrestling as much as we have, and Gerrit loving it like he does, we put the kids in (the sport) over the years,” Gwendolyn Greer said. “I personally think wrestling is a great sport for girls and women, especially for high school girls because it is such a hard time. This shows them they can do hard things, be strong, and teaches them to be confident. And I like it that there’s so many weight classes. It doesn’t matter what size they are, there’s a spot for them and that’s why I love it.”

Lucy Greer like Addie Brindley is a sophomore and also shared the vision that someday she would be competing at a girls state tourney.

“When I first started when I was about eight, I always thought this would be awesome to have this opportunity,” Lucy Greer said. “I actually gave up wrestling for a couple of years, and then when high school came around, I said let’s try again.”

4A Notes: Mountain Crest has established a big lead with 155 points with Bear River (128) in second.

Mountain View, in fourth place with 80.5 points, is the top 4A team with county ties. The Bruins put four wrestlers through to the semifinals with Jasmine Golavar (110), Makenzi Mccoy (115), Isla Baeza (130) and Darryn Matagi (170). Baeza remained undefeated, moving her record to 32-0.

Orem’s Sophia Johnson went 2-0 Wednesday while Provo’s Ella Reynolds won two nail-biters by a single point at 130 pounds to reach the semifinals.

5A Notes: The team race is a four-team battle with three of these schools being area teams.

Wasatch (131) had a strong first day to the lead in the 5A tourney. Salem Hills (114) holds a slim one point lead over Northridge (113) for second with Cedar Valley just two points behind the Skyhawks with 112 points.

Wasatch put seven grapplers in the semifinals with Maisey Balser (105), Marabell Brown (115), Pallas Anderson (120), Amberly Howe (130), Regan Heywood (135), Corinne Letchford (145), Tyler Richter (155), and Kate Bird (170).

Salem Hills counters with Addie Brindley (100), Makayla Carrick (110), Kelseigh Banks (120), Paisley Nelson (125), Braylin Jones (130), Avery Winterton (145), Jessica Miller (155), and Jocelyn Hepler (190) to give the Skyhawks seven semifinalists themselves.

Cedar Valley put eight in the semifinal round as Arisna Stott (110), Stephani Schmolke (110), Alexandra Gates (130), Annalee Wright (135), Rhya Balmforth (140), Brinlee Macarthur (145), Madison Mayes (170), and Rylyn Denney (235) both of their matches. Mayes pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament when she pinned Springville 3-time returning state champion Hotai Valeti in the third round. Stott and Schmolke are on opposite sides of the brackets so both could end up in the championship round.

Maple Mountain has three semifinalists with Lilly Lake (120), Ellie Jensen (125) and Aurelia Ramos (190). Ramos improved her record to 35-0 on the season.

Springville’s Hailey Harris (155) went 2-0 on Wednesday to make the semifinals as did Spanish Fork’s Sage Ross (135).

6A Notes: Westlake is in contention to win their fourth straight team title but it will take a little bit more work this year as the Thunder tallied 83.5 points in day one to sit in fourth place. Mountain Ridge (95) leads the tournament with Copper Hills (90.5) and Syracuse (86) in second and third respectively.

Westlake put six in the semifinals with Ashyln Ballantyne (100), Kennedy Jeppson (120), Ameris Jensen (130), Celeste Detoles (135), O’dessa Laititi (190) and Keilikki Nau Rarick (235). Rarick improved her record to 31-0, while Detoles remained on track to win her fourth state title.

In any team battle, there are always wrestles from schools not necessarily in contention that can really play a spoiler role. Two Skyridge wrestlers in Nadia Thomas (130) and Madison Sherman (145), along with Pleasant Grove’s Hallie Hansen (115), definitely have been and can continue to be thorns in the side of the top teams.

Thomas matches up with Westlake’s Ameris Jensen in one key semifinal that Westlake would like to win in its efforts to repeat. As for Sherman, she can really derail any Corner Canyon hopes for a title if she can knock off Kinsie Byrge in her next match. Hansen beat a Mountain Ridge wrestler in the quarterfinals, hindering the Sentinel efforts.

Complete and individual results can found at www.trackwrestling.com or through the Utah High School Activities Association website at https://UHSAA.org.

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