Wasatch wins 5A girls wrestling title, Cedar Valley and Westlake end up second
-
- Westlake senior Keilikki Rarick competes in the 6A 235-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Westlake’s Tevia Rarick competes in the 6A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- The Westlake girls wrestling team poses with the 6A runner-up trophy after the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Cedar Valley’s Asinate Mafuahingano competes in the 5A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- The Cedar Valley girls wrestling team poses with the 5A runner-up trophy after the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Skyridge’s Madison Sherman competes in the 6A 155-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Westlake senior Keilikki Rarick pretends to crown her younger sister Tevia Rarick after the 6A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Westlake freshman Tevia Rarick competes in the 6A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Cedar Valley’s Asinate Mafuahingano competes in the 5A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Westlake senior Keilikki Rarick competes in the 6A 235-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
-
- Westlake’s Tevia Rarick competes in the 6A 190-pound championship at the girls state wrestling finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
Over 800 girls battled Friday and Saturday at the UCCU Event Center on the campus of Utah Valley and several local teams came home with plenty of hardware.
Leading the way was Wasatch, which won its second straight 5A state title.
Wasp head coach Hailey Corona had to miss the championship matches as she went into labor, but her two assistants Gerrit Bradley and Sammy Heywood stepped up and led all three of the Wasp finalists to gold medal performances.
“We had great confidence that the girls would wrestle well and they did,” said Bradley.
Last year Wasatch won the team title but didn’t crown any individual champions. So this meant Pallas Anderson (115 pounds) became the first-ever individual state champion in girls wrestling for the Wasp program as she pinned Salem Hills Makayla Carrick in the third period.
“It feels really great,” Anderson said of making this history. Anderson was also very confident in her chances to climb to the top of the podium.
“I had wrestled her before,” Anderson said. “I knew what to expect going out and knew that I had beat her before.”
Anderson said Corona pulled her aside before the championship finals and told her she wouldn’t be able to be there.
“I wanted to make her proud,” Anderson said.
It didn’t take long for Wasatch to get its second-ever state champion as Marabelle Brown (120) also won by pin over Brighton’s Mei Mei Engebretsen. But Brown was more than happy to be the second state champ in program history because it meant her teammate won her match.
“It’s a way cool experience,” Brown said. “I’m just super excited and I’ve been working so hard for the past three years.”
Like Anderson, Brown was cognizant of her head coach in her victory.
“I’m hoping she’s OK and I can’t wait to see her baby boy,” said Brown. “I wouldn’t be here without her and the coaching staff. I appreciate all they do for me.”
It took a while for Wasatch’s third state champion to emerge but Adyson Knight got the job done in exciting fashion, beating Northridge’s Kaylyn Wade 10-6 for the 235-pound title. Wade had beaten Knight to win the Divisional A tournament. In this bout, Knight overcame a 6-5 deficit.
“This feels amazing,” Knight said as she was mobbed by her teammates and family.
Though her team was not in the thick of state title, Maple Mountain’s Elle Jensen won her third state title in what was the tournament’s toughest weight class.
The 130-pound division was stacked, featuring two returning champions in Jensen and Salem Hills’ Kelseigh Banks along with 3-time placer and 2022 5A finalist Makenzi McCoy of Wasatch plus freshman sensation in Cedar Valley’s Giavonna Good, who was 30-4 going into the tournament.
Jensen beat McCoy in the semifinals, 9-4, and Good pinned Banks in the other, so Jensen knew she was in for a tough match. But the Golden Eagle grappler pulled it out to win 5-3 with a late reversal after Good had taken her down to tie the bout.
“Gia (Good) is so awesome,” Jensen said of her finals opponent. “I know she’s going to win state.”
Jensen actually started wrestling when Corona was the head coach at Maple Mountain and was on the championship team in 2022. She took state as a freshman.
“She’s a great coach and I learned a lot from her,” said Jensen.
Jensen said of her three titles the one last season was her favorite when she beat Salem Hills’ Paisley Nelson 7-4 after losing to her in the divisional championship.
Cedar Valley placed second for the second time in three years. The Aviators had two individual champions with Alexandra Gates (135) and Asinate Mafuahingano (190).
Salem Hills, who finished fourth behind Hillcrest in the team standings, picked up two individual titles by beating Cedar Valley grapplers head-to-head as Avery Winterton (145) pinned Rhya Balmforth and Ruby Lindstrom won by major decision 13-2 over Hallie Denney at 155 pounds. The Skyhawks also got second place finishes from Addie Brindley (105), Hannay Coyne (110) and Makayla Carrick (115).
Utah County had one more individual 5A champion as Springville’s Rachel Jensen won the 140-pound title by pinning Bonneville’s Alexis Kirkland in the second round. Spingville finished seventh overall as a team. Timpview was 24th out of 28 5A teams.
Westlake surges late to get second in 6A
Mountain Ridge (221) eased to the 6A state title but the race for second didn’t come down until the final match.
Corner Canyon (185) led the Thunder by 10 points but Westlake had two (not so) secret weapons in sister Tevia (190) and Keilikki (235) Rarick. Winning a championship final bout gives a team four points but if that wrestler can pin their opponent, they can earn two more bonus points.
That’s exactly what Tevia and Keilikki Rarick did and Westlake bested the Chargers by two points to place second in the team standings.
Tevia Rarick pinned Corner Canyon’s Makayla Walden midway through the first round to finish her season at 38-0 with 38 pins. The bad news for her future opponents is that she is just a freshman and is considered by many the best overall wrestler in the state.
Meanwhile, her sister Keilikki, also considered as one of the best in the Beehive State, won her fourth state title and will take her talents to Lindenwood for next season. Both sisters were aware that they needed to win their matches for Westlake to earn the silver trophy.
“My coach told me to make sure we get our two pins,” said Tevia Rarick.
“I knew we needed it,” said Keilikki Rarick.
After her pin of Copper Hills’ Vala Netana, she took a moment before she got up to shake her opponent’s hand. There the older Rarick said she took time to express gratitude to God for her successes.
Keilikki Rarick is the oldest of seven siblings and said what happened tonight is just the beginning.
“I have six other siblings,” she said. “You will see their names.”
Other major contributors to Thunder success were the silver medal performances of Ashlyn Ballantyne (105), Aubriana Wadley (110) and Ameris Jensen (130).
Skyridge’s Madison Sherman (155) won her second straight title with a second-round pin of Gabriela Galvez of Layton. Last year Sherman won by pin as she was trailing much of that match. This time she was in total control.
“It feels fantastic,” said Sherman of winning back-to-back titles. “The pressure (of winning in this atmosphere) is a lot, but you’ve got to love it.”
Despite Sherman’s pin, Pleasant Grove actually edged out Skyridge for 12th place out of 16 6A teams. Lehi finished 14th while American Fork and Lone Peak do not have girls wrestling programs.
4A Notes
Mountain View finished eighth in 4A standings as Bear River bested rival Mountain Crest for the title. Uintah was third.
Darryn Matagi (170) placed second for the Bruins. Sophia Johnson (130) whose points were credited to Orem though she works out and is coached by Mountain View, also placed second. Orem placed 22nd out of 24 4A programs just behind Payson and Provo who tied for 20th.
3A Notes
The 3A had a thrilling team finish. Juab, which finished third, actually had the lead early in the second day but then in the consolation rounds Canyon View and Grantsville zoomed ahead of the Wasps. Both the Falcons and Cowboys went back and forth in the team standings during the championship finals before a pin by Canyon View’s Tilisa Matakaiongo (190) put Canyon View on top for good by just two points. Juab remained in third while Union finished in fourth. Richfield edged Carbon by a mere half point to crack the top five.
Triple Trouble
This week of wrestling provided a bit of interesting history. It was just the second and third time in history where three siblings won state titles in the same season. It was the first time in girls wrestling and the first time when two genders were involved.
Katie (100), Eva (110) and Eliza (125) Zimmerman all won 4A titles for the Hillcrest girls team. Corner Canyon had three siblings do it as Meleana (140) and Clarion (170) Fager won 6A girls titles, while brother Leimana (215) took state for the Charger boys on Thursday. The other time was in 1995 when the Sanderson brothers (Cody, Cole and Cael) won titles for Wasatch. Cael is now the highly successful head coach at Penn State where his older brother Cody is an assistant.
Complete results of the can be found at www.trackwrestling.com and the UHSAA website.
