4A Boys

Meet Preview

There isn’t a more prohibitive favorite to win a state title than the Uintah boys in 4A. The more interesting question is who will be second. Last year Utah county programs Mountain View and Timpanogos staged an epic battle where it wasn’t decided until the championship finals as Timpanogos ended up obtaining the silver trophy.

The Timberwolves have the inside edge again though Ridgeline appears to be their strongest challenger. Mountain View is still definitely in the mix.

Fisher Jolley (175) is a returning champ for the Timberwolves and Ben Belliston (120) won the Rockwell Rumble after placing fourth in state last year. Noah Ahn (106), Simon Boyer (132), Zack McCann (157), Kaleb Midzinski (190) and Jesse King (285) are either divisional champions and/or returning state placers. Mountain View will be led by divisional champion Brigham Cookson (150) and returning finalist Hyrum Stafford (190).

Weight to Watch

The 235-pound weight class features two undefeated goliaths in Pine View’s Caleb Patton (49-0) and Green Canyon’s Sam Tanner (44-0). Last year Patton won the state title beating Tanner 10-5 in the semifinals. This year they are on opposite sides of the bracket. But two other wrestlers could trip up a meeting of these two goliaths and one is Uintah’s Caden Young (42-3), who placed second in state last year and lost to Patton by just a 2-1 score. Young was beaten by Tanner at this year’s Divisional A tourney putting him on the same side of the bracket as Patton. And Jesse King (34-7) of Timpangos is the type of athlete that could pull off the upset of Tanner in the semifinals if the Wolf wrestler gets looking too far ahead.

Finalist Predictions

106 pounds: Gavin DeCol (Uintah) vs. Noah Ahn (Timpanogos)

113 pounds: Jaxon Morgan (Bear River) vs. Cash Christensen (Murray)

120 pounds: Ben Belliston (Timpanogos) vs. Joe Holbrook (Ridgeline)

126 pounds: Ethan Sharp (Uintah) vs. Kruz Allred (Ridgeline)

132 pounds: Maddax Hacking (Uintah) vs. James Rollins (Mountain Crest)

138 pounds: Rykan Hacking (Uintah) vs. Kayson Leak (Sky View)

144 pounds: Peyton Hogan (Uintah) vs. Preston Lang (Snow Canyon)

150 pounds: Brigham Cookson (Mountain View) vs. Mack Rutledge (Ridgeline)

157 pounds: Stetson Bingham (Mountain Crest) vs. Zack Mccann (Timpanogos)

165 pounds: Clark Weakley (Snow Canyon) vs. Keegan Miller (Hurricane)

175 pounds: Keaton Terry (Crimson Cliffs) vs. Fisher Jolley (Timpangos)

190 pounds: Carter Egbert (Mountain Crest) vs. Hyrum Stafford (Mountain View)

215 pounds: Titan Wright (Hurricane) vs. Joaquin Ruiz (Murray)

285 pounds: Sam Tanner (Green Canyon) vs. Caleb Patton (Pine View)

Team Predictions

1. Uintah 2. Timpanogos 3. Ridgeline 4. Mountain View 5. Mountain Crest 6. Snow Canyon 7. Stansbury 8. Hurricane 9. Bear River 10. Crimson Cliffs.

4A Girls

Meet Preview

If Wasatch can’t pull off the double title, Uintah will look to do it as their girls team is very strong. The Ute girls aren’t as big of a favorite as their boys team but still are the team to beat. No Utah County programs will be in the team mix though Mountain View looks to be in the top five led by divisional champions Ximena Melendiz (100) and Sophia Stoddard (155). Orem’s Sophia Johnson (130) was a finalist from two seasons ago. It  should be noted that Snow Canyon’s Nia Hagler (135) enters the state tourney with a perfect 43-0 mark.

Weight to Watch

The 125-pound weight class is very deep. Bear River’s Chrissa Hawkes won her divisional but might be challenged by opposite divisional runner-up Jazzman Khoundet of Stansbury. On the bottom side of the bracket, Keegan Grange of Ridgeline was a runner-up last year and could be challenged by Uintah’s Kenna Mccauley.

Finalist Predictions

100 pounds: Kinzy McCauley (Uintah) vs. Ximena Melendez (Mountain View)

105 pounds: Leena Sharp (Uintah) vs. Zoe Zook (Mountain Crest)

110 pounds: Elise Millsap (Desert Hills) vs. Hannah Sanders (Mountain Crest)

115 pounds: Sadie Rhodes (Uintah) vs. Nedkary Alvarez (Jordan)

120 pounds: Autumn Radmall (Mountain Crest) vs. Kemrie Grange (Ridgeline)

125 pounds: Chrissa Hawkes (Bear River) vs. Keegan Grange (Ridgeline)

130 pounds: Addison Hills (Green Canyon) vs. Sophia Johnson (Orem)

135 pounds: Marley Giesey (Green Canyon) vs. Nia Hagler (Snow Canyon)

140 pounds: Britzeid Pastrana (Dixie) vs. Kasi Hutchison (Highland)

145 pounds: Pepper Streight (Uintah) vs. Taya Crookston (Ridgeline)

155 pounds: Sadi Olson (Green Canyon) vs. Sophia Stoddard (Mountain View)

170 pounds: Brezlyn Cox (Bear River) vs. Leilani Fiefia (Pine View)

190 pounds: Maci Staheli (Bear River) vs. Audrey DeKorver (Mountain Crest)

235 pounds: Jerri Togai (Cedar City) vs. Adeelia Baldo (Dixie)

Team Predictions

1. Uintah 2. Mountain Crest 3. Bear River 4. Ridgeline 5. Green Canyon 6. Mountain View 7. Dixie 8. Pine View 9. Highland 10. Crimson Cliffs.

2A Boys State Results: At Richfield, South Summit ended Millard’s four year reign on top of 2A wrestling. The Eagles had to settle for second while Beaver took third. American Leadership Academy (ALA) finished 11th out of 16 competing schools as Jesus Lopez (285) placed second as an individual. Utah Military Academy-Camp Williams qualified four wrestlers to the state meet but failed to scratch a point and finished 16th.

3A Boys State Results: At Richfield, Juab won its tenth straight state title besting Canyon View and Morgan in that order. Juab junior Ladd Holman (190) completed a 49-1 season with his only loss in the finals at the prestigious Doc Buchanan tourney in California. So dominant was Holman that he pinned all four of his opponents in just 107 seconds total elapsed time.

3A Girls State Results: At Richfield, Canyon View repeated as champions ahead of Grantsville and Juab respectively.