But when the dust settled, Wasatch went home with the gold trophy for the first time since 2020 by scoring 200.5 points. Meanwhile, Box Elder (190) slipped past the 2-time returning state champions Spanish Fork (189) by just a slim one-point margin to finish second.

“That was crazy and awesome,” remarked Wasatch head coach Kamron Day about this year’s state tournament and the championship round that saw the lead see-saw back and forth.

Though Wasatch placed second to Box Elder at the Divisional B tournament, the Wasps definitely had the star power to contend for the title. But Wasatch showed both its own depth and the resiliency of coming back from adversity to reach its goals this year.

“I knew we would have to have some guys come through on the back (or consolation side of the bracket) and they did,” said Day. “Gage Anderson (120 pounds), Max Richins (150). Logan McNally (157), who lost a heartbreaker in the first round and who we thought would be in the finals, they all came through.”

In fact, all three placed third and McNally had to win five straight to get there.

This all set the stage for the championship finals where Wasatch had five wrestlers, Spanish Fork had six and Box Elder just two competing under the spotlight. The Wasps were just seven points ahead of Box Elder while Spanish Fork was 13 points back as the finals began.

Spanish Fork struck first as both Easton Shelley (113) and Taegen Leavitt (120) won their matches with pins.

It was Shelley’s second state title and Leavitt’s first after two previous second place finishes.

“Being a 2-time runner-up, that hurt,” Leavitt said. “To finally get this win, it means so much.”

The Don junior, who actually placed third at divisional, roared back, beating two divisional champions Friday in Maple Mountain’s Lucas Herbert in the semifinals and Salem Hills’ Bennett Weight in the championship finals. Leavitt’s win pushed the Dons to the second place position and just three points behind Wasatch.

Wasatch then had a trio of finalists in a row with William Schallenberger (132), Ben Kohler (138), and Daxton Bonner (144) but only Kohler would would be victorious as Schallenberger lost 4-3 to West Field’s Diesel Knudsen in a rematch of the Divisional final and Bonner was upset by Box Elder’s Kolvin Thompson, losing by pin. Still, Kohler’s 16-9 win over Spanish Fork’s Connor Simons was critical and it was Kohler’s third state title.

“It feels great knowing that I went through one of the most historic programs,” said Kohler as he listed Wasp legends like current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson and his own brother Zak who like him won multiple state titles.

Even with Kohler’s victory the team race still had more twists and turns. Box Elder freshman Kamon Thompson then pulled a stunner pinning Payson’s Kael Theobald at 150 pounds and all of sudden the Bees were in the lead by a half point over Wasatch. The problem for Box Elder was it had no other wrestlers in the finals.

Spanish Fork’s Ryker Olson (157) then posted a 10-0 major decision victory over Pleasant Grove’s Porter Kemp and this pulled the Dons within a half point of the Wasps and trailing Box Elder by a single point. It was Olson’s second title.

“Being a senior and coming out on top was awesome,” said Olson of his victory.

But this is when Wasatch’s Jonah Ware (165) basically slammed the door shut on the Wasp challengers with a first-round pin over West’s Isaac Katoa.

“I got him in a cradle,” said Ware, who wasn’t aware until after his match the significance of his victory giving Wasatch control of the team race.

Ware’s Wasp teammate Wyatt Hanssen (215) then put the icing on the cake as he secured his second state title with a 14-3 major decision victory over Viewmont’s Mack Youngberg.

The Dons had two more chances to at least secure the silver trophy but Pleasant Grove’s Bo Goodman (175) defeated Preston Graver by a 10-1 major decision and Hillcrest’s Moroni Mahe won a second state title at the expense of the Dons’ Kyler Olson at 285 pounds, 4-2.

Pleasant Grove had another state champion when Karter Casperson (190) defeated Northridge’s Zion Talia 5-2. Casperson pulled off a major upset when he beat Springville’s Lisiate Valeti 5-4 in the semifinals giving the Red Devil just his second loss on the season. Valeti eventually finished third.

It should be noted that Payson’s Connor Finch (106) had a great tournament and placed second for the Lions.

As for other local team finishes, Payson was fourth, Pleasant Grove fifth, Salem Hills eighth, Maple Mountain tenth, Springville 12th, and Timpview 28th out of the 29 teams that qualified wrestlers for the 2025 state meet.

5A Notes: Fourth time was the charm for Roy’s Kaleb Blackner (126). After finishing second three straight times Blackner pinned Skyline’s Seth Hall to reach the pinnacle of high school wrestling.

Going into the state meet both Box Elder and Spanish Fork had to feel that changing the scoring system to just one wrestler per weight class would benefit Wasatch at their expense. Box Elder brought 22 wrestlers to the big tourney while Spanish Fork and Wasatch brought 17 and 15 wrestlers respectively. In fact, Viewmont brought 16, or one more than the eventual state champs.

But probably the bigger factor was just how much tougher the 5A field was this year putting more of an emphasis on quality versus quantity. And when the dust settled, Wasatch and Spanish Fork had two wrestlers that placed in one weight, while Box Elder had zero. And it might shock some, but West Jordan, which finished 13th, would have placed tenth in the old system as it placed two wrestlers at 175 pounds, while Viewmont, which had two wrestlers that placed at 150 pounds, would have nudged ahead of Pleasant Grove for fifth place.

But even under the former scoring system, Wasatch would have still won the title. The gap between the Wasps and Box Elder would have been smaller but the difference between Box Elder and Spanish Fork a few points larger. Though none of Box Elder’s eight extra wrestlers placed, all but two still won matches.

For complete individual and team results one can visit www.trackwrestling.com or the Flo Wrestling platform.