Traditionally Class 5A has some tremendous wrestling programs and 2022-23 is no different. There should be a lot of excitement when things get rolling with the biggest prizes on the line later this week.

The 5A wrestling state tournament for both boys and girls is set to start Friday at 11 a.m. at the UCCU Event Center on the campus of Utah Valley University. The two-day tournament will conclude with the championship finals at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Check out which teams will by vying for supremacy in the mats and the athletes to keep an eye on.

5A boys wrestling preview

The team races for the gold trophy in boys wrestling haven’t or won’t produce a lot of intrigue except for the 5A race where Payson and Uintah are both serious contenders.

Uintah won last year’s state tournament which technically wasn’t decided until the championship finals. This year Payson seems to have the edge beating Utes in a dual meet and at the Tournament of Champions hosted by Uintah.

One edge Uintah will have is that it does bring in 21 wrestlers to the big tournament while Payson qualified 19. However, throughout the year, the Payson JV wrestlers have shown well and could offset that numerical advantage.

Both Payson and Uintah have plenty of star power as the Lions return state champions Colton Theobald (144 pounds) and Landen Shurtleff (190). Theobald’s younger brother Kael, just a freshman, will push to make a championship run while Ethan Boulton (126), Kelton Smith (150) and Trevor Frank (157) are ranked number one in their weight classes.

Uintah will counter with 2-time returning and undefeated Austin Richens (190) and junior Michael Alexander (120), who is also seeking his third state title.

Of course, with 33 schools in 5A, there are plenty of wrestlers from other schools that will play spoiler roles. Many of these grapplers will come from Utah Valley as Lehi, Spanish Fork, and Mountain View have quality wrestlers that could upset the apple cart.

If there is a team that could sneak into a possible trophy run if Payson or Uintah falter, it will most likely be Wasatch led by returning state champion Ryder Robinson (138) and multiple state placer Austin Kelly (132). But the Wasps have some young wrestlers that are dangerous in freshman Benjamin Kohler (126) who won his divisional and junior Henry Hannsen (150) who also locked down a divisional title.

Perhaps the team title will come down to whether Uintah’s Gage Howard can beat Lehi’s Isaac Terrell in a rematch of last year’s 285-pound title match won by the Pioneer gridiron and mat wrestling star.

5A Returning State Champions: 113 pounds: Karson Shelley (Spanish Fork); 120 pounds: Michael Alexander (Uintah 2021, 2022); Jackson Ricks (Box Elder 2021); 138 pounds: Ryder Robinson (Wasatch); 144 pounds: Colton Theobald (Payson); 165 pounds: Moses Espinoza-Owens (Viewmont 2021, 2022), Isaac Orrock (Murray) 175 pounds: Marcus Espinoza-Owens (Viewmont 2020, 2022); 190 pounds: Landen Shurtleff (Payson); Austin Richens (Uintah 2021, 2022); 215 pounds: Cash Henderson (Woods Cross); 285 pounds: Isaac Terrell (Lehi). Undefeated Wrestlers: Austin Richens (Uintah).

5A Boys Weights to Watch: The 132-pound weight class has a lot of intrigue with Box Elder’s Jackson Ricks arguably the favorite. Ricks won a state title two years ago and has been strong this season. But on his side of the bracket is Uintah’s Creeson Harrision, a dangerous and capable wrestler looking to pull the upset. The bottom side of the bracket has Wasatch’s Austin Kelly who won at the All-Star Dual and has plenty of experience. Kelly also won the Divisional B tourney. He’ll have to be on the lookout for two county wrestlers in Payson’s William Dixon and Spanish Fork’s Porter Olson, likely to meet in a quarterfinal.

The 150-pound weight class is wide open without a returning state champion or finalist. Payson’s Kelton Smith is the favorite after winning the Divisional A tourney. Uintah has a wrestler that could contend as Casen Wopsock came out of nowhere to pin Mountain View’s top-seeded Tyler Blevins at the Divisional B meet. Wopsock ended up second place and could face Smith in a semifinal with huge team ramifications. Blevins ended up on the same side of the bracket as Wasatch’s Henry Hannsen, who ended up winning Divisional B. Blevins is likely to meet Lehi’s Ammon Cannon in the quarterfinals with the winner drawing Hannsen. This weight has a lot of local flavor where a razor’s thin edge separates the top competitors.

The 190-pound weight class features two returning state champions in Uintah’s Austin Richens and Payson’s Landen Shurtleff who ended up in the same side of the bracket when Lehi’s Will McCleary, an outstanding talent, defeated Shurtleff in the Divisional A final. Richens at 43-0 is definitely the favorite and has been tabbed as the state’s best overall wrestler by USA Wrestling Utah.

5A girls wrestling preview

Uintah will go into the 5A girls state tournament as the favorite though a number of teams that have serious title aspirations. In fact, the 5A girls tournament might have the most interesting team race, not just for who will win the team trophies for first and second but throughout the top ten.

The field is muddled as teams have traded places finishing ahead but also sometimes behind each other in tournaments all season long. This volatility will make both the team and individual races very interesting for grappling fans.

Mountain View has 16 wrestlers including returning finalist Isla Baeza (130) while Springville, with a little bit more star power with two returning state champions and four returning finalists, will have 13 wrestlers in the 5A field. Hotai Valeti (155) seeks her third state title for the Red Devils.

Northridge has the most wrestlers with 21 and definitely has to be considered a threat to the Utes. Maple Mountain is the returning state champion led by returning state champion Elle Jensen (120) and undefeated Aurelia Ramos (170). The challenge for the Golden Eagles is that they only qualified 10 wrestlers.

Cedar Valley, Salem Hills and Wasatch have outside shots to finish at least in the top five. Cedar Valley qualified 13 wrestlers including returning state champion Alexia Woods (125). Salem Hills qualified 11 wrestlers including Jocelyn Hepler (190) who wrestled for ALA last season and placed second in the 1A-3A meet. Wasatch had zero wrestlers last year but with the hiring of Hailey Corona, who led Maple Mountain to a state title last year, the Wasps qualified 14 wrestlers but still none of them have any previous state wrestling experience.

Timpview’s Taimane Fiatoa (170) is another wrestler seeking a third state title and an epic battle with Maple Mountain’s Ramos looms.

5A Girls Returning State Champions: 105 pounds: January Langston (Payson); 115 pounds: Jakalei Lujan (Uintah); 120 pounds: Elle Jensen (Maple Mountain); 125 pounds: Alexia Woods (Cedar Valley); 130 pounds: Izzy Clements (Springville); 155 pounds: Hotai Valeti (Springville 2021, 2022); 170 pounds: Taimane Fiatoa (Timpview 2021, 2022).

Undefeated Wrestlers: Chanley Green (Uintah, 110 pounds); Aurelia Ramos (Maple Mountain, 170 pounds).

5A Weights to Watch: The 105-pound weight class has returning state champion January Langston of Payson and Springville’s Emeri Mortimer together on the bottom side of the bracket. Last year, the two met in the 100-pound championship finals. Rachel Jones of Northridge won the Divisional A tourney and is likely to meet the winner of Mortimer versus Langston in the finals.

The 130-pound weight class has several local wrestlers that are contenders. Springville’s Izzy Clements is a returning state champion but placed second in her divisional losing to AnnaLee Wright of Cedar Valley. Clements has to get past Kathryn de Groot, who won the Divisional A tournament. But the bottom side of the bracket has plenty of intrigue as Wright and Mountain View’s Isla Baeza are likely to meet in the semifinals. Last year Clements beat Baeza to claim the 125-pound title while Wright and de Groot placed third in different weights.

At 170 pounds, Taimane Fiatoa looks to win her third state title for Timpview but standing in her way is Aurelia Ramos of Maple Mountain. Ramos is undefeated and gave Fiatoa her only loss on the season. Ramos placed second in state last year losing to her teammate Nya Seiuli in the 190-pound final. Cedar Valley’s Natalie Milligan is on the top side of the bracket and will hope to test Ramos.