High school wrestling review: Familiar faces won titles, Workman on brink of history

Viewmont had little to cheer for in the championship matches. Only 112-pound Nate Larsen won an individual title for the Vikings. That is why it was funny to hear a roar from the maroon-clad section as Brighton's Jon Gappmaeir won his state title at 140 pounds. But it was that win over Weber's Logan Hubbard that clinched the title for Viewmont. It wasn't a group of studs that won the title. It was an overall team effort.

"It is a credit to these guys that they all did their part to get this title," said coach Brandon Ripplinger. "We are the only team that scored at least one point in every weight class. We had balance, and we had guys that did everything they could to help the team."

Mountain Crest entered the final rounds trailing Box Elder, but an amazing performance by the five Mustangs looking for individual glory also gave the team the title. Zabinidi Smethurst, Raider Lofthouse, Jarrett Morrill, Jake Morrill and Ethen Lofthouse all came up with big wins to clinch the third straight title for the school.

Wasatch's run appeared to be in jeopardy as Delta led through most of the 3A competition. But like Mountain Crest, the Wasps got huge efforts in the finals to overtake the Rabbits and secure a win. Trevor Sweat, Blake Mangum, Jake Salazar, Ethan Smith, Cole Shafer, Garrett Gleave and Sean Sullivan all won individual titles to put the Wasps on top once more.

Millard proved once again that its depth is unmatched in 2A wrestling. The Eagles got individual titles from Kamron Day, Mason Stott and Sergio Pedroza, but it placed an amazing 19 wrestlers in the top-six.

"Our guys that last wrestled were so tough," said coach Blake Turner. "I think sometimes it is more impressive when guys can come back and place after getting a loss. It is tough to overcome the disappointment and then regroup and wrestle tough, but we a had a lot of guys do that. We would have liked to have more individual champions, but you take the disappointment with the good."

Duchesne ran away from the rest of the 1A competition to claim only the Eagles' second title in school history. Lane Lisonbee, Tyler Reinhardt, Selby Reinhardt and Colby Evans led the way with individual titles as well, but it was an overall team effort that basically clinched the championship on the first day.

"We had a tremendous group of seniors that led us all year," said coach Brandon Moat. "From the time they lost in the semifinals for football, they dedicated themselves to getting this title. They demanded that everyone work as hard as the can and they accepted nothing less than the very best out of everyone on the team."

---

E-mail: mblack@desnews.com