Top wrestlers eye titles at state championships

The Super Bowl parties held Sunday must have been a nightmare for quite a few people. No, not for the Bears' fans, but all those wrestlers waiting through a long season for this week and still having to watch their weight. With all of the food served while watching the game, temptation was at it highest.

The wrestlers needed the discipline not only to hold off on all those chips and dips, but to get up in the morning and make those early runs. They spent extra time in the weight room, or the extra push-ups and sit-ups, taking a few more practice matches.

And it all comes to a head this week at UVSC's McKay Events Center as the state tournament gets under way.

Here's what to expect:

5A

No coach wants to hear it. They don't want that target on their back, but when it is a simple fact, there is not getting around it. The 5A championship is Weber's title to lose.

"That Weber team is the best I have seen in a long time," said Alta coach Barry Harrington about the favored Warriors. "Jody (Warren, Weber's coach) always does a great job up there, but he just has some pure studs this year. About the only way that team doesn't win the title this season is if there is a bus wreck and they don't show up."

Weber qualified 16 wrestlers for the tournament. It is not only the quantity with that group, it is also the quality. Region 1 has been considered the toughest in the classification all season, and the Warriors ran away with the region meet last week. They scored 398.5 points to second-place Viewmont's 333. Seven of the 14 weight classes saw a Warrior hoist the region crown.

The team leader is Shay Warren, who is the 125-pound region champion. But even more than that, he is a three-time state champion trying for the rare feat of becoming a four-time champ. Bracken Nipko, Derek Malan, Aaron Ross, Logan Hubbard, Lew Woolsey and Jaden Briskey all won a region title and make the team one of the strongest entering a state title run in quite some time. With the Warriors practically holding the trophy, the battle comes down to teams vying for two through five.

Pleasant Grove kept its grip on a region title with its victory at the Region 4 tourney. Individual winners Trevor Hawkins, Grant Gagon, Mitch Sanderson, Sean McLean and Nick Fullmer could score some big points for the Vikings and put their team in contention.

Alta suffered through some early growing pains, but has come on strong late in the year. With 17 wrestlers qualified, the Hawks should accumulate enough points to be in the top five.