Viewmont takes hard-fought 2nd

PLEASANT VIEW — It was probably just a coincidence, but the way Viewmont state champion Nate Larsen lost in overtime early in the Region 1 wrestling tournament finals sure turned out to be symbolic of the night.

He lost the championship bout on Feb. 1 to Weber's Derek Malan in the 112-pound division when the referee penalized him one point for stalling.

Turns out the Vikings spent the rest of the night trying to get their sputtering motors revved up — and the Warriors kept winning en route to their second straight region championship.

The controversial call lifted Malan, a freshman, to one of seven individual championships for the tourney-hosting Warriors. It also set the tone as five Weber wrestlers defeated Vikings in head-to-head finals match-ups between the top two teams.

That boosted Weber to 398.5 points, far ahead of Viewmont, which only had one champion out of seven finalists and came in second with 333 points. Davis was third with 221 points and two champions, followed by Northridge (165), Layton (137), Fremont (136.5) and Clearfield (120).

Junior Sam Graham was the sole Viking to end up on top of the podium. He defeated Clearfield's Harley Andra, 6-4, in the 171 finals to give Viewmont at least something to cheer for on the night.

Other champions from Davis County schools included Davis' Josh Baker (135) and Sean Porter (140); Layton's Chris Moat (160) and Adam Fager (189); and Northridge's Mike Baker (215).

Fager, a junior, was named outstanding wrestler for the upper weights for his impressive 5-2 decision over Davis' Austin Taylor.

Shay Warren of Weber (125 pounds) earned outstanding wrestler for the lower weights. The three-time state champion is one of the few undefeated wrestlers left in the state.

Viewmont coach Bart Thompson said he would try to use his team's mostly disappointing finals performance as motivation leading up to the 5A tourney, which began this morning at UVSC's McKay Center.

"There were some tough matches we lost," Thompson said. "I hope that will encourage us to get tougher (this) week."

Viewmont and Weber, who have developed quite the wrestling rivalry as of late, figure to be among the leading contenders this weekend.