High school wrestling: On your mats, get set, grapple

Whether competing on the individual or team level, there will be plenty of wrestlers both happy and disappointed following the 2009 state wrestling tournament which kicks off Wednesday at the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley University.

A grappler may just be fighting for any points to help the team get a title. An athlete may not have enough teammates to seriously contend for a team title, but can still fight to get on the podium for an individual top-6 finish. In either case, it will be decided on the mats. Here's a look at what the fans, parents, coaches and participants can expect:

CLASS 5A

There may be four regions that make up this classification, but when it comes to wrestling, there truly is one that stands out above the rest. Region 1 has had seven consecutive champions, and nine of the last 10. Viewmont has been the team of the decade, with four of the last five and five of the last seven titles going to the Vikings.

"There is a sense of pride to wrestle for Viewmont," said Ikeru Abe, the 140-pound Region 1 champion. "There are a few of us that will be going for individual titles, but every single guy on this team knows they have a job to do and are going to go out and work hard, fight for what they can get."

While Viewmont won the Region 1 tournament, it was by no means a runaway. The Vikings qualified 17 wrestlers to compete this week, but second-place Davis also moved 17 grapplers through.

"I am happy that we got that many through," said Davis coach Neal Porter, "but it doesn't mean a lot if the guys don't step up and wrestle. We need all 17 of them to do their best, not just those guys that are competing for an individual state title."

"I don't think that either Neal or I are going to get a lot of sleep this next week thinking it is in the bag," added Viewmont coach Brandon Ripplinger.

Realistically, it may be a two-team race for the team title, but Weber got enough talented wrestlers through to make a push. Pleasant Grove won the Region 4 tournament rather handily and the Vikings could make some noise. Alta was the other region winner and could make a run for a top-5 finish.

CLASS 4A

Like 5A, the 4A classification has had one region that has dominated the high school wrestling for the past few years. Region 5 has had eight of the last 10 champs, with Mountain Crest and Box Elder each winning four. The Mustangs are the three-time defending champions, but the Bees just narrowly beat them at the region meet.