Feb.
16, 2007:
Deseret Morning News
Wrestling Powerhouse Viewmont
Dethroned
by Michael Black
BOUNTIFUL — The run is over. The
three-time champions — and four of the last five — from
Viewmont were finally dethroned for the team title at last
week's state tournament.
Viewmont finished with 150 points, far
from first-place Weber, which had 241.5, but ahead of
third-place Bingham's 137.
"We had a miserable day on Thursday to
actually fall behind Bingham, but we came back really well
on Friday to go 7-for-7 in the consolation bracket and get
all the guys into the third-fourth matches. That is where
we got second place," Thompson said.
The Vikings finished second despite not
having any individual champions. The four teams that
finished behind them all had at least one — Bingham three,
Pleasant Grove one, Brighton two and Davis one. Viewmont
has developed a reputation during its reign at the top as
a team that has a never-say-die attitude. Its wrestlers
continue to fight and get those "back door" points
necessary for a team to be successful.
A perfect example of how the team as a
whole continues to be a contender is junior Nate Larsen.
The 112-pound grappler was a state champion last year but
suffered a bitterly disappointing loss to Bingham's Ryker
Vandertoolen in the semifinals last week. Larsen regrouped
and won his next two matches to finish third.
"I was proud of Nate for coming back,"
said Thompson. "I think that sometimes it is harder to
finish third than it is to win it. You have to be mentally
tough to overcome the emotions of losing and then continue
to wrestle at your best. He did that and it just shows you
how tough a kid he is. We had a bunch of others that did
that for us."
"I thought Steve Platt, Sam Graham and
Eric Call all had a great tournament," Thompson said.
"They gave it everything they had and they had good
results considering what was expected of them."
Taira Abe had the highest finish for the
Vikings as he made it to the finals before losing to
Weber's Shay Warren in a 6-4 decision, a very respectable
loss considering Warren was a four-time state champion and
undefeated on the year.
"Taira gave Shay all he wanted," said
Thompson. "Shay told me afterward that it was the closest
match he had all year."
Depending on how one looks at it, the
Vikings either lose four of their eight state-placers to
graduation or return four. They also have two wrestlers
coming back — Moroni Redd and Ron Wyman — who won at least
one match to get points. Besides those already with
experience, Viewmont always seems to have great wrestlers
entering the program from the little leagues.
"Shandell Smoot is the secret to our
success," said Thompson. "He runs the youth program and is
the reason why we can reload instead of rebuild. He gets
the young guys a great base so that by the time they get
to the high school level, they are ready to step in and
contribute right away."
For any other team, second place would be
quite the season, but for Viewmont, it simply provides
fodder for working harder and getting back on top.
"We always expect to win," said Abe of his
team. "Yes, Weber was the best team this year, but we have
great coaches and great wrestlers in this program, and I
know that every one of them is going to work their tails
off in the offseason to come back next year even better."
Viewmont facts
State-placers
103— Mike Winger, third place, sophomore
112— Nate Larsen, third place, junior
125— Stephen Platt, fourth place, senior
125— Taira Abe, second place, senior
160— Eric Call, fourth place, junior
171— Sam Graham, third place, junior
189— Chase Hansen, fourth place, senior
215— Jesse Farnsworth, fourth place, senior
Other point-winners
130— Casey Smoot, senior
135— Travis Timothy, senior
145— Moroni Redd, junior
215— Nate Holgreen, senior
285— Ron Wyman, sophomore
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