|
July
2, 2007: Wrestling USA
Magazine
Utah Athletes Seize 14 Titles, 54 Awards at USA
Wrestling Western Regional Championships in Oregon
July 2, 2007 — Fifty-five Utah wrestlers traveled to
Klamath Falls, Ore., to compete in freestyle, Greco-Roman
and beach wrestling at the USA Wrestling Western Regional
Championships. Between the three styles, Utahns came away
with 14 titles and 54 awards, including five athletes
winning titles in two styles.
"Utah was very well represented in Oregon," said Craig
LaMont, president of USA Wrestling-Utah. "With only 55
kids there, we weren't the biggest state there, but we
came out second in freestyle in terms of championships,
coming in behind California, who probably had more
wrestlers there than the host state. It was a real
pleasure to see some of those kids really excel."
The Western Regional Championships is held each year as
an 11-state championship tournament, with athletes from
Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Winning double titles (taking a title in freestyle and
Greco-Roman) were five athletes, hailing from three
wrestling clubs. Brothers Taylor and Grant LaMont of
Mapleton, members of the Springville-based Champions
wrestling club, won two titles, Taylor at Midget (ages 9
and 10) 55 lbs., and Grant at Novice (ages 11 and 12) 80
lbs. Tayler Johnson of Draper and William Kilpack of
Sandy, members of Sandy-based Mountain Top Wrestling Club,
each won double titles, Tayler at Midget 70 lbs., and
William at Novice 90 lbs. The fifth Utahn to win two
titles was Ethen Lofthouse, of Kaysville-based Elite
Wrestling Club, at Cadet (ages 15 and 16) 171 lbs.
Four other Utahns came away with championships in one
of the three styles. Winning a championship in freestyle
was Patrick Brock of Elite, Schoolboy (ages 13 and 14) 85
lbs. Winning a Greco-Roman title was Brandon George of
Champions, Schoolboy 75 lbs.; Jacob Falk of West
Jordan-based Vandit, Schoolboy 95 lbs.; and Jordan Ballam
of Logan-based Logan Champs, Cadet 160 lbs.
Others winning awards were
- Preston Stephenson of Wayne, Midget 75 lbs., 2nd in
freestyle and Greco-Roman
- Johnny O'Hearon of Price-based Carbon Raptors,
Midget 87 lbs., 2nd in freestyle
- Kyler Machan of Mountain Top Wrestling Club, Novice
65 lbs., 6th in freestyle, 5th in Greco-Roman
- Justin Schwendiman of Mountain Top Wrestling Club,
Novice Lightweight (60-70 lbs.), 3rd in beach wrestling
- Shand Hardy of Brigham City-based Stingers, Novice
75 lbs., 5th in Greco-Roman
- Chandler Strand of Vandit, Novice 75 lbs., 6th in
Greco-Roman
- Rayden Lindley of Stingers, Novice 80 lbs., 6th in
freestyle
- Kayden Lindley of Stingers, Novice 85 lbs., 5th in
Greco-Roman
- William Kilpack of Mountain Top Wrestling Club,
Novice Heavyweight (90-105 lbs.), 3rd in beach wrestling
- Nick Sorenson of Stingers, Novice 105 lbs., 2nd in
freestyle
- Brandon George of Champions, Schoolboy 75 lbs., 5th
in freestyle
- Patrick Brock of Elite, Schoolboy 85 lbs., 3rd in
Greco-Roman
- Rasten Yeates of Stingers, Schoolboy 90 lbs., 6th in
freestyle and Greco-Roman
- Jacob Falk of Vandit, Schoolboy 95 lbs., 3rd in
freestyle
- Jesse Carlisle of Champions, Schoolboy 95 lbs., 6th
in Greco-Roman
- Jake Ribald of Vandit, Schoolboy 105 lbs., 3rd in
freestyle, 4th in Greco-Roman
- Tanner Sweat of Wasatch, Schoolboy 105 lbs., 6th in
Greco-Roman
- Austin Frazier of Champions, Schoolboy 125 lbs., 4th
in Greco-Roman
- Nicholas Runyan of Brighton, Schoolboy 125 lbs., 6th
in freestyle
- Wyatt Martinez of Carbon Raptors, Schoolboy 130
lbs., 4th in Greco-Roman
- Braxton Bagley of Vandit, Cadet 91 lbs., 5th in
freestyle, 4th in Greco-Roman
- Tucker Ray of Elite, Cadet 105 lbs., 2nd in
freestyle and Greco-Roman
- Jake Fredrickson of Elite, Cadet 112 lbs., 4th in
freestyle
- Raider Lofthouse of Elite, Cadet 112 lbs., 4th in
Greco-Roman
- Trae Bennett of Elite, Cadet 119 lbs., 4th in
freestyle, 5th in Greco-Roman
- Koleton Hardy of Stingers, Cadet 119 lbs., 5th in
freestyle, 4th in Greco-Roman
- Matthew Finger of Elite, Cadet 119 lbs., 6th in
freestyle, 2nd in Greco-Roman
- Clint Jacob of Elite, Cadet 130 lbs., 5th in
Greco-Roman
- Dustin Jenkins of Elite, Cadet 140 lbs., 4th in
Greco-Roman
- Jordan Ballam of Logan Champs, Cadet 160 lbs., 2nd
in freestyle
- Taylor Peacock of Logan Champs, Cadet 160 lbs., 4th
in freestyle
The Western Regional Championships is the qualifier for
USA Wrestling Kids Nationals to be held this week in Green
Bay, Wis. Of those Utahns listed above, Kilpack and Runyan
will be representing Utah. |
|