Dec.
6, 2004: The Salt Lake Tribune
Wasatch Looks Dominant Yet Again
by Peter Richins
The Salt Lake Tribune
LAYTON — If Saturday's final round of the
Layton Invitational wrestling tournament is any
indication, Wasatch again will dominate the state.
After two days of competition, the Wasps
advanced seven wrestlers to the final round and held a
29-point lead over second-place Box Elder. The Bees had a
slim chance of catching Wasatch, but the Wasps proved
unbeatable in the championship round and won the
tournament for the second straight year.
Wasatch finished with 297.5 points, well
ahead of the Bees' 251. Viewmont was swept in the finals
but still took third place with 230.5 points.
Despite Wasatch's 7-0 performance in the
championship round, first-year Wasatch coach Ben Vombaur
saw some room for improvement.
"We finished well,” Vambaur said. "There
were a few guys that should have done better, and they
will. We have a lot of things to work on on Monday.”
Wasatch beat Box Elder in the finals in
three weight classes. The Wasps' Casey Smith won by major
decision 9-0 over the Bees' Caleb Isom at 112 pounds.
Ethan Smith earned a 7-2 victory over Jason Hancey at 130.
And at 171 pounds, Carson Brown pinned Tyson Peterson.
"It's great to win our first tournament,”
Vambaur said. "Utah has some great wrestlers.”
For the second straight year, Wasatch
heavyweight Dallin Norton beat West Jordan's Rio Stottler.
Last year Norton pinned Stottler, but this year Stottler
held his own and lost 7-3.
"He has gotten a lot stronger and better;
I was really impressed with him,” Norton, who was named
Outstanding Wrestler for the upper weights, said. "I hope
I get to wrestle him again at the All-Star Duals.”
Perhaps the Wasps' biggest victory in the
finals came at 160 when Jordan Smith beat Brighton's Talan
Knox 3-2. Trailing the defending Class 5-A champion 2-1,
Smith countered Knox's move in the final period and earned
a takedown in the final moment.
"I was looking forward to wrestling him
this whole tournament,” Smith, who was a runner-up in the
3-A state tournament last year, said. "He's a tough kid,
and it was a tough match.”
Perhaps the biggest upset of the night
came at 135 when Bountiful's Cameron George beat
Viewmont's Shay Lawrence in double overtime. George chose
the down position after a scoreless first overtime, then
earned an escape for the victory. George was named
Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights.
Also for Wasatch, Cyler Sanderson won by
technical fall at 140 and Shane Bonner won by decision at
119.
Vombaur said the feeling on Wasatch's team
is mixed.
"They are confident, and at the same time
they know they need to make improvements,” Vombaur said.
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