Mountain Crest's Ethen Lofthouse Tops Utahns in National Preseason Junior Rankings

Wrestling USA Magazine published a national ranking of high-school junior wrestlers. Top ranked of the four Utahns included in the list was Ethen Lofthouse, current king of Mountain Crest's dominating Lofthouse wrestling family, who was ranked no. 2 in the country at 160 lbs.

Some of Lofthouse's notable exploits include taking two high-school state titles, winning a USA Wrestling national championship in Greco-Roman wrestling in Fargo, ND, last summer, winning a Utah High School Coaches Association national sophomore title in Virginia Beach, and winning the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Denver.  Through his sophomore year, he has accumulated an outstanding interscholastic career record of 82-4, with all four of those losses coming during his freshman year.  In the 2007 season, he was selected by the Wrestling USA Magazine and IntermatWrestle.com Utah Editor as a Sophomore Wrestler of the Year; and in 2006, a Freshman Wrestler of the Year.

Bill Kilpack, Utah Editor for WrestlingUSA Magazine and IntermatWrestle.com, has chosen Lofthouse as the preseason pick for one of the state's Junior Wrestlers of the Year. He said, "I've watched Ethen destroy opponents for years.  His brothers, every one of them, are just monsters, but Ethen seems to be headed for even greater heights than Luke (now wrestling at Iowa).  He finished out both his freshman and sophomore years with state titles, pinning his way through the state tournament his freshman year, and pinning everyone except Box Elder's Kolby Williamson his sophomore year — and Williamson he beat by technical fall.   He hits the toughest tournaments in the country and comes back a winner, without fail.  This kid's as tough as Luke, but a better technician."

The list was compiled by Dan Fickel, National Editor for the magazine, based on six criteria: 1) accomplishments at state high-school championships (folkstyle); 2) National Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman success; 3) Cadet National freestyle and Greco-Roman success; 4) performance at prestigious high-school tournaments; 5) information from coaches and parents; and 6) the state from which the nominee hails.

Four Utah wrestlers appeared in the rankings.

Other standouts include Sean Sullivan of Wasatch, who was ranked no. 25 at 215 lbs.; Tyson Hunt of Wayne High School, no. 26 at 285 lbs.; and Hayden Peterson, Springville High School, no. 27, 130 lbs.

Wrestling USA Magazine has been the voice of national high school wrestling since 1965. For more information, see www.wrestlingusa.com.

Kilpack is editor of UtahWrestling.org, an AAU national champion and seven-time national silver medalist, a 15-time AAU/USA Wrestling All-American, and earned an alternate position on the U.S. Pan-Am Team in Greco-Roman. He coaches an independent freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling program through Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation, Mountain Top Wrestling Club and the junior-high program, Jordan Junior Wrestling.