OREM — Defending state champs aren't supposed to lose in the second round of the state tournament. They're supposed to be too good for that to happen.
Then again, 17-year-old boys don't usually collapse and nearly die during the first week of practice. They're not supposed to be diagnosed with one of the rarest forms of anemia and told they probably won't wrestle at all during their senior year.
This life has become a reality for Brighton's Daryl Spackman — all except the part about not wrestling. Spackman wrestled twice at Thursday's Class 5A state tournament, eventually losing to Viewmont's Zac Morby.
"It's a miracle he's even here," said Rob Spackman, Daryl's father.
Spackman's amazing medical story will likely bring some consolation to Brighton. The defending champion Bengals are in fourth place after the first day of competition at UVSC, while Viewmont appears headed for its much-anticipated first state title.
The Vikings dominated the first day and finished with 128.5 points, way ahead of second-place Weber's 69.5. Taylorsville, Brighton and West Jordan round out the top five.
It's unlikely that any team will catch Viewmont, which qualified 12 wrestlers into the semifinals.
Nonetheless, the story of the tournament is that Spackman is even there.
When he collapsed at the Treehouse Athletic Club on Oct. 16, Spackman's skin turned blue before he was revived and rushed to Alta View Hospital. He was eventually transferred to Primary Children's Hospital.
Leukemia was feared, but a bone marrow biopsy quickly ruled that out. Doctors eventually diagnosed him with A-Plastic Anemia. It's a condition doctors don't know much about, but one they believe is related to the immune system.
When doctor's tested Spackman, his blood hematocrit count was 11, well below the normal 42, and his platelet count was 8,000, when 250,000 is normal. A bone marrow transplant was considered, but doctor's opted for another procedure first.
Spackman was injected with mass quantities of cyclosporin in early November, a horse serum that's supposed to suppress the immune system. Numerous blood transfusions and hospital visits later, and Spackman continues to surprise doctors with his quick recovery.
"It didn't hit me how serious it was until they told me I couldn't wrestle," said Spackman.
Through it all though, Spackman knew unless his platelet count passed 100,000, he wouldn't fulfill his dream and wrestle at state. His blood finally cooperated three weeks ago.
Spackman first match was against West Jordan, and even though he retired midway through because of extreme muscle cramping, it was progress. Two weeks later he qualified for state by finishing fourth at the Region 2 tournament.
After losing to Morby, it's clear that Spackman won't repeat as state champion — but he's OK with that.
"I was just out there to have fun," said Spackman.
The 5A tournament continues Friday at UVSC, and will culminate with Saturday's 6 p.m. championship matches.
Viewmont's Ben Kjar, Taylorsville's Oliver Bradstreet, Layton's Zach Lamano and Hillcrest's Brandon Shafizadeh are defending state champions who advanced to the semifinals.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com