OREM — Delta’s Jason Hatch still thinks about what went wrong in losing his 2A championship match last year.
It was a feeling shared by everyone in the Delta wrestling room after the Rabbits had their seven-year championship streak come to a surprising end with a runner-up finish to South Summit.
For Hatch, Saturday was a night of double redemption.
Not only did Hatch capture the individual title that eluded him overtime a year ago, but his Delta teammates dominated the 2A state tournament throughout as they took the first step toward starting a new title streak.
“I hated losing. I still think about everything I did wrong in my last match last year. I wasn’t going to go back to that,” said Hatch, one of five individual champs for Delta at UVU on Saturday.
Delta finished with 283 team points en route to winning its 34th state championship in school history. North Summit finished second with 205 points, followed by North Sevier in third with 200 and Millard in fourth with 180.
The attitude on Saturday for Delta was the same as it was on Day 1 of practice last November.
“It’s not fun taking second. We said, ‘Might as well work as hard as we can to dominate whoever tries to face us,’” said Hatch.
Hatch was one of seven Delta wrestlers who competed in Saturday’s finals, with Brady Poulsen, Dallin Ewart, Jantsen Manis and Bradden Davis joining Hatch as individual champs.
Manis enjoyed the same feeling of redemption as Hatch after he lost the 220-pound championship in overtime last year. He avenged that loss by beating favored North Summit’s Randin Pentz, a defending state champ after winning at 182 pounds last season.
“My coach just told me to relax cause I do better when I’m relaxed. I just went in there breathing and kept my head,” said Manis. “It’s amazing. Last year was one of the most bitter tastes we’ve ever tasted for sure.”
North Summit’s second-place finish was highlighted by three individual champs, most notably Jaxon Cole’s triumph at 126 pounds.
He made quick work of Millard’s Slade Sheriff just 37 seconds into the match to claim his fourth individual state title.
“He just popped his head up, and I just threw a headlock and all I heard was the ref hit the mat and it was the most exciting feeling in my entire life,” said Cole, who finished the year with a 45-3 record.
Like he has so many times this season, Cole wasn’t overconfident heading into the match.
“You’ve got to have your head on straight, and can’t be overconfident in your matches and you can’t really get your mindset up. You’ve just got to be excited to wrestle, and that’s what I was trying to do,” said Cole.
North Summit’s Taten Ringel won his second consecutive state title at 152 pounds. Teammate Jace Anderson earned his first state title with a late takedown against Millard’s defending champ Kaleb Kelly for the 6-4 win at 145 pounds.
North Sevier finished with two individual state champs as it finished in third place.
North Sevier’s Dillon Torgerson earned a repeat state title with a win at 113 pounds, while North Sevier’s Shawn Sorensen won at 132 pounds.
The lone other repeat state champ in 2A was South Summit’s Broughton Flygare at 195 pounds.
Other state champs were Millard’s Van Brady (106), South Sevier’s Payton Knight (138) and Beaver’s Tyce Raddon (182).
Class 2A
Team scores
1. Delta, 283; 2. North Summit, 205; 3. North Sevier, 200; 4. Millard, 180; 5. South Summit, 163.5; 6. South Sevier, 110; 7. Beaver, 109; 8. Enterprise, 75; 9. Grand, 73; 10. Emery, 65.
Individual results
106 — Championship: Van Bray, Millard def. Cody Stubbs, Kanab, 9-1. 3. Jayden Petersen, Delta; 4. Carson Whitney, Grand; 5. Dahlance Smith, North Sevier; 6. Jayden Williams, South Summit.
113 — Championship: Dillon Torgerson, North Sevier def. Tayte Staples, North Summit, fall, 3:40. 3. Brock Edwards, Beaver; 4. Graydee Warren, Millard; Ryker Pentz, North Summit; 6. Tyler Dalton, Delta.
120 — Championship: Brady Poulsen, Delta def. Gage Mason, North Sevier, 6-2. 3. John Evans, Beaver; 4. Jed Lee, South Summit; 5. Keyan Staples, North Summit; 6. Triston Fillmore, South Sevier.
126 — Championship: Jaxon Cole, North Summit def. Slade Sheriff, Millard, fall, 0:37. 3. Carson Sheets, Grand; 4. AJ Anderson, Enterprise; 5. Kayden Robertson, Grand; 6. Tyler Leavitt, South Sevier.
132 — Championship: Shawn Sorensen, North Sevier def. Chayton Jacobson, Gunnison, 2-0. 3. Tyler Scheurn, North Summit; 4. Zachary Taylor, Delta; 5. Hayden Anderson, Millard; 6. Mckay Meccariello, Emery.
138 — Championship: Payton Knight, South Sevier def. Dyllin Broughton, Delta, 9-5. 3. Logan Crandall, South Summit; 4. Alex Holder, Gunnison; 5. Dakota Johnson, Grand; 6. Karson Brunson, North Sevier.
145 — Championship: Jace Anderson, North Summit def. Kaleb Kelly, Millard, 6-4. 3. Jacob Jackson, Delta; 4. Mckinley Jones, South Sevier; 5. Gavin Tobler, South Sevier; 6. Haydn Porter, Delta.
152 — Championship: Taten Ringel, North Summit def. Bowen Shields, Delta, fall 3:58. 3. Payton Thurston, North Sevier; 4. Mccoy Bergstrom, Beaver; 5. Rhett Riding, Delta.
160 — Championship: Jason Hatch, Delta def. Newt Oveson, Emery, 5-2. 3. Grange Simpson, San Juan; 4. Hunter Anderson, Millard; 5. Brady Tullis, Enterprise; 6. Kesston Mosher, North Summit.
170 — Championship: Dallin Ewart, Delta def. Troy Jones, Millard, 12-5. 3. Ty Thornton, South Summit; 4. Tanner Sorenson, North Sevier; 5. Daxton Anderson, Delta; 6. Logan Rex, North Summit.
182 — Championship: Tyce Raddon, Beaver def. Noah Porter, North Sevier, 6-3. 3. Tannier Shields, Delta; 4. Alexander Johnson, South Summit; 5. Yair Moran, Delta; 6. Levi Noyes, North Sevier.
195 — Championship: Broughton Flygare, South Summit def. Mac Peterson, North Sevier, 7-3. 3. Calun Whitaker, Millard; 4. Alan Raddatz, Kanab; 5. Brodie Stanton, South Sevier; 6. Brendon Hollingshead, Beaver.
220 — Championship: Jantsen Manis, Delta def. Randin Pentz, North Summit, 10-5. 3. Austin Leavitt, Enterprise; 4. Gordon Hermansen, South Summit; 5. Jacob Coates, North Sevier; 6. Kemmer Jones, South Sevier.
285 — Championship: Bradden Davis, Delta def. Ty Mecham, Emery, fall, 5:03. 3. Porter Fox, South Summit; 4. Brett Walker, Delta; 5. Eduardo Rodriguez, North Summit; 6. Aaron Reeve, Emery.