OREM — For Mckay Foy (145) and the Altamont Longhorns, it was a simple desire. They wanted a championship, and so they got a championship. The Longhorns, led by individual champions such as Foy, Wyatt Jessen (160) and Cody Miles (195), racked up 198.5 points and unseated the Duchesne Eagles as champions of 1A wrestling.
“We worked so hard for this,” said Foy, a sophomore and already a two-time champion. “We worked hard last year, and worked even harder this year. We believed we could do this. It just feels great to come out with the victory.”
It wasn’t easy for Altamont. Early on the championship truly appeared to be up for grabs.
Panguitch champion Jonah Schoppe (106) started the 1A competition with a bang and an impressive win over Milford’s Karson Wunderlich. The 9-2 victory gave Schoppe back-to-back titles, and his all-around effort quickly had the crowd on its feet.
Duchesne followed Schoppe with back-to-back wins, courtesy of Colby Harper (113) and David Van Tassell (120).
For Van Tassell, the win over the Longhorns' Dean Thompson was the extremely hard-fought icing on top of an incredible high school wrestling career.
Van Tassell and Thompson were about as evenly matched wrestlers as you could find, and it was an escape by Van Tassell that gave him the 1-0 victory and a fourth straight championship.
“This has been my dream since the moment I could walk,” said Van Tassell. “This title in particular feels so good. I missed five weeks during the season, due to a knee injury, and to be able to come back from that. … This is such a great feeling.”
Van Tassell was injured halfway through this wrestling season, but the Eagles' star was back at it soon after successful knee surgery.
“The first two weeks back, we were in pretty good tournaments and I was just gassed. After the first round I would just be done. So it feels great to be able to get back to this point and win today,” said Van Tassell.
There was a bit of confusion at the conclusion of the bout, as the referees raised Thompson’s hand instead of Van Tassell's, but the gaffe did little to dampen Van Tassell's mood.
“I have been wrestling since the first grade, and I’ve dreamt of this moment my entire life.”
Van Tassell’s win cut the Altamont lead to a mere nine points, but then, after Zac Musselman (138) won his third title for Monticello, Foy took the mat.
Foy, pitted against the Eagles' Matthew Taylor, jumped out to an early lead and was able to hold off the Duchesne senior for a 6-3 win. Not only did the victory give Foy the individual championship, it clinched the state title for the Longhorns.
“I knew I had to fight for the win, and I wanted it real bad,” said Foy. “I gave it my all.”
A few matches later, Jessen put the exclamation point on the Longhorns' day with a thrilling 19-14 win over Steven Skewes.
“They wrestled hard today,” Altamont coach Sanderson said.
Other individual state champions included a trio of Panguitch stars, Kolton Owens (126), Kellen Mooney (170), and Kelton Cropper (285), as well as Shandon Bradford (132) of Monticello, and repeat champions Stockton Moat (152) and Gatlin Thompson (182) of Duchesne.
Class 1A
Team scores
1. Altamont 198.5; 2. Duchesne 187.0; 3. Monticello 171.5; 4. Panguitch 117.5; 5. Wayne 67.0; 6. Milford 39.0; 7. Bryce Valley 30.0; 8. Rich 22.0; 8. Whitehorse 22.0; 10. Parowan 21.0
Individual results
106 — Championship: Jonah Schoppe (Panguitch) 33-10, Sr., over Karson Wunderlich (Milford) 34-13, So., (dec 9-2); 3. Matt Beh, Monticello; 4. Hunter Webb, Altamont.
113 — Championship: Colby Harper (Duchesne) 34-10, So., over Kaden Beckstead (Panguitch) 36-6, Jr., (fall, 1:32); 3. Mark Beh, Monticello; 4. Kelten Campbell, Altamont.
120 — Championship: David Van Tassell (Duchesne) 34-5, Sr., over Dean Thompson (Altamont) 38-10, Fr., (Dec 1-0); 3. Ronnie Chico, Whitehorse; 4. Steven Robinson, Monticello.
126 — Championship: Kolton Owens (Panguitch) 11-1, Sr., over Stetson Wright (Milford) 22-5, Jr., (fall, 5:23); 3. Darion Bird, Duchesne; 4. Heston Murdock, Altamont.
132 — Championship: Shandon Bradford (Monticello) 41-5, Sr., over Jessen Mckinnon (Altamont) 34-13, Sr., (dec 12-6); 3. Zack Julander, Panguitch; 4. Kayden Draper, Monticello.
138 — Championship: Zac Musselman (Monticello) 50-4, Jr., over Danny Thompson (Altamont) 46-9 Jr., (dec 4-2); 3. Wesley Kota Powell, Duchesne; 4. Tristen Green, Altamont.
145 — Championship: Mckay Foy (Altamont) 41-7, So., over Matthew Taylor (Duchesne) 44-7, Sr., (dec 6-3); 3. Tyler Draper, Monticello; 4. Spencer Squires, Monticello.
152 — Championship: Stockton Moat (Duchesne) 45-4, Jr., over Brayson Wilcox (Monticello) 38-8, Jr., (dec 6-3); 3. Barlow Pace, Wayne; 4. Tyson Norman, Altamont.
160 — Championship: Wyatt Jessen (Altamont) 10-2, Jr., over Steven Skewes (Duchesne) 39-9, Sr., (dec 19-14); 3. Paul Deanda, Monticello; 4. Kyler Bredsgaurd, Wayne.
170 — Championship: Kellen Mooney (Panguitch) 51-5, Sr., over Reagan Hunt (Parowan) 24-10, Sr., (MD 13-4); 3. Thomas Anderson, Monticello; 4. Colby Allred, Duchesne.
182 — Championship: Gatlin Thompson (Duchesne) 30-14, Sr., over Domanik Stansfield (Altamont) 13-7, Sr., (dec 8-2); 3. Chad Valentine, Monument Valley; 4. Austin Best, Piute.
195 — Championship: Cody Miles (Altamont) 46-8, Jr., over Wyatt Weston (Rich) 40-6, Jr., (fall, 0:40); 3. Gage Wilcox, Monticello; 4. Bobbee Jones, Bryce Valley.
220 — Championship: Kelton Cropper (Panguitch) 43-0, Sr., over Brandon Jones (Bryce Valley) 35-9, Jr., (fall, 2:58); 3. Tava’e Pei, Wayne; 4. Russell Mitchell, Altamont.
285 — Championship: Aaron Verduzco (Duchesne) 31-3, Sr., over Parker Knudsen (Monticello) 27-15, Sr., (fall, 3:36); 3. Justin Johnson, Wayne; 4. Kalvin Stevenson, Altamont.
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