OREM — There may have been 32 individual winners Tuesday night at the 10th annual All-Star Classic wrestling event, but more than that, everyone in the wrestling community benefitted from the showcase.
"I think this was one of the best events we've had," said event organizer Ross Brunson. "There were some of the tightest matches we've had, and we had a great turnout."
The fans in the McKay Events Center saw some dominating performances— such as four-time All-Star Raider Lofthouse of Mountain Crest's 13-3 win over Jonson Crandall of South Summit — to real nail-biters like Fremont's Jed Craner's 4-3 double-overtime win over Niko Klus of South Summit.
Fremont's Ronnie Wardleigh made the most of an opportunity. He was a first-alternate when the teams were first announced, but when he got the call to take the place of the guy in front of him following an injury, he gladly stepped up to the challenge. He not only represented 5A, but he promptly went out and beat Payson's Mitch Brown, a defending state champion.
"I felt like I deserved to be here," said Wardleigh. "I had the most wins in 5A, so I was a little disappointed when I didn't get the decision in the first place, but I was ready when they called.
"I think the biggest thing is just the mindset," Wardleigh added of what makes him an All-Star-caliber wrestler. "You have to want to win, and then go out and wrestle so that you can win."
While Wardleigh was a surprise winner, there were also some expected champions.
"It really is a great experience to get out in this type of atmosphere and in front of a crowd like this," said Bingham's Kade Moss, a four-time participant in the All-Star and three-time winner following his 6-2 decision win over Derek Peterson of Delta. "It is fun to hang with all of the best wrestlers in the state."
While the All-Star was almost old hat for some of the participants, it also was a chance for some lesser-known wrestlers to make others take notice of their skills.
"It does mean a lot to beat a guy from a bigger school," said Enterprise's Colby Barlocker, a defending state champion, but a surprise winner as he beat 4A champ Colton Cannon from Payson. "People seem to discount the fact that you won a state title because you come from a small school, but I think that if you can wrestle, then it doesn't matter what size of the classification. It is great to come here and represent your school and all the smaller guys."
Barlocker's win, however, was the exception to the norm as 5A ran away with the team scores with 36 points. The 4A squad was second at 29 points, 3A had 18 and 1A/2A finished with 14.
The overall theme of the night regardless of team, win or loss was that of success.
"It's an honor to be chosen to wrestle here," said Payson's Zach Loveless, who beat South Summit's Colton Thornton 8-7 in one of the many matches that pitted defending state champions against one another. "It is a great event, just a great experience to be involved."
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