High school girls wrestling: Shorthanded Maple Mountain fights to win inaugural 5A state tournament

Maple Mountain senior Nya Seiuli was the victim of some friendly fire in last year’s combined girls state championships, as she was pinned by teammate Ashley Camacho to take second place in the 190-class.

In this year’s inaugural 5A championship tournament Seiuli experienced more of the same, but this time she was the wrestler who came out on top. 

With her defeat over teammate Aurellia Ramos in a 4-0 decision match, Seiuli helped the Eagles to a second-consecutive state title Thursday evening at the UCCU Center. Maple Mountain recorded 188.5 points, while Uintah (165 points) and Northridge (162 points) rounded out the top three. 

Seiuli said that she and her teammates weren’t sure what to expect heading into the championship rounds since they were down in the numbers — the Eagles brought 12 wrestlers compared to 19 for Uintah and 14 for Northridge — but said that they proved a point.

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“It’s not about how big the dog is, it’s about the fight in the dog,” Seiuli said. “I’m just so proud of my team. These girls deserve the win.”

Seiuli — who plans to wrestle at the next level for Snow College — expressed frustration for having to face a teammate in the championship round two years in a row, but said there’s also a silver lining to taking the mat with Ramos.

“It sucks having to wrestle a teammate, but I know going into it that I’m going to have a good match because I wrestle her almost everyday. She’s really a great wrestler and I’m really proud of both me and her,” Seiuli said. 

Maple Mountain also received championship wins from Ellie Jensen (105) and Ariana McGee (115).

McGee’s win was especially intriguing since it came against Uintah’s Chanley Green, who had beaten McGee twice prior to the matchup. 

“I felt confident going into (the match),” McGee said. “I knew that whatever happened, I wanted to do my best and I really think that helped take the pressure off of me. … I just feel so happy and proud.”

The title win was the first as a coach for Maple Mountain’s Hailey Corona, who also was voted coach of the year by her peers at the tournament. The first year coach, who wasn’t aware she would be the coach until two weeks before the season started, said that she was proud of the fight her team displayed throughout the tournament. 

“I didn’t really have huge expectations coming into this tournament because we were so outnumbered by some of these teams, and at divisionals we didn’t have our best performance,” Corona said. “Our goal coming in was to fight the full six minutes in every match and I think every girl showed up and did that. It was fun to see all the girls come together and really step up when it mattered.”

With fall victories in their respective title matches, Timpview’s Kaianne Sabagala (130) and Murray’s Elleni Johnson (145) each finished their seasons undefeated. Johnson, a junior, was also voted the top upper-weight wrestler of the tournament.

Mountain View’s Esther Han (135), Timpview’s Taimane Fiatoa (170) and Northridge’s Karla Padilla-Zepeda (235) each finished with only one loss on the season after winning their title matches. 

5A girls state tournament

At UVU

Team scores

1. Maple Mountain, 188.5
2. Uintah, 165
3. Northridge, 162
4. Springville, 144
5. Mountain View, 126
6. Tooele, 126
7. Jordan, 89
8. Stansbury, 71

Individual results

100 pounds

1. January Langston, Payson

2. Emeri Mortimer, Springville

3. Jakailei Lujan, Uintah

4. Rhiannon Towers, Olympus

5. Jacelyn Rich, Uintah

6. Nahida Arif, East

Championship — January Langston, Payson def. Emeri Mortimer, Springville, Fall 1:55

105 pounds

1. Ellie Jensen, Maple Mountain

2. Lindsay Hansen, Tooele

3. Annika Futch, Park City

4. Ivory Cazier, Mountain View

5. Aidyn Sharp, Uintah

6. Addyson Van Cott, Stansbury

Championship — Ellie Jensen, Maple Mountain def. Lindsay Hansen, Tooele 15-4, 4-2

110 pounds

1. Taileigh Lujan, Uintah

2. Cecibeth Santos, Northridge

3. Lilly Lake, Maple Mountain

4. Jennacee Harrison, Uintah

5. Maria Marin, East

6. Abbey West, Jordan

Championship — Taileigh Lujan, Uintah def. Cecibeth Santos, Northridge, Fall 0:24

115 pounds

1. Ariana McGee, Maple Mountain

2. Chanley Green, Uintah

3. AnnaLee Wright, Cedar Valley

4. Eliza Zimmerman, Hillcrest

5. Jaycee Ware, Tooele

6. Cora Emely Hinze, Bonneville

Championship — Ariana McGee, Maple Mountain def. Chanley Green, Uintah, 14-6

120 pounds

1. Alexia Woods, Cedar Valley

2. Valery Ethington, Springville

3. Mikalah Whitehouse, Northridge

4. Donna Wright, Maple Mountain

5. Sydnie Dick, Uintah

6. Cosette Harrison, Alta

Championship — Alexia Woods, Cedar Valley def. Valery Ethington, Springville, Fall 2:44

125 pounds

1. Izzy Clements, Springville

2. Isla Baeza, Mountain View

3. Julissa Miranda, Tooele

4. Hailey Holton, Northridge

5. Noa Omessi, Park City

6. Kacie Jean Nicholes, Stansbury

Championship — Izzy Clements, Springville def. Isla Baeza, Mountain View, Fall 1:20

130 pounds

1. Kaianne Sabagala, Timpview

2. Katelyn Wolf, Provo

3. Kathryn de Groot, Woods Cross

4. Hadlie Hood, Bonneville

5. Nehemiah Cook, Highland

6. Alisa Misselhorn, Northridge

Championship — Kaianne Sabagala, Timpview def. Katelyn Wolf, Provo, Fall 1:10

135 pounds

1. Esther Han, Mountain View

2. Annie Clanton, Northridge

3. Patience Smith, Bonneville

4. Cassandra Farnsworth, Maple Mountain

5. Maycee Young, Uintah

6. Braylin Jones, Salem Hills

Championship — Esther Han, Mountain View def. Annie Clanton, Northridge, Fall 3:32

140 pounds

1. Jocelyn Dean, Mountain View

2. Feelicie Kobryn, Maple Mountain

3. Zarieh Power, Mountain View

4. Maeli Howard, Bountiful

5. Amelie Ledesma, Salem Hills

6. Corrine Letchford, Park City

Championship — Jocelyn Dean, Mountain View def. Feelicie Kobryn, Maple Mountain, Fall 3:35

145 pounds

1. Elleni Johnson, Murray

2. Briona Love, HIllcrest

3. Savannah Malmgren, Tooele

4. Ajah Rajvong, Lehi

5. Karalie Harris, Springville

6. Chiara Porro, Northridge

Championship — Elleni Johnson, Murray def. Briona Love, Hillcrest, Fall 1:30

155 pounds

1. Hotaia Valeti, Springville

2. Siena Fairbanks, Jordan

3. Alize Acosta, Stansbury

4. Madison Mayes, Cedar Valley

5. Kayli Keel, Uintah

6. Izzy Sawyer, Northridge

Championship — Hotaia Valeti, Springville def. Siena Fairbanks, Jordan, Fall 1:25

170 pounds

1. Taimane Fiatoa, Timpview

2. Casey Harris, Maple Mountain

3. Emma Brown, Tooele

4. Hayley Harris, Springville

5. Hannah Babinski, Jordan

6. Kirra Johnson, Tooele

Championship — Taimane Fiatoa, Timpview def. Casey Harris, Maple Mountain, Fall 2:12

190 pounds

1. Nya Seiuli, Maple Mountain

2. Aurellia Ramos, Maple Mountain

3. Riley Winters, Northridge

4. Angie Aguilar, Stansbury

5. Camryn Stillman, Cottonwood

6. Camily Gonzalez, Jordan

Championship — Nya Seiuli, Maple Mountain def. Aurellia Ramos, Maple Mountain, 4-0

235 pounds

1. Karla Padilla-Zepeda, Northridge

2. Arianah Cowgur, Jordan

3. Maddison Tenney, Uintah

4. Katelyn Edgell, Brighton

5. Emma Giuliana Aviles, Northridge

Championship — Karla Padilla-Zepeda, Northridge def. Arianah Cowgur, Jordan, Fall 2:42