A year ago, Uno Latu was preparing for the Hunter High rugby season. On Tuesday night, she was at Telos High in Orem competing in her 16th match at the Ross Brunson Utah All-Star Duals wrestling tournament.
The tourney attracted about 120 of Utah’s best high school wrestlers, including 30 girls, who are having the time of their lives in the inaugural year as a Utah High School Activities Association sanctioned sport.
Latu is just one of three girls on Hunter’s squad. She was thrilled to defeat Taimane Fiatoa of Timpview in the 140-pound division.
“My curiosity got the best of me with wrestling,” she said. “I wanted something different. I wanted something aggressive and hard, and wrestling is the hardest sport there is.”
She said about 60 Hunter wrestlers (boys and girls) showed up for the first day of practice, but after a difficult first session, only half returned the next day. But she didn’t feel out of place, even though she has often had to practice against boys to prepare for matches against her own gender.
“The boys told me not to quit,” she said. “I was getting beat up by the boys, but it only made me better.”
The All-Star Duals tourney started 21 years ago and is hosted as a fundraiser for the Utah Valley University wrestling team. The invitations were reduced, and the event was moved off campus this year due to the school’s coronavirus restrictions. This season also marked the first time it included girls. Because of the high talent level, it’s often used as a judge which schools will challenge for the state championship in all divisions.
Not much is not known about who the best girls teams might be. With just three athletes, Hunter likely won’t generate enough team points even if all if its athletes win. Latu said other Region 2 schools, like Kearns and Cyprus, only have six to seven girls. However, just a few miles south, at Copper Hills, the Grizzlies’ girls program has attracted much more interest, and they noted Westlake High could be a 6A juggernaut.
“We have about 60 girls … and about the same number of boys,” said Westlake assistant coach Jordan Robinson. “We started building it several years ago. We teach the girls the basic (fundamentals) and try to make it fun. They’ve grown to like it, and now we’re seeing it at the varsity level.”
Jeff Newby, a former Boise State and Utah Valley wrestler, created a youth program near his Saratoga Springs home and now leads the Thunder program. As the public address announcer at the All-Star Duals tourney, he saw a few of his wrestlers and learned what it will likely take to challenge for the state tournament next month.
“This has always been a great event, and we’re lucky to have it this year,” he said. “The athletes know it well and some travel a long way to be here.”
In Latu’s case, she is the youngest of eight children and came from the rugby field, too, to challenge herself to try something new and hopes it will be the catalyst to help her earn a state championship trophy in her new sport.
Utah All-Star Duals Meet Results
Boys
106A - Parker Hansen (Tooele) def. Tavin Hollingshead (Beaver), 6-2.
106B - Brayden Robison (Westlake) pin Easton Evans (Mountain Crest), 2:48
106C - Andrew Fox (ALA) def. Jake Waddoups (Farmington), 6-2.
113A - Kaden Ercanbrack (Juab) pin Edgar Renteria (Snow Canyon), 3:39
113B - Jacob Carson (Pleasant Grove) pin Hagan Mayer (Beaver), 1:38
113C - Kyison Garcia (Mountain Ridge) pin Kaden Ercanbrack (Juab), 0:56
113D - Jacob Carson (Pleasant Grove) def. Dayson Torgerson (Richfield), 6-5.
113E - Jacob Carson (Pleasant Grove) def. Kyison Garcia (Mountain Ridge), 3-2.
120A - Clayson Mele (Uintah) def. Sam Rasmussen (Millard), 13-1.
120B - Blake Woolsey (Morgan) def. Dallan Hunsaker (American Fork), 5-2.
120C - Quade Smith (Layton) def Clayson Mele (Uintah), 15-2.
120D - Bridger Ricks (Box Elder) def. Blake Woolsey (Morgan), 9-4.
120E - Bridger Ricks (Box Elder) def. Quade Smith (Layton), 3-2.
126A - Bronson Richins (North Summit) pin James Shumway (Green Canyon), 4:33
126B - Austin Kelly (Wasatch) def. Gage Ogden (Herriman), 4-3.
126C - Denim Torgerson (Richfield) pin Will Korth (Morgan), 5:59
132A - Ryan Bulloch (Payson) pin Tezlin Winn (Gunnison), 3:01
132B - Brock Morris (Maple Mountain) def. Brigham Bagley (Corner Canyon), 14-7.
132C - Jacob Finlinson (Westlake) def. Waylen Pentz (Morgan), 2-0.
138A - Brian Evans (Beaver) def. Jacob Finlinson (Westake), 3-0.
138B - Drew Lang (West) def. Brady Merkley (Uintah), 3-2.
138C - Channing Warner (Juab) def. Drew Lang (West) 4-3.
138D - River Wardle (Wasatch) def Brian Evans (Beaver), 8-2.
138E - River Wardle def. Chaning Warner, 10-8.
145A - Jaxon Morlan (Duchesne) def. Jarno Campbell (Morgan) 4-3.
145B - Josh Millward (Skyridge) def. Conway Christensen (Murray), 16-5.
145C - Chase Ingram (Juab) pin Terrell Lee (Mountain Crest), 1:42
152B - Josh Armstrong (Hurricane) pin Bryar Meccariello (Emery), 3:12
152C - Gabe Sanders (Mountain Crest) def. Zeke Kelley (Pleasant Grove), 4-3.
160A - Maclaine Pervical (Davis) def. Brice Clegg (South Summit), 8-1
160B - Riggin Boger (Altamont) pin Park Beeler (Granger), 3:07.
160C - Dillon Dick (Uintah) def. Marcus Espinoza Owens (Viewmont), 15-7.
170A - Landon Cabral (Bear River) def. Blake Barnes (Milford), 6-5.
170B - Will Harmon (Juab) def. Caleb Marx (Box Elder), 5-3.
170C - Mahkyi Smith (Skyridge) def. Brock Guthrie (Mountain Crest), 11-3.
182A - Cael Smith (Mountain Crest) def. Cort Raddon (Beaver), 7-5.
182B - Hayes Dalton (Emery) def. Andrew Jensen (Maple Mountain), 7-3.
182C - Radi Stafford (Mountain View) pin Cael Smith (Mountain Crest), 3:27
195A - Rylan Stevens pin Jax Coburn, 4:34.
195B - Lucas Cochran (Box Elder) def. Talmage Carman (Herriman), 16-1.
195C - Christian Smoot (Woods Cross) pin Danny Garcia (Millard), 3:49
220A - Nolan Kiser (Fremont) pin Braden Howard (Emery), 2:38
220B - MacIntyre Thacker (Altamont) def. Braedon Jorgensen (Timpanogos), 5-3
220C - Cash Robb (Altamont) pin Dawson Bundy (Desert Hills), 1:37
285A - Wyatt Dawe (Pleasant Grove) pin Garrett Herzog (Green Canyon), 2:34.
285B - Chris Esparza (Mountain View) pin Kyler Boren (Beaver), 1:04
285C - Kellen Collier (Box Elder) pin Jason Ponauisa (Crimson Cliffs), 3:08
285D - Jason Ponauisa (Crimson Cliffs) def. Shan Jackson (Juab), 1-0.
Girls
108 - Rachel Camacho (ALA) pin Isabella Vargas (Juan Diego), 2:41
115B - Arleth Antonio (Granger) def. Chanley Green (Uintah), 11-5
120 - Celeste DeToles (Westlake) def Brooklyn Pace (Copper Hills), 4-2
124B - Isabella Clements (Springville) pin Merci Jessop (Water Canyon), 2:34
128 - Marquize Salguero (Copper Hills) pin Ragen Jolley (Uintah), 2:47
132 - Ashley Wilcox (Copper Hills) def Brinlee Gines (Fremont), 11-8.
136 - Alyssa Pace (Copper Hills) pin Jade Garcia (Grantsville), 1:00
136/140 - Hotaia Valeti (Springville) pin Alyssa Pace (Copper Hills), 1:41
140 - Hotaia Valeti (Springville) pin Lizzie Shunn (Westlake), 1:59
145A - Olivia Carrillo (ALA) def. Ashlea Larson (Riverton), 6-1.
150 - Bailee Hawks Nelson (Cyprus) pin Emmy Finlinson (Westlake), 0:46
160A - Uno Latu (Hunter) def. Taimane Fiatoa (Timpview), 8-5.
160B - Uno Latu (Hunter) def. Abi Archibald (Maple Mountain), 14-12.
170 - Anya Hatch (Copper Hills) pin Adel Roennebeck (Syracuse), 1:08
190 - Ashley Camacho (Maple Mountain) pin Riley Winters (Northridge), 1:14
245 - Grace Montierth (Ridgeline) pin Lusimoni Vakalahi (Copper Hills), 2:26
245B - Grace Montierth (Ridgeline) pin Nya Seiuli (Maple Mountain), 4:33