The Juab dynasty doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, as the Wasps picked up their fifth consecutive 3A state wrestling title Friday evening in Richfield.
“I’m proud of them. They fought hard,” said coach Joel Holman, who is in his seventh year as leading the Wasps. “Even the kids who lost fought hard. I feel like we were really gritty this weekend.”
The Wasps chalked up 301 points to second place Morgan’s 227 and Emery’s 208.
Juab fielded five championship wrestlers, starting with freshman Rowdey Peterson (106), who closed out his season with a 5-0 decision win over Grand’s Landon Moralez.
“I’ve worked all year for this, and it just came together,” Peterson said. “We just keep going in every day and grinding, and it paid off.”
On the other end of the spectrum is senior Shan Jackson (285), who pinned Morgan’s Ryker Keele in the third round for his third high school title.
“I knew he’d come out strong, so I had to be patient,” Jackson said. He said he kept working his opponent until he saw an opportunity to strike. He was able to win the match by fall with 1:02 left on the clock.
Sophomore Will Harmon (170) was selected as the outstanding wrestler of the tournament in the upper weights. He delivered individual goal in a 3-1 decision over Morgan’s Tanner Belinski.
“I knew if I stayed fundamentally strong and wrestled my match, I could get the win,” Harmon said. “It’s a really a love-hate relationship with this sport. There are a lot of hard mornings and more dedication than a lot of people realize.”
Sophomore Chase Ingram (145) also picked up his second first place finish by beating Morgan’s Jarron Campbell in a grueling 7-4 decision match.
“It means the world. It never gets old,” Ingram said. “This kids who didn’t make state are just as important as those who did. It takes everyone to make it.”
Junior Channing Warner (145) outlasted American Leadership Academy’s Lukus Carrillo to earn the gold and add to Juab’s tally.
“It’s been amazing, but honestly the thing that means more to me is doing it as a team,” Warner said. “We scored 300 points as a team and that’s something special to me.”
Warner said his goal is capture the individual state title and state title all four years he is able to compete in high school.
“We’re building and we’re just going to get better,” Warner said. He said the coaching staff’s dedication to working with the team each day makes every wrestler better.
Building a wrestling dynasty is something that takes more than just what happens in high school, according to Holman.
“It’s lots of layers,” Holman said of his program. “It’s not just work for now, but for later.”
Holman credited a great junior high program and its coaches for developing strong talent to feed into the high school program.
“Obviously I didn’t create all these kids,” Holman said. “Sometimes it isn’t pretty. Sometimes you just have to be tough. We had a lot of good kids really fought hard. Hopefully we can build some character along the way, too.”
Holman was named as the outstanding coach of the tournament.
Morgan’s Waylen Pentz (132) was selected at the outstanding wrestler in the lower weights.
Class 3A State Tournament
At Sevier Valley Center
Team scores
1. Juab, 301
2. Morgan, 227
3. Emery, 208
4. American Leadership, 133.5
5. Delta, 117
6. Richfield, 115
7. South Summit, 83
8. Union, 66
Individual results
- 106 — 1. Rowdey Peterson, Juab; 2. Landon Moralez, Grand County; 3. Andrew Fox, Am Leadership Acad; 4. Taelyr Gray, Delta; 5. Kole Johnson, Grantsville; 6. Deklan Helquist, San Juan
- 113 — 1. Dayson Torgerson, Richfield; 2. Kaden Ercanbrack, Juab; 3. Merritt Meccariello, Emery; 4. Mason Gardner, South Sevier; 5. Sid Christiansen, Emery; 6. Kayden Blackham, Manti
- 120 — 1. Blake Woolsey, Morgan; 2. Dax Johnson, Juab; 3. Weston Blake, South Sevier; 4. Brandon Mora, South Summit; 5. Kayden World, Emery; 6. Skyler Rasmussen, Am Leadership Acad
- 126 — 1. Denim Torgerson, Richfield; 2. Byron Christiansen, Emery; 3. Will Korth, Morgan; 4. Cooper Blackett, Juab; 5. Zak Sargent, Morgan; 6. Kasey Curtis, North Sanpete
- 132 — 1. Waylen Pentz, Morgan; 2. Jarin Allen, Emery; 3. Dallon Farrer, Union; 4. Dwain Farley, Emery; 5. Garrin Lord, Richfield; 6. Hayden Park, Juab
- 138 — 1. Channing Warner, Juab; 2. Lukus Carrillo, Am Leadership Acad; 3. Taigon Bushell, South Summit; 4. Gavin Reynolds, Juab; 5. Joshua Jackson, Delta; 6. Ryker Ogden, Richfield
- 145 — 1. Chase Ingram, Juab; 2. Jarron Campbell, Morgan; 3. Will Haight, Summit Academy; 4. Trey Butler, Delta; 5. Kylan Taylor, North Sanpete; 6. Kelan Layton, Manti
- 152 — 1. Bryar Meccarillo, Emery; 2. Logan Holdaway, Juab; 3. Hyrum Morley, Am Leadership Acad; 4. Dakota Lynn, Juab; 5. Everett Gilson, Morgan; 6. Arie Kranendonk, Carbon
- 160 — 1. Austin Chase, Delta; 2. Taylor Newton, Juab; 3. Jaxin Torgerson, South Sevier; 4. Brice Clegg, South Summit; 5. Cale Miner, Am Leadership Acad; 6. Grant Rounds, Grantsville
- 170 — 1. Will Harmon, Juab; 2. Tanner Belinski, Morgan; 3. Cadence Ross, Union; 4. Carston Jensen, Richfield; 5. Cruz Baldovinez, Grantsville; 6. Maddex Christman, Emery
- 182 — 1. Hayes Dalton, Emery; 2. Isaac Rees, Morgan; 3. Tate Willoughby, Delta; 4. Aiden Seely, Juab; 5. Nathan Burton, Am Leadership Acad; 6. Nathan Sorenson, Richfield
- 195 — 1. Ryker Adams, Morgan; 2. Justin Mitchell, Am Leadership Acad; 3. Talon Holdaway, Juab; 4. Chance Toone, Morgan; 5. Brandon Dutson, Delta; 6. Kayden Clark, Manti
- 220 — 1. Braden Howard, Emery; 2. Laramie Roberts, North Sanpete; 3. Xander Lindsey, South Summit; 4. Easton Thornley, Emery; 5. Briggs Ludlow, Juab; 6. Easton Horsley, Carbon
- 285 — 1. Shan Jackson, Juab; 2. Ryker Keele, Morgan; 3. Cole Keele, Morgan; 4. Antonio Mckissack, Union; 5. James Richardson, Emery; 6. Angel Ramirez, Delta