High school girls wrestling: 2 wrestlers complete 4-peats, Mountain Ridge wins first 6A title

Saturday’s 6A state wrestling meet was only the fifth in the short history of sanctioned girls wrestling in Utah. Prior to Saturday, Westlake’s Brooklyn Pace stood alone as the only four-time state champion.

However, Pace’s spot in the record book got less lonely as two wrestlers from 6A joined her in the prestigious achievement.

First it was Davis’ Kristina Kent who secured her four-peat with an individual championship in the 105-pound weight class. Kent defeated Westlake’s Ashlyn Ballantyne en route to her fourth title.

“It’s so exciting,” Kent said. “I’m excited to see as the sport grows that I can be at the front of that little bit (in the record book). There’s not a better group I’d rather come here with. We’ve been putting in extra hours for four years now.”

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Kent wasn’t alone on Saturday, as Westlake’s Keilikki Nau Rarick also won her fourth individual state championship. Rarick did so by defeating Copper Hills’ Vala Netane in the 235-pound weight class.

Rarick’s title gave Westlake just enough team points to overtake Corner Canyon for second place at the 6A state meet, which Mountain Ridge won.

“It’s awesome just to leave the legacy behind and just to show it and be an example for my siblings,” Rarick said. “We just work hard, we mind to ourselves, we don’t compare ourselves to others.”

Meanwhile, Mountain Ridge had a 34-point separation from Westlake while it took home its first 6A state championship. It’s the second state championship across all sports for the Sentinels.

“It’s been an amazing year,” said Mountain Ridge head coach Brandon Birch. “It’s been full of awesome times and it’s been full of unexpected things.

“This team has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations, injuries, sicknesses, different things like that, and they’ve really bonded together and pulled through.”

Olivia Merino was the only Mountain Ridge wrestler to take home an individual championship, doing so in the 145-weight class over Herriman’s Sarah Griffiths.

“This group of wrestlers was special,” Birch said. “We’ve had a team now for four years and these seniors on this team that were leading this team, they’ve been with me for those four years, so to see them start a team from nothing, and in four years get to this point, is amazing.

“It feels amazing and hopefully there is more to come.”

6A State Championships

At UVU

Team Scores

1. Mountain Ridge, 221.0
2. Westlake, 187.0
3. Corner Canyon, 185.0
4. Davis, 163.5
5. Syracuse, 157.5
6. Herriman, 153.0
7. Copper Hills, 146.5
8. Fremont, 98.0

100 pounds

1. Piper Eller, Corner Canyon, Fr. (31-9)
2. Mina Trinh, Riverton, Sr. (31-12)
3. Brooklyn Eagar, Mountain Ridge, Jr. (31-14)
4. Emily Ball, Syracuse, Sr. (29-8)
5. Skye Schultz, Syracuse, Fr. (17-11)
6. Rebekah Price, Davis, Jr. (12-11)

Championship — Piper Eller, Corner Canyon def. Mina Trinh, Riverton, Dec 9-8

105 pounds

1. Kristina Kent, Davis, Sr. (37-0)
2. Ashlyn Ballantyne, Westlake, Jr. (22-12)
3. Lyra Mccarthey, Syracuse, So. (17-8)
4. Irma Archila-menendez, Copper Hills, Sr. (10-24)
5. Emma Wallace, Davis, Jr. (10-23)
6. Vanhessa Vu, Mountain Ridge, Sr. (11-23)

Championship — Kristina Kent, Davis def. Ashlyn Ballantyne, Westlake, TF-1.5 2:46 (17-2)

110 pounds

1. Payton Gines, Syracuse, Jr. (36-3)
2. Aubriana Wadley, Westlake, Jr. (32-10)
3. Emerson Purser, Corner Canyon, So. (28-17)
4. Rachel Bee, Fremont, Sr. (16-20)
5. Francesca Linares, Westlake, Jr. (5-14)
6. Penny Little, Herriman, Jr. (18-17)

Championship — Payton Gines, Syracuse def. Aubriana Wadley, Westlake, Fall 5:50

115 pounds

1. Naomi Kofe, Copper Hills, Fr. (29-11)
2. Faith Bowen, Mountain Ridge, So. (31-16)
3. Lidia Anderson, Herriman, Jr. (27-11)
4. Kennedy Jeppson, Westlake, So. (16-8)
5. Claire Holliday, Weber, Fr. (9-7)
6. Dallas Peterson, Davis, So. (17-11)

Championship — Naomi Kofe, Copper Hills def. Faith Bowen, Mountain Ridge, Fall 3:25

120 pounds

1. Hannah Larson, Riverton, Fr. (33-13)
2. Elliza Brunner, Copper Hills, Sr. (32-14)
3. Hannah Bingham, Weber, Sr. (22-15)
4. Gloria Jessop, Mountain Ridge, Sr. (21-15)
5. Alyna Cordova, Layton, So. (14-17)
6. Heidi Huckstep, Westlake, So. (17-17)

Championship — Hannah Larson, Riverton def. Elliza Brunner, Copper Hills, Fall 1:35

125 pounds

1. Brynlee Sorensen, Layton, So. (34-3)
2. Millie Leib, Davis, So. (29-4)
3. Ariana Bustamante, Pleasant Grove, Sr. (6-2)
4. Abigail Giatras, Weber, Fr. (9-6)
5. Rachel Wischerath, Syracuse, Sr. (24-14)
6. Sophia Tipton, Copper Hills, Fr. (7-5)

Championship — Brynlee Sorensen, Layton def. Millie Leib, Davis, Fall 2:35

130 pounds

1. Olivia Byington, Corner Canyon, Sr. (33-7)
2. Ameris Jensen, Westlake, Sr. (31-9)
3. Jennifer Brumbaugh, Davis, Jr. (19-5)
4. Elizabeth Grant, Mountain Ridge, Jr. (25-11)
5. Hailey Tibbs, Herriman, Jr. (28-16)
6. Ginger Burrup, Weber, Sr. (17-16)

Championship — Olivia Byington, Corner Canyon def. Ameris Jensen, Westlake, Fall 3:43

135 pounds

1. Alejandra Martinez, Davis, Sr. (32-4)
2. Amelia Roennebeck, Syracuse, Jr. (31-7)
3. Marley Michaelis, Westlake, Jr. (31-7)
4. London Mcentire, Corner Canyon, Fr. (19-21)
5. Sophie Venema, Herriman, Jr. (24-10)
6. Sadie Ashton, Mountain Ridge, Jr. (22-17)

Championship — Alejandra Martinez, Davis def. Amelia Roennebeck, Syracuse, Dec 10-6

140 pounds

1. Meleana Fager, Corner Canyon, Sr. (35-3)
2. Kaitlyn Worthley, Fremont, Jr. (31-9)
3. Amelia Jenkins, Mountain Ridge, So. (28-13)
4. Hailey Harvie, Herriman, Sr. (19-4)
5. Daisy Naylor, Syracuse, Sr. (28-12)
6. Addison Hutchison, Lehi, Fr. (15-11)

Championship — Meleana Fager, Corner Canyon def. Kaitlyn Worthley, Fremont, Fall 0:45

145 pounds

1. Olivia Merino, Mountain Ridge, Jr. (39-3)
2. Sarah Griffiths, Herriman, Sr. (36-5)
3. Eliza Davis, Davis, Sr. (28-6)
4. Kenley Thomas, Fremont, Sr. (9-9)
5. Madilyn Thompson, Copper Hills, So. (16-16)
6. Jocelyn Stuart, Fremont, Sr. (23-14)

Championship — Olivia Merino, Mountain Ridge def. Sarah Griffiths, Herriman, Fall 2:25

155 pounds

1. Madison Sherman, Skyridge, Jr. (33-2)
2. Gabriela Galvez, Layton, Jr. (27-8)
3. Naidelyn Lucio, Mountain Ridge, Jr. (45-14)
4. Anna Camey Carlos, Pleasant Grove, Sr. (7-4)
5. Rianne Zhou, Mountain Ridge, So. (28-16)
6. Burklee Heslop, Fremont, Sr. (18-14)

Championship — Madison Sherman, Skyridge def. Gabriela Galvez, Layton, Fall 3:29

170 pounds

1. Clarion Fager, Corner Canyon, Jr. (37-2)
2. Gabriella Merino, Mountain Ridge, Sr. (39-6)
3. Sophia Peck, Copper Hills, Sr. (17-11)
4. Haylie Dowding, Herriman, So. (10-13)
5. Fa`aoso Tone, Copper Hills, So. (17-8)
6. Alayna Parry, Westlake, Sr. (14-18)

Championship — Clarion Fager, Corner Canyon def. Gabriella Merino, Mountain Ridge, Fall 0:51

190 pounds

1. Tevia Rarick, Westlake, Fr. (38-0)
2. Makayla Walden, Corner Canyon, Jr. (29-20)
3. Madeline Fulks, Mountain Ridge, Sr. (28-11)
4. Lailah Davis, Fremont, Sr. (13-10)
5. Abbigail Tasini, Mountain Ridge, Fr. (25-12)
6. Sasha Searle, Herriman, Sr. (20-15)

Championship — Tevia Rarick, Westlake def. Makayla Walden, Corner Canyon, Fall 1:06

235 pounds

1. Keilikki Nau Rarick, Westlake, Sr. (37-2)
2. Vala Netane, Copper Hills, Jr. (9-4)
3. Brooklyn Van Fleet, Syracuse, Sr. (25-5)
4. Bella Birch, Mountain Ridge, So. (25-15)
5. Jayda Angulo, Layton, Jr. (13-14)
6. Bella Mccormick, Herriman, So. (11-17)

Championship — Keilikki Nau Rarick, Westlake def. Vala Netane, Copper Hills, Fall 1:02