Payton Gines is no stranger to participating and winning at the Utah All-Star Duals.
The Syracuse senior became a four-time all-star winner on Tuesday night at UVU, as she beating Uintah’s Sadie Rhoades 12-3 in one of the featured center mat matches.
For Gines, however, as much fun as it was to wrestling under the lights and win again in front of more than a thousand spectators, watching female and male wrestling peers was just as much fun.
“I think it’s fun because there’s a lot of girls from different clubs, and there’s a lot of the best kids. And I think it’s fun to watch the best kids compete against each other with a bunch of friends. I think it’s really cool and fun,” said Gines.
The Ross Brunson All-Star Duals is a fundraiser for the UVU wrestling program, and Tuesday’s edition was the 25th anniversary of the event.
Back in 2018 during the 18th anniversary of the meet, three girls all-star matches were featured along with the traditional boys matches. Each year, the number of girls matches increased as girls wrestling continued to swell in popularity in Utah.
Now, there are nearing as many girls matches as boys matches, 33 to 29, with the meet contested on three mats at the UCCU Center.
Participants were selected by a USA Utah Wrestling committee, with one wrestler from each weight being selected on four different teams — 6A/5A team, 4A/3A team, 2A/1A team and a wildcard team.
Gines’ match against Rhoades was one of the feature matches on Tuesday. Gines is a two-time 6A state champ, while Rhoades is a two-time 4A state champion and was a perfect 19-0. Gines won comfortably to improve to 7-2 this season.
“I feel like I stayed in good position, and I kind of let her do a lot of her stuff, but I feel like I defended it really well,” said Gines. “Made sure I stayed behind her and in good position.”
Two matches earlier on the center mat, Westlake sophomore Tevia Rarick beat Uintah sophomore McKinlee Collett with a second period fall.
Rarick is ranked No. 2 nationally in her 190-pound weight class and she was appreciative of the opportunity to wrestle on Tuesday.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a nice showcase event. Just bigger crowd, under the lights, you get a good match. They pair you up with really good people. So I think it is definitely showcase to work your moves and if you beat a good person it’s a pretty nice match,” said Rarick.
Among the 29 girls winners were a pair of Hillcrest sisters, senior Eva Zimmerman and junior Katie Zimmerman. Both won with a second period pin.
Eva Zimmerman, who beat Uintah sophomore Leena Sharp, echoed what Gines said her excitement of watching all the other matches as well.
“I’m super excited to watch all this wrestling. These are the best people in the state and they’re real good,” said Zimmerman. “I’m just excited to see what I can do to learn from them, especially the boys; they’re really talented.”
Here’s a complete list of all the results from the all-star matches.
Girls All-Star Duals Results
100 pounds
- Madaleigh Grimstead (Tintic), So. def. Kinzy McCauley (Uintah), Fr., 10-9
- Katie Zimmerman (Hillcrest), Jr. def. Isabella Munton (Cedar Valley), Jr., Fall 3:35
105 pounds
- Sarah Hammond (Northridge), Sr. def. Leah Ivie (Duchesne), Jr., Fall 3:51
- Atti Nielson (Juab), Sr. def. Addie Brindley (Salem Hills), Sr., Fall 4:23
- Eva Zimmerman (Hillcrest), Sr. def. Leena Sharp (Uintah), So., Fall 2:40
110 pounds
- Kennedy Jeppson (Westlake), Jr. def. Diana Montanez (Enterprise), Sr., Fall 3:35
- Andelynn Stephensen (Juab), Sr. def. Casandra Pastrana (Hillcrest), Sr., 7-1
115 pounds
- Maisey Blaser (Wasatch), Sr. def. Maquell Pace (Copper Hills), Fr., Fall 4:30
- Payton Gines (Syracuse), Sr. def. Sadie Rhoades (Uintah), Jr., MD 12-3
120 pounds
- Alexa Marshall (Panguitch), Jr. def. Kemrie Grange (Ridgeline), So., MD 9-1
- Makenzi McCoy (Wasatch), Sr. def. Naomi Kofe (Copper Hills), So., MD 15-3
125 pounds
- Keagan Grange (Ridgeline), Sr. def. Preslee Thacker (Altamont), So., TF 19-2
- Brynlee Sorensen (Layton), Jr. def. Makayla Carrick (Salem Hills), Jr., Fall 0:31
130 pounds
- Ariana Jones (Duchesne), Jr. def. Addison Hills (Green Canyon), Sr., Fall 3:28
- Sage Eggleston (Maple Mountain), Sr. def. Kaelyn Alleman (Wasatch), Fr., Fall 5:16
135 pounds
- Jen Brumbaugh (Davis), Sr. def. Mckenlee Sprecher (Duchesne), Jr., Fall 0:58
- Nia Hagler (Snow Canyon), Sr. def. Avery Colvin (Roy), Fr., Fall 1:04
140 pounds
- Brooke Deeter (West Field), Jr. def. Chloe Critchlow (Grantsville), Jr., Fall 2:30
- Rachel Jensen (Salem Hills), So. def. Lexi Rowe (Rich), So., Fall 1:28
145 pounds
- Alexandra Gates (Cedar Valley), Sr. def. Baily Tanner (ALA), Sr., Fall 2:13
- Avery Winterton (Salem Hills), Sr. def. Taya Crookston (Ridgeline), Sr., Fall 1:22
155 pounds
- Hallie Denney (Cedar Valley), So. def. Saraeya Mills (San Juan), Jr., Forfeit
- Ruby Lindstrom (Salem Hills), Jr. def. Nellie Carter (Canyon View), So., Fall 3:01
170 pounds
- Keely Hansen (Manti), Jr. def. Abbigail Tasini (Mountain Ridge), So., Fall 1:23
- Vanessa Carranza (Hunter), Sr. def. Khatira Keith (San Juan), Sr., Fall 3:15
190 pounds
- Makayla Walden (Corner Canyon), Sr. def. Abigail Woods (Duchesne), Sr., Fall 1:42
- Tevia Rarick (Westlake), So. def. McKinlee Collett (Uintah), So., Fall 2:37
235 pounds
- Jerri Togiai (Cedar City), Sr. def. Bahozhoni Johnson (South Sevier), So., Fall 2:50
- Maycee Hales (Box Elder), So. def. Aspen Clark (Richfield), Jr., Fall 3:18