The high school wrestling season is winding down around the state, but that hasn’t slowed down the Sanpete County high schools. State and divisional seedings are still taking place, along with the drive to achieve that state championship status.
GUNNISON
The 2A UHSAA State Wrestling Finals are set following the divisional tournaments last week, where the Gunnison Valley Bulldogs qualified all 11 of their wrestlers.
After some tough matches, Gunnison had two wrestlers who competed in the finals: Jake Sorenson (165 weight class) and Will Wescott (215 weight class).
Sorensen was up against the number one ranked wrestler in that weight class in 2A, Trayton Teeples of Millard. Teeples, who has only lost one match this season, was favored to take the state championship, but Sorensen didn’t go down without a fight. It wasn’t until the third period that Teeples was able to pin Sorensen.
Wescott was also up against a top wrestler from Millard, Scoot DeHerrera, in the finals, but Wescott was picked to take it according to the Wrestle Utah rankings. He put up a fight but came up short in the end.
Other top wrestlers from Gunnison were Tray Cox (157 weight class), third place; Jerrit Anderson (120 weight class), Tezlin Winn (144 weight class), and Koler Ludvigson (190 weight class), who all placed fourth.
The Bulldogs will compete at 2A State on Feb. 11-12 at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
MANTI
The Templars took on American Leadership Academy along with Delta this past weekend. Although individual results were not made available, Manti came up short in both duals.
During the Delta dual, the Templars honored their senior team members Kaden Owens, Andrew Lund, Ashton Herschi, Kaden Blackham and Ali Hatch.
The team will compete Feb. 4-5 at the Sevier Valley Center at the 3A Division A tournament in hopes to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for the state tournament.
NORTH SANPETE
The Hawks wrestled their final home dual of the season against Salem Hills. The dual was expected to be a good matchup between teams, but wasn’t expected to come down to one final match.
Pinning their opponents and giving the Hawks 6 points for each pin were Cody Dyches (113), James Gren (132), Xander Shelley (138), and Karson Curtis (165). Also bringing in points in the Hawk’s favor were Kasey Curtis (126), Kylan Taylor (144) and Marshall Wright (215).
The final match of the night against Krew King (NS) and Brayton Banks (SH) in the 106-weight class was going to be the deciding factor. If Banks pinned King, Salem Hills would win by one point.
King gave everything he had in that match, being put in a pinning position in the third period, but he didn’t give up. Banks won the match by a major decision, giving Salem Hills four team points, giving the Hawks the win by one.
The Hawks also honored their senior wrestlers and parents that night. Seniors include Kasey Curtis, Xander Shelley, James Gren, Porter Taylor, and Kylan Taylor. Taylor also received academic all-region honors.
The Hawks will be competing at the 3A Division A tournament on Feb. 11-12 at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
