Dec. 11, 2003: The Park Record, Miners Start Off Season at Granger: Young Team Makes Strides in Four-Team Meet
by Brett Larsen

The Park City wrestling team didn't win any of its three matches in its season-opening meet with Granger, East and Woods Cross on Tuesday, but the Miners did impress their coaches anyway.

"The guys wrestled really well to their capability, said first-year coach Chris Spieler. "They just showed [assistant coach Doug Payne] and me that they really have potential.

At Granger, the young Park City team went up against older, more seasoned wrestlers, and that was the difference in the meet, Spieler said.

"All the teams were a little more experienced, he said. In contrast, the Miners' lone senior among 22 boys is Hunter Smith.

Park City had some strong performances against Granger, but didn't have much luck against East or Woods Cross.

"They've got some guys who have been around for a while and really know what they're doing, Spieler said of the Leopards. "They were a little bit tougher.

The Miners started out with a 54-18 loss to Woods Cross. In the match, T.J. Lanning, wrestling in the 112-pound division, pinned his opponent in the third period, while James Pearson picked up a second-period pin in the 119-pound division.

Heavyweight Kyle Mutcher beat his Wildcat opponent in the first period.

"He did some really solid stuff, Spielder said of Mutcher.

Next up for Park City was East, which trounced the Miners 63-15. Park City's lone pin against the Leopards belonged to Spencer Steck in the 135-pound division. Pearson won his match by forfeit and Griffin Olsen won a 1-0 decision.

In the final match against Granger, the Miners came a lot closer to a win. Even though Mutcher was the only Park City wrestler to pin his opponent, the Miners fell just 30-37.

In the match, Pearson won a 5-0 decision, Hunter Smith won a 4-0 decision and Steck, Hunter Brown and Megan Wilkes all got wins by forfeit.

The coach liked what he saw from the all his wrestlers when they were up on their feet. His wrestlers' technique and footwork has developed nicely for such a young squad, he said.

At the same time, Spieler said the Miners were weaker when they were down on the mat, something that will be addressed in upcoming practices.

"They looked a lot better on their feet. They need to learn when they're on the bottom, he said.

One advantage this year's squad has over last year's is a better distribution among the weight classes.

Any slot in the 14 classes that a team can't fill is automatically counted as a forfeit against that team. With poor distribution last season, Park City shot itself in the foot from the beginning of every meet, sometimes forfeiting a half-dozen matches, according to Payne.

On Tuesday, the Miners only had to forfeit two.

"It hurt us a little bit, but compared to last year it was nice to have the divisions mostly filled, Spieler said.

Park City didn't have too much time off between matches. The Miners traveled to Northridge Friday for a two-day meet involving the sophomore, junior varsity and varsity teams.

Spieler said he was glad the meet isn't designed only for varsity teams. With such a stable full of young wrestlers, any chance to get them some experience is a good one, he said.

"It will be good to just get them out on the mat.

The showdown with the Knights will resume today at 8 a.m. Northridge High is located at 2430 N. 400 W. in Layton.