Dec. 5, 2003: Provo Daily Herald

LP Powers Past Provo
by Brian Hassler

Lone Peak's Sterling Coons has always squared off against bigger and more experienced wrestlers. Even in his elementary school days he faced older wrestlers.

That education paid off on Thursday evening as a Coons victory by pin in the 275-pound weight class pushed Lone Peak to a 41-24 victory over Provo.

Coons, a sophomore, picked up additional experience last year wrestling in the junior varsity ranks which came in handy when he faced a larger opponent in Provo's Sam Kelsey, a match that he won in 50 seconds.

"I just felt it, and so I did it," Coons said. "The first time I slammed him out of bounds and it gave me the confidence to slam him inbounds. I've been wrestling against bigger guys ever since I was in sixth grade. I always wrestled (older) kids since I was larger than most. It's not really much of a difference."

"Sterling's a sophomore, but he's real strong," said Lone Peak coach Lyle Mangum. "He's real aggressive and pinned the Delta varsity kid on Tuesday and he pinned this kid. We're looking for some good things from him."

Coons win came on the heels of an emotional 171-pound match that saw Provo's P.K. Haws win by pin 19 seconds into the second round to give the Bulldogs an 18-6 lead six matches in.

But a tough 12-10 win for Justin Johnson and a 13-5 win for Cory Rankin gave Lone Peak the lead and set the stage for Coons.

With Lone Peak's lead at 19-18 following Coons' win and a Provo forfeit in the 103-pound division, Mark Elmer gave Lone Peak a 31-18 lead with a second round pin over Provo's Michael Holt. A Provo forfeit in the 119-pound class gave Lone Peak a 37-18 lead.

"They (Provo) were giving up two forfeits and I was pretty confident if we made it through the heavyweights with the lead, that we'd be OK," Mangum said. "The 112-pound match was the key match of the whole thing. Mark pinning the Holt kid -- Michael Holt is an excellent wrestler, and Mark stepped it up and did real well."

Matt Hayes picked up Lone Peak's final victory with an 11-2 decision over Joe Trevizo to give Lone Peak a 41-18 lead heading into the final match.

"I think our kids are a little worn out; we've had two matches this week," Mangum said. "Matt Carpenter beat a really good Sean D'Haenens, and Matt Hayes beat a solid kid at 125. I think we have to get in a little bit better shape and we need to work really hard coming off the bottom, we need to improve there. I think we're solid on our feet, but we have to work on coming from underneath."

For Provo, Nathaniel Holt had a 15-0 decision victory in the 135-pound class, Clay Taylor took a 10-3 decision over Sam Crossley and Brock Brimhall added a 13-5 decision over Nate Cook.

Lone Peak 41, Provo 24: 103, Tyler Christensen, LP, won by forfeit; 112, Mark Elmer, LP, pinned Michael Holt, 2nd per; 119, Chase Birks, LP, won by forfeit; 125, Matt Hayes, LP, dec. Joe Trevizo, 11-2; 130, Braeden Woodger, P, pinned Thomas Lamb, 3rd per; 135, Nathaniel Holt, P, dec. Sam Crossley, 15-0; 140, Clay Taylor, P, dec. Cory Stilson, 10-3; 145, Cody Flake, LP, dec. Mykal Jensen, 10-7; 152, Brock Brimhall, P, dec. Nate Cook, 13-5; 160, Matt Carpenter, LP, dec. Sean D'Haenens, 12-7; 171, PK Haws, P, pinned Sean Hall, 2nd per; 189, Justin Johnson, LP, dec. Taylor Hope, 12-10; 215, Cory Rankin, LP, dec. Justin Hansen, 13-5; 275, Sterling Coons, LP, pinned Sam Kelsey, 1st per.