June 27, 2005: Wrestling USA Magazine

Utah Wrestlers Take 74 Honors, 20 Titles at Western Regional Championships

Utah wrestlers earned 74 awards — including 20 championships — at the Western Regional Championships June 20–25, 2005, at the at the Winnemucca Event Center.  The tournament consisted of more than 1,800 athletes from 11 states to compete in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. 

Notable among those Utah champions are seven who took gold in both freestyle and Greco-Roman competition:

• Grant LaMont, Champions (based in Springville), Midget (ages 9 and 10) 65 lbs.

• Austin Swenson of Mountain Top Wrestling Club (based in Sandy), Midget 80 lbs.

• Carson Kuhn of Vandit, Schoolboy (ages 13 and 14) 70 lbs.

• Ethen Lofthouse of Elite (based in Kaysville), Schoolboy 125 lbs.

• Wyatt Ray of Elite, Cadet (ages 15 and 16) 91 lbs.

• Matt Brown of Specialized Wrestling Club (based in Salt Lake City), Cadet 112 lbs.

• Jason Chamberlain of Springville, Cadet 119 lbs.

Winning championships in freestyle were

• Nick Sorenson of Stingers (based in Brigham City), Midget 87 lbs.

• Richard Peterson of Bears Den (based in Orem), Schoolboy 250 lbs.

• Jarrett Morrill of Poney Express (based in Hyrum), Cadet 105 lbs.

• Blake Mangum of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 125 lbs.

Winning championships in Greco-Roman were

• Luke King of Stingers, Novice (ages 11 and 12) 100 lbs.

• Jaes Jones of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 98 lbs.

"Competition was fierce this year," said Craig LaMont, Kids Director for USA Wrestling Utah.  "A lot of kids in some very tough weights.  There were certainly places where luck of the draw had its play, taking place winners in Greco and putting them right together in one bracket, which allowed them to beat each other out before the medal rounds.  But this is a much better showing than we had in Western Regionals last year.  I'm very proud of our Utah athletes."

In 2004, Utah wrestlers earned 42 awards and only eight championships. 

Other Utahns taking honors include

• Rayden Lindley of Pony Express, Midget 65 lbs., 5th Place in Greco-Roman

• William Kilpack of Mountain Top Wrestling Club, Midget 70 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman

• Nick Sorenson, Midget 87 lbs., 3rd Place in Greco-Roman

• Bryce Jackman of Carbon Raptors (based in Price), Novice 60 lbs., 5th Place in Greco-Roman

• Gerritt Bradley of Champions, Novice 60 lbs., 6th Place in Freestyle

• Brandon George of Elite, Novice 65 lbs., 2nd Place in Freestyle

• Brendan Turner of North Sanpete (Mt. Pleasant), Novice 65 lbs., 2nd Place in Greco-Roman, 6th Place in Freestyle

• Jace Johnson of Delta, Novice 80 lbs., 6th Place in Greco-Roman

• Jacob Falk of Vandit, Novice 85 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman, 6th Place in Freestyle

• Austin Christiansen of Specialized Wrestling Club, Novice 140 lbs., 2nd Place in Greco-Roman, 3rd Place in Freestyle

• Kade Moss of Vandit, Schoolboy 80 lbs., 2nd Place in Greco-Roman, 4th Place in Freestyle

• Connor Meadows of Specialized Wrestling Club, Schoolboy 80 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman, 5th Place in Freestyle

• Raider Lofthouse of Elite, Schoolboy 90 lbs., 5th Place in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle

• Derek Malan of Weber Freestyle Wrestling Club (based in North Ogden), Schoolboy 95 lbs., 3rd Place in Freestyle

• Trae Bennett of Elite, Schoolboy 100 lbs., 2nd Place in Greco-Roman

• D. Spencer Brown of Specialized Wrestling Club, Schoolboy 100 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman

• Nolan Haycock of Champions, Schoolboy 110 lbs., 6th Place in Greco-Roman

• Chase Burns of Vandit, Schoolboy 115 lbs., 4th Place in Freestyle and 5th Place in Greco-Roman

• Taylor Peacock of Logan, Schoolboy 130 lbs., 2nd Place in Greco-Roman and 3rd Place in Freestyle

• Jordan Ballam of Logan, Schoolboy 145 lbs., 5th Place in Greco-Roman

• Austin Hansen of Elite, Schoolboy 145 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman

• Kaleb Moritz of Wasatch (based in Heber City), Schoolboy 145 lbs., 6th Place in Freestyle

• Austin Storey of Fremont (based in Plain City), Schoolboy 185 lbs., 5th Place in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle

• Kolton Cheney of North Sanpete, Cadet 84 lbs., 3rd Place in Greco-Roman, 5th Place in Freestyle

• Jordan Clark of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 84 lbs., 4th Place in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle

• Mike Vallentine of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 91 lbs., 4th Place in Greco-Roman, 6th Place in Freestyle

• Jaes Jones of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 98 lbs., 3rd Place in Freestyle

• Martin Rubalcaba of Team Extreme (based in St. George), Cadet 105 lbs., 5th in Greco-Roman, 3rd in Freestyle

• Nick Flores of Elite, Cadet 112 lbs., 4th in Greco-Roman

• Collin Grant of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 112 lbs., 6th in Greco-Roman

• Mitch Moss of Vandit, Cadet 119 lbs., 4th in Greco-Roman, 5th in Freestyle

• Mason Stott of Diamondbacks (based in Spanish Fork), Cadet 119 lbs., 6th in Freestyle

• Marcus Mayeda of West (based in Salt Lake City), Cadet 125 lbs., 3rd in Freestyle

• Blake Mangum of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 125 lbs., 2nd in Greco-Roman

• Cole Shafer of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 145 lbs., 2nd in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle

• Kolby Williamson of Stingers, Cadet 152 lbs., 6th in Greco-Roman, 4th in Freestyle

• Dustin Martin of Weber Freestyle Wrestling Club, Cadet 160 lbs., 3rd in Freestyle

• Matthew Fairbrother of Specialized Wrestling Club, Cadet 275 lbs., 2nd in Greco-Roman, 3rd in Freestyle

The Western Regional Championships is the qualifier for USA Wrestling Kids Nationals to be held this week in Green Bay, Wis.