July 19, 2005: Wrestling USA Magazine

Sandy and Draper Youths Earn Three National Titles; 12 All-American Finishes in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Folkstyle Wrestling

(Sandy, Utah) July 19, 2005 — Eight-year-old Tayler Johnson of Draper earned two wrestling National Championships and 10-year-old William Kilpack of Sandy earned one wrestling National Championship at the AAU Grand Nationals held in Santa Fe, NM, July 13–16, 2005. In addition to these titles, these and two other Mountain Top Wrestling Club members finished All-American.

Johnson, who just completed his second-grade year at Draper Elementary School, won the gold in both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling by going undefeated in both tournaments in the 60-pound weight class in the Bantam Division (ages 7 and 8). Not only did he win every match in the two tournaments, he pinned every opponent.

Kilpack, who just completed his fourth-grade year at Sunrise Elementary School, won the gold in Greco-Roman by going undefeated in the 70-pound weight class in the Midget Division (9 and 10 year olds). His championship match ended quickly with a first-round fall.

In addition to these national championships, Johnson finished second in the folkstyle tournament; Kilpack finished second in freestyle, and third in folkstyle.

Coach Bill Kilpack (III) said, "Every one of our guys really performed. We expected William and Tayler to do well. But, in Greco-Roman, they each had just flawless tournaments. In freestyle, one mistake was the difference between gold and silver for William. That's not even mentioning the two little guys, Garrick and Devin. We really looked at this as experience for the little guys ... and what an experience it turned out to be, earning All-American status in all three styles. We couldn't have asked for more. What a great tournament."

Garrick Kilpack of Sandy, a four-year-old competing in the Flyweight (6 and under) Division, 35-pound weight class, earned a silver medal in Greco-Roman, a third-place bronze in freestyle, and a fifth-place bronze in folkstyle. The younger Kilpack won his silver-medal match in Greco-Roman by technical fall; his bronze-medal match in freestyle by a close decision; and his fifth-place match by fall.

Six-year-old Devin Johnson of Draper, Flyweight 45 lbs., earned a silver medal in Greco-Roman, a third-place bronze in freestyle, and a silver in folkstyle. The younger Johnson won his silver-medal match in Greco-Roman by fall; his bronze-medal match in freestyle by fall; and his fifth-place match by fall.

These finishes are particularly strong, considering they learned upon arrival that the tournament would be run using the new FILA rules, not yet implemented by USA Wrestling.

Coach Kilpack said, "I was really worried that the rule changes would throw the guys for a loop. But they were actually excited about them. William, in particular, because he could finally throw a supley. He did, got five points for it (which ended the round), and it was one of the best throws in the whole tournament. In USA Wrestling under the current rules, he is not allowed to throw a supley until he is 15, a Cadet."

Tayler said, "I liked the new [FILA] rules. Having a winner each round was cool. If you made a mistake in the first round, the score started over in the second. That was cool."

Earlier in the season, William earned All-American status at the USA Wrestling Kids Nationals held in Green Bay, Wis., in early July; and placing fourth in Greco-Roman at the USA Wrestling Western Regionals held in Winnemucca, Nev., in June. This followed taking gold medals in freestyle, folkstyle and Greco-Roman at the Utah Summer Games, and a state championship in Greco-Roman and a silver-medal finish in freestyle in the 65-pound weight class at the USA Wrestling Utah State Championships held in North Ogden in April.

Tayler's accomplishments prior to this included taking gold medals in freestyle, folkstyle and Greco-Roman at the Utah Summer Games, and a state championship in freestyle at the USA Wrestling Utah State Championships.

Garrick's accomplishments prior to Grand Nationals included taking a silver medal in folkstyle at the Utah Summer Games, and a silver medal in freestyle at the USA Wrestling Utah State Championships.

Devin's accomplishments prior to this included placing at many tournaments in both Utah and Wyoming.

William said, "I feel really good about winning the championship in Greco-Roman. That's my favorite style to wrestle. I'm also really happy about the whole tournament. It was my first time to go to Grand Nationals and I placed in all three styles. It was great. And I LOVE the FILA rules. I got to do my first supley that was legal. If I had been 15, they would have called a fall, because he landed flat on his shoulders and pressed right into the mat. The referee told me after the match that he thought about calling the fall anyway, because the throw was just perfect."

Tayler said, "I feel good about winning two national championships. It was a really fun tournament in Santa Fe, where we got to wrestle, then swim and play cards in the hotel room."

William Kilpack has been recognized by the club coaching staff as one of the team's Outstanding Wrestlers each of the past five years. He is currently ranked as the top Midget-division wrestler in Utah (regardless of weight) and the top Kids-division wrestler in the state (ages four to 14, regardless of weight). He is a three-time state champion and a five-time silver medalist at state. He has won six championships at the Utah Summer Games, placed second at Western Regionals in Greco-Roman and second at the U.S. Folkstyle Nationals. He has been named Outstanding Wrestler for his age division at one tournament, and received two tournament fastest pin awards. In February 2005, Utah Sports Magazine recognized him as one of Utah's Best. Perhaps most astonishing, however, is that he has wrestled 415 matches at age 10, winning 346 of them.

Tayler Johnson is a second-year wrestler, recognized last year by the club coaching staff as one of the team's Rookies of the Year. He is currently ranked as the top Bantam-division wrestler in Utah (regardless of weight) and the no. 3 Kids-division wrestler in the state (ages four to 14, regardless of weight). He is a state champion and won five championships at the Utah Summer Games (one silver-medal finish), and has received one tournament fastest pin award.

Garrick Kilpack is a first-year wrestler, currently ranked as the top Flyweight-division wrestler in Utah (regardless of weight) and the no. 19 Kids-division wrestler in the state (ages four to 14, regardless of weight). He is a state silver medalist and earned a silver-medal finish at the Utah Summer Games.

Devin Johnson is a second-year wrestler, currently ranked as the no. 2 Flyweight-division wrestler in Utah (regardless of weight). He has placed at many tournaments in Utah and Wyoming over the past two years.

William said, "I love wrestling. It's something I'll be good at my whole life. Wrestling gives me courage and I'm always looking for things that can make me a better wrestler. I work hard at wrestling practice and at other sports, like gymnastics. I want to start boxing now, because I think that it will help me be a better wrestler, too."

Tayler said, "I wrestle because it's funner than any other sport I've tried." Last season, he was not even concerned with going to tournaments. He had so much fun at practice, that was good enough for him. But he was encouraged to go and compete, and decided that he "liked winning medals." He said, "I want to wrestle until I'm a gold medalist in the Olympics. I can do that, as long as I try harder than everybody else."

Tayler and William will be competing at the State Games of America in Colorado Springs at the end of July. The State Games of America is another national tournament where those competing had to place at their state's respective summer games.

William will be a fifth-grader at Sunrise Elementary School in the new school year. He said he wants to one day wrestle the Pan-Am Games, and to be an Olympic champion. He said, "It will take lots of practice, lots of hard work, wrestling smart in the important matches, and making sure that I maintain my skills from now until I don't wrestle anymore."

Tayler will be a third-grader at Draper Elementary School in the new school year.

Mountain Top Wrestling Club is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to providing a venue for individuals to learn, develop and refine their athletic skills and abilities; and teaching the rules and regulations of freestyle, folkstyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. It is open to male and female athletes ages four and older who live anywhere in the State of Utah. Practices will continue until the State Games of America, then will start back up again in January at Jordan High School. For more information, call 641-9832, e-mail coach@mountaintopwrestling.com or visit them on the Worldwide Web at www.mountaintopwrestling.com.