Dec. 11, 2003: Provo Daily Herald

Competition Tough in 4A; Wasatch Class of 3A
by Brian Hassler

It's hard to fault Spanish Fork wrestling coach Layne Shepherd for sounding confident as the 2003 season begins.

Spanish Fork, the defending 4A state champs, enters the 2003 season with a strong returning cast and enough talent in the system to give Shepherd's squad the early season edge in the chase for this year's crown. But solid teams out of Orem, Provo, Lone Peak, and Timpanogos should make the road to the state championship a tough one to travel.

Wasatch, which wrestles in Class 3A, is nationally ranked and generally considered to be Utah's top wrestling program.

Led by Jeb Clark and Dave Beagley, Spanish Fork has enough talent to contend for the team and individual championships in 4A. Garrett Elliot, Jason Warner, Chris Barrett and Gary Crandall will also contribute to a very strong team.

"I think we look pretty good," Shepherd said. "We're pretty deep and pretty solid all the way through. There's a couple of spots where I have young guys, but we have a pretty good lineup."

Spanish Fork will also rely heavily on the strength of its team as a whole.

"Timpanogos is tough, they have their big guns, but I have equally good big guns and I have a whole army behind mine," Shepherd said. "I got a kid that was on fourth string who was one match away from placing at state last year. There are a lot of good kids behind everybody. I have a really deep team. I've got a junior high program that is feeding me so many quality wrestlers. Timpanogos has talented wrestlers, but we're pretty deep."

While not boasting as strong a bench, Timpanogos enters the 2003 season with three state champions from last year's squad. McKay Sanderson, Chase Walker and Randy Callicoat give Timpanogos a solid core of experience and leadership, while Andrew Goodwin, Kory Tippetts and Nick Powell have the talent to keep Timpanogos in contention.

"I think we're a Top 5 team, and there are a lot of good teams," Timpanogos coach Kelly Sanderson said. "Spanish Fork is loaded, Box Elder is tough this year and Pleasant Grove is looking tough. Our whole region is filled with pretty good teams. Orem has some tough kids back; we hope we have an answer at heavyweight for Orem's Mark Freeman. I don't know if you really prepare for one kid because they're all good."

Orem's biggest challenges will come in the form of Spanish Fork and Timpanogos, but a strong season from Freeman should bode well for coach Cole Kelly.

"I like our team, we have a pretty solid lineup," Kelly said. "We've been hit with this flu that has hit the whole valley. Once we get everything put together, we'll be a solid team. Mark should have a good year. He's won two state titles and is going for his third. He's nationally ranked and he's going to the Beast of the East tournament."

Orem will get additional help from Casey Fehlberg and Kyle Robbins; both were in the finals last year as juniors. Andy McCoy, Tyler Belnap, A.J. Poke, Levi Lewis and Clint Pine will round out a solid Orem team.

Provo's hopes will rest on the shoulders of captains Clay Taylor, Braeden Woodger and Sean D'Haenens. Added support will come from Brock Brimhall, Nathaniel Holt, and P.K. Haws.

"We have a long ways to go," Provo coach Brian Preece said. "We have to get a little tougher and at some of our weights we have some guys fighting injuries. We're not quite where we need to be. Spanish Fork will be the team to beat. I'm not sure how they can be beat. Payson and Provo will fight it out for second in the region."

Springville jumps into fray led by Dave Warren, Jacob Farnsworth and expecting good things from Kolby Bradley.

"I expect Dave and Jake to step up and do well," said Springville coach Gary Ratcliffe. "We're young and we've got a bunch of freshman. A couple years down the road we're going to be solid in the lower weights, but we're going to take a lot of lumps in the meantime. We're coming along, and we're going to be a better team if we can keep the kids."

A solid Payson team will add to the excitement. Payson is led by a strong core of wrestlers in Jared Ahlin, Trevor Mellen, Blake Jolley, Kelley Kelsey, Tyrell Miller and Dusty Kelsey, and will need solid performances from all six in order to compete with Orem, Timpanogos and Spanish Fork.

Pleasant Grove needs the same kind of leadership from its top five wrestlers. Dalin Hansen, Kawai Goodman, Clint Spencer, Justin Jacob and Westin Sampson will be expected to carry the load and lead Pleasant Grove into very tough region play.

Class 3A

With arguably the best team in the state, Wasatch looks to be the favorite for the 3A state championship in both team and individual categories. If a lineup featuring Colton Salazar, Dallin Norton, Peter Rose and Cody Sweat weren't enough, the addition of former Timpanogos champion Cyler Sanderson has taken an already formidable team to an entirely different level.

"Cyler wrestled at another level than other kids, and having him on the team has brought us to another level," first-year Wasatch coach Chris Blair said. "He has a lot of expectations for himself, and when he comes into the practice room, his work ethic is tremendous."

Solid performances by Kasey Smith and Shane Bonner will add to a team that is used to high-pressure situations.

"These kids wrestle a lot of national tournaments, I think the pressure of winning doesn't bother them," Blair said. "These kids are used to dealing with pressure. When we do a lot of local stuff, it's not that big of a deal. These guys are used to being No. 1 in the state."

But having beat Wasatch in three out of six championship matches last year gives Lehi a solid chance to win. Lehi coach Dan Rice is expecting solid performances from juniors Rodney Seger and Tyson Thompson as well as Mike Robbins and Anthony Turchetta.

"We've got a good team," Rice said. "We have some strong returning state placers. We've got a new wrestling room, and we have more athletes coming out. We've had some real good practices, and seen some promising players coming through our JV ranks."

Class 2A

Juab will make noise in the 2A ranks, and will rely on the skill of Tyson McPherson, Jake Revoir, B.J. Shepherd, Travis Warner and Jordan Guillory. But winning a state championship will mean going through a strong Millard team.

Bo Braithwaite, Jacob Howell and Ryan Fowles should help keep Manti in the state championship chase as well.