Dec. 13, 2005: Uintah Basin Standard

Colton Miles -- Two-Time Winner: Altamont has State Champion, Plus Other Top Matmen Back
by Aldon Rachele

When most people ask: “What team has won the most state wrestling championships among teams in the Uintah Basin over the past 15 years?” most folks say, “Uintah”. They are half right. Uintah won back-to-back titles in the 1990's, but Altamont has also won two state titles in the 1-A class in 1990's and 2004 to tie the Utes for the honor.

Actually Uintah has been in state title slump due to being in the same class with Wasatch. The Utes have gone winless in the 21st Century. Altamont is the only Uintah Basin school to have won a state mat championship in this century. Uintah placed second in 2005.

In a pre-season wrestling poll by the Salt Lake Tribune for this year Altamont is rated second behind defending 1-A champion Wayne.

Heston Farnsworth, 215, Colton Miles, 103, Nick Samuels, 112, and Tyson Iorg, 145, won titles during the AHS Longhorns state championship in 2004. Shad Thayne 125, placed second. Altamont edged Rich and Wayne for the state crown.

At the recent dual meet in Roosevelt last week the Cats had four state placers in the building and Altamont had eight including two-time state champion, C. Miles; 2005 1-A runner-up, Randy Bird, and 2004 state champ, Nick Samuels. Union’s top tusslers were third placers at the 3-A State Meet, Garrett Cloward and Cale Cook. A total of 12 state placers competed in Union on Wednesday.

Also wrestling for Union were fifth place finisher Keeton Hoover and sixth placer Chris Carter. Altamont also had third placers, Samuels, Clansy Winn, Jake Farnsworth and fourth place matmen in Braden Perry, LaDell Brinkerhoff and Chet Goodrich battling Cats.

Miles has moved from the 105 pound class to 112. Last year he won his second state crown in two years at Altamont when he pinned Jeffrey Stephenson of Wayne in the championship match. Wayne won the 2005 1-A state title, but didn’t win the 105 pound class. Altamont ended up second in the team chase.

After Miles, who is only a junior, won his second state crown he told the Uintah Basin Standard the following. “I put him in the cradle and pinned him in the first round. He shot in and I countered him by putting in my pinning hold. I pinned him with one minute left in the first round. I rolled him on his back and waited for the referee to slap the mat.”

Miles beat Skye Marshall of Panguitch, 11-4 for a 2004 state championship as a freshman. He had lost to Marshall by one point in a meet earlier in the 2003-04 season. He opened the state meet last year on a first round pin of Lance Williams of Milford and then scored another first round fall over Brady Owens of Panguitch. He did the same thing vs. Union’s Dennis Farnsworth with a fall in 1:02 and lived up to his statement about falls when he said in an interview last year that “I like to get them over quick.” Last year he posted a 39-3 record.

Ryan Pugh won the 160 pound state crown and Bird lost to Tyler Hunt, Wayne, 9-6 to finish second at the 2005 state meet.

The meet between Union and Altamont had Jeff Samuels, a Cougar state champ in the 1980s, rooting for his Longhorn state champion, Nick Samuels, who won on a third round pin over Greg Page of Union.

Samuels pinned Matt (good wrestling name) Young of Panguitch for the 112 pound state championship in 2004 as a freshman. Jeff (1982) and Nick (2004) are the only Duchesne County father-son members of a state championship team.