Dec. 13, 2005: Uintah Basin Standard

Team Honored at Alumni Duel
by Aldon Rachele

Union High School won its first and only state mat championship back in 1982 under the direction of first-year coach Brad Isom. Members of the team were honored last week at the 2005 Alumni Duel at Union.

A portion of the story in the Uintah Basin Standard is as follows: “There have been other state championship teams at Union High School in the past few years, but not in the major sports area, especially the wrestling program. This past week marked the first time ever the Cougars have taken the state wrestling trophy.

Way back in 1953, Union was able to win the state basketball championship and in 1965, the state football championship, and this year was the year to win the wrestling championship.”

Union finished the tournament with 102 points. Wasatch had 98. If Wasatch had won one more match they would have edged Union out of the first place seat. Delta ended a long winning streak by taking third.

Shawn Cuch, sophomore, and Farrell McCook, senior, were the only two Cougar wrestlers to take first place. Bardett Fausett was second and Jeff Samuels, Brent Cundall were third. Davey Nielsen and Gar Powell placed fourth.

Cuch started the action off for the Cougars with a 10-2 championship win over a San Juan wrestler. (Cuch went on to take first the next year and second in 1983 when he missed out on becoming the first three-time state champ at Union. Years later in the 1990s, Travis Marx became the first Union three-time state title winner.)

“It (winning the 103 pound title) was something I never expected to happen. Every thing clicked there on the mat and through hard work I won a championship,” stated Cuch after the 1982 Union High School state championship mat team was honored.

McCook came from behind in the last 15 seconds of the match to take down his San Juan opponent and put him on his back to win by two for the state crown.

Both Cuch and McCook are members of the Ute Tribe, and the first Utes to become state champs.

“Actually we were tied with a few seconds to go. My opponent had a takedown move on me. I did a counter and put him on his back in the third round to win the championship,” McCook recalled during the Alumni Duel, Saturday. “It was a great honor to represent Native Americans.”

Fausett repeated the nightmare he encountered at state last year as he lost to the same San Juan tussler in the championship match and placed second. He lost to the same matman earlier at the region meet.

Samuels faced a real ‘animal’ from Morgan and lost to him in the second round. The Morgan athlete went on to win the title and was named the outstanding wrestler at the state meet. Samuels placed third. He lost to the same Morgan tussler in the region title match.

“It was a really close meet. We just barely beat Wasatch for the championship and then lost it the next year in another close tournament by about the same margin,” said Samuels. “The Wilkerson kid from Morgan got me at region and state. I beat him at a dual meet in Morgan and at a tournament at South Summit. He got me when it counted the most.”

Samuels wasn’t too disappointed. He took state as a sophomore in 1981 and again as a senior in 1983. “Wilkerson graduated in 1982 and I didn’t have to worry about him in 1983. He is a good kid and a good friend.”

Cundall beat an Emery wrestler, 6-0, to take third. Nielsen lost to a Hurricane tussler and ended up fourth. Gar Powell, who “really turned on”, according to Union mat coach, Isom, who was named the outstanding coach, picked up fourth place.

“I was disappointed, but happy at the same time. We took state as a team,” commented Cundall, who was a senior in 1982.

Mervin Glines, Laird Hamblin, Ken Winn didn’t place at the state meet, but won one match each to score much needed points for the Cats. Without those single wins by Winn, Hamblin and Glines Union wouldn’t have won the championship.

“I wish we had won more of them (state championships). We should have won at least once more,” stated Glines, who suffered a separated sternum two days prior to the state tournament.

“I still was there. I won one match in pain, but we needed the points,” he said. The next year he placed third.

Isom, who coached the Cats, wasn’t able to attend the Alumni Duel, but assistant coach and former Union High principal, Ron Wolff was in attendance. He is now the superintendent at the Morgan School District.

“We had some really good kids, who worked well together. They had to physically work harder than anyone else in the state meet,” Wolff stated. “I recall once when Jeff Samuels wore his uniform inside-out for a championship match because he said that we were too serious. Shawn Cuch would stay at my house because if he went home he would have never made weight. If he ate any thing he would be overweight. Farrell McCook was the best athlete I ever coached in wrestling.”
Wolff also reported two staff members at Union in 1982 are now superintendents with Steve Carlson at North Summit and Randy Merrell at Provo.