Dec. 27, 2003: The Salt Lake Tribune, Wrestling: Talent Pool Forces Change for All-Stars
by Peter Richins

Picking the matchups for the Utah All-Star Wrestling Classic is not an easy job.

This year, the task was uniquely problematic.

"Our goal is to showcase our top wrestlers," event organizer Ross Brunson said. Because a couple of weight divisions had several worthy wrestlers, the meet will include 16 matches instead of the usual 14.

One extra match, called a "wild card," will take place at the 160- and 189-pound weight divisions of Tuesday's meet at Utah Valley State College's McKay Events Center. Brunson preferred expanding the meet to leaving out a deserving wrestler.

"We've thought about this wild-card concept for a couple of years now, and we thought we would try it out this year," Brunson said.

The 160-pound match pits Randy Callicoat from Timpanogos against Casen Eldredge from Monticello. The wild-card 160-pound match has Chase Walker of Timpanogos facing Uintah's Phillip Keddy.

At 189 pounds, Mountain Crest's Luke Lofthouse will wrestle Lehi's Anthony Turchetta. The wild-card match at 189 includes Weber's Craig Mock and Bear River's Joel Harris.

The 32 wrestlers at the meet hail from 20 schools. The Class 4-A and 5-A wrestlers are lumped together into a team, and the 3-A and 2-A wrestlers are on another. For the second straight year, no 1-A wrestlers are included.

The large-schools team has won the event every year since it began in 2001, but this may be the year for the small schools. Four wrestlers from Wasatch High are in the meet.

"[Wasatch] is by far the premier team in the state this year, without a question," Brunson said. The Wasps have been at the top of the all-classification rankings all year, and recently won the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Cyler Sanderson, Peter Rose, Colton Salazar and Dallin Norton represent the Wasps. In perhaps the most anticipated match of the night, Salazar will face Viewmont's Logan Essig at 152 pounds. Both won individual state championships last year.

Norton also will have a tough match. The heavyweight will grapple with Orem's Mark Freeman, a familiar opponent. Both are defending state champions, and Freeman is a two-time title winner.

Another match worth sticking around for is at 130 pounds, where Tooele's Andrew Hochstrasser faces Timpanogos' McKay Sanderson. Hochstrasser holds the state record for career victories, and is the only wrestler at the meet with three state championships. Sanderson also is a state champion, and may be Hochstrasser's toughest opponent in the state.

At 119 pounds, Roy's Flint Ray and Lehi's Rodney Sager face off in the fourth match that pits defending state champions against each other.

Hochstrasser and Lofthouse will be participating in the meet for the third time. Walker, Norton, Lehi's Tyson Thompson, Millard's Clint Monsen and Spanish Fork's Dave Beagley and Jeb Clark are in their second All-Star meets.

The meet, which is put on by the Utah Amateur Wrestling Foundation, begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults, with the proceeds going to support collegiate amateur wrestling programs in the state.