Feb. 9, 2007: Deseret Morning News

Titans Earn 7th Consecutive Title
by Tom Quinn

The more things change, the more they stay the same, at least in terms of Olympus High School wrestling.

Despite losing 20 athletes from last year's championship team, the Titans brought home the Region 6 trophy for the seventh consecutive time, squeaking out a narrow win over second-place Cyprus, 320.5-309.

"We lost so many great wrestlers from last year's team," said head coach Theros Johnson. "Most of our varsity team graduated, and a few others transferred. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for us."

If the inexperienced Titans were nervous heading into last Thursday's finals, their anxiety certainly didn't show on the mat. Although they trailed Cyprus in the early going, Johnson's charges kept their cool and had the Pirates on the ropes before the heavyweights even stepped into the ring.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming in," said Johnson. "I think the lead changed hands a couple of different times before we finally clinched it. I just told them that they had to pin to win."

Nic DeJong got the Titans rolling early by defeating teammate Ashot Mushegyan for the 125-pound title. Zack Colton followed suit in the 145-pound division, pinning Cottonwood's Ryan Price in what turned out to be one of the evening's most thrilling matches.

"That win was big for us," said Johnson of Colton's performance. Tommy Lee, the Titans' top competitor in the 160-pound division, provided Olympus with its third and final individual championship by pinning Tanner Bowman of East.

Although they were doubtlessly happy to be crowned region champs, Johnson and company spent little time savoring their come-from-behind victory, preferring instead to focus on state.

"We had 16 kids qualify for state this year, which is great for a young team," said Johnson. "I've been telling them all year that they'd better be ready for a dogfight."

While the tournament as a whole featured highlight-worthy performances from all eight schools, the no-holds-barred title race between Cyprus and Olympus was the event's most compelling story line.

Olympus came into the tournament with six consecutive region titles, a streak that the upset-minded Pirates were determined to break.

HIGHLAND: Led by senior and three-time region champion Taylor Tate, the Highland Rams won three individual titles en route to a third-place finish at last week's Region 6 wrestling tournament.

In addition to Tate, who dominated the 189-pound division, the Rams benefited from strong showings by Nata Lauti, who defeated Ben McKay of Olympus for the 152-pound title, and Mike Phetvixay, winner of the 112-pound division.

Greg Klc, Armin Nazarinia, and David Lawrence also came up big in their respective divisions, each adding a second-place finish to the Rams' impressive list of place-winners.

EAST: Although East High's seventh-place finish might not seem impressive at first glance, the Leopards' most recent run at the Region 6 title showed significant improvement over their 2006 campaign.

Last season, the 160-pound Tanner Bowman's third-place effort was good enough to make him East's top scorer. This year, however, Bowman finished second and spearheaded a coup that ultimately earned the Leopards two seconds and a third. Nik Johnson was the runner-up in the 285-pound division, and John Tauteoli finished third in 215-pound competition.

COTTONWOOD: Barrett Brady was the Colts' lone champion in last week's Region 6 tournament. The 171-pound senior dominated virtually every aspect of his championship match against Highland's Greg Klc, ultimately winning by a 17-2 decision.

The fourth-place Colts also built on strong showings by Spencer Brown, who finished second in the 112-pound division, and Scott Metcalf, who was the runner-up at 189-pounds. Ryan Price added a second-place finish, while Luke Ingersoll, Levi Card, Russell Butler and Braydon Anderson all finished third in their respective divisions.

GRANGER: The eighth-place Lancers were led by a trio of place-winners in Waqas Afridi, Danny Christensen and Hilal Shahid. Afridi finished third in the 160-pound division, while Christensen took fifth at 125 pounds and Shahid sixth at 119 pounds.

WEST: For the second year in a row, Marcus Mayeda provided the sixth-place Panthers with their lone title of the Region 6 wrestling tournament. The 130-pound senior defeated Cody Kipp of Cyprus, 7-2.

Trevor Middleton added a fourth-place finish, while Jonathan White and Timothy Anderson placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Region 6 Wrestling Results

Team Scores

1. Olympus 320.5; 2. Cyprus 309; 3. Highland 274; 4. Cottonwood 232; 5. Murray 215; 6. West 125.5; 7. East 90; 8. Granger 82.

Individual Results

103— 1. Kevin Sierer, Murray; 2. Drew Crouch, Cyprus; 3. Clint Nordin, Murray; 4. Justin Stratton, Cyprus.
112— 1. Mike Phetvixay, Highland; 2. Spencer Brown, Cottonwood; 3. John VanDenBerg, Olympus; 4. Chase Sudbury, Cyprus.
119— 1. Coby Williams, Cyprus; 2. Montana Gardner, Highland; 3. Andy Graves, Murray; 4. Caleb Beccerra, Murray.
125— 1. Nic DeJong, Olympus; 2. Ashot Muchegyan, Olympus; 3. Jared Gardner, West; 4. Anthony Montano, Cyprus.
130— 1. Marcus Mayeda, West; 2. Cody Kipp, Cyprus; 3. Jose Estrada, Olympus; 4. Johnny Hardy, Highland.
135— 1. Matt Brown, Cyprus; 2. David Lawrence, Highland; 3. Luke Ingersoll, Cottonwood; 4. Chris Miller, Highland.
140— 1. Keith Williams, Cyprus; 2. Armin Nazarinia, Highland; 3. Russell Butler, Cottonwood; 4. Spencer Knight, Olympus.
145— 1. Zack Colton, Olympus; 2. Ryan Price, Cottonwood; 3. Aaron Hansen, Olympus; Aaron Jolley, Cyprus.
152—1. Nata Lauti, Highland; 2. Ben McKay, Olympus; 3. Garrick Habel, Murray; 4. Trevor Middleton, West.
160— 1. Tommy Lee, Olympus; 2. Tanner Bowman, East; 3. Waqas Afridi, Granger; 4. Matthew Gonzalez, Cyprus.
171— 1. Berrett Brady, Cottonwood; 2. Greg Klc, Highland; 3. Levi Card, Cottonwood; 4. Justin Dennis, Cyprus.
189— 1. Taylor Tate, Highland; 2. Scott Metcalf, Cottonwood; 3. Chance Glahe, Olympus; 4. Greg Troester, Cottonwood.
215— 1. Dillion Shail, Murray; 2. Ethan Jones, Cyprus; 3. John Tauteoli, East; 4. David Hamilton, Cyprus.
285— 1. Matt Fairbrother, Murray; 2. Nik Johnson, East; 3. Braydon Anderson, Cottonwood; 4. Thomas Kane, Cyprus.