Feb. 11, 2007: Deseret Morning News

Wasatch Grapplers Prevail Once Again
by Michael Black

OREM — The dynasty is here to stay. Coaches come and go, and wrestlers graduate and move on. The number of individual champions fluctuates, but one thing remains the same — Wasatch keeps on winning state wrestling titles.

"The kids really wrestled hard," said coach Steve Sanderson. "They worked hard all season to get here, and they did a nice job. These guys did everything that was asked of them."

Second place slipped through the hands of Uintah. Actually, it was a slip of the tongue that cost the Utes. After the 125-pound match — in which Casey Pettus of Hurricane defeated Creedon Merkley from Uintah 7-2— one of the coaches was upset with a stalling call against Merkley and let the official know his displeasure with some unkind words. The official deducted one point for unsportsmanlike conduct.

When the final team points were released, North Sanpete edged in front of Uintah with 171.5 points compared to 171 for Uintah. Delta was fourth with 133.5, followed by Dixie's 129, and Hurricane had 117.5 to finish sixth.

Wasatch had five individual title winners, beginning with sophomore and 103-pound grappler Trevor Sweat, a name synonymous with wrestling in Utah.

"I've been working toward this since I was 5 or 6," Sweat said. "My dad won a state title and my brother Cody did, so now I can go home and tell them I got mine."

The Smith brothers, Casey (130) and Ethan (160), both got redemption from last season's runner-up finishes by taking home a title, pinning their respective opponents in the finals.

"It feels so good," said Casey, a senior who was named the outstanding wrestler at the lower weights and finished second in each of the last three years. "If I hadn't won, it's not like I was going to go and slit my wrists or anything, but it would have been almost unbearable. It is amazing to go out and finish my high school career this way."

Shayne Bonner and Jake Salazar both defended the state titles they won last season. Bonner battled through an injured shoulder to beat Preston Lodeserto of Carbon 12-9 after trailing with less than 30 seconds remaining in his match.

"I kept thinking that I couldn't quit," Bonner said. "This one may be even sweeter than last year because I had to work so hard to get it."

Salazar capped an undefeated 47-0 season with a pin against Josh Bowen of Hurricane. The junior and now two-time champion was so dominant, that he not only didn't lose a match, but he did not give up a takedown to any opponent from Utah all year — and he gave up only one to a wrestler at the Tournament of Champions in Reno.

"Coach did a great job of getting us all prepared," Salazar said. "We work hard, and he tells us the right things to do. We work on those things in practice until we have it down, and then we go out and use them and it works."

Zack Reynolds (Uintah) and Pettus became two-time champions. Marty Rubalcaba (Snow Canyon), Dustin Petersen (Delta), Justin Curtice (Uintah), Scotty Milne (Logan), who was the outstanding wrestler in the upper weights; Nate Carter (Dixie), Dylan Clark (North Sanpete) and Curt Houghton (North Sanpete) all took home their first state championships.