Feb. 11, 2007: Deseret Morning News

Millard, Altamont Win State Championships
by Michael Black

OREM — Millard and Altamont took two different paths, but both took home state championships after the 1A and 2A wrestling finals on Saturday.

The Long Horns made up the points winning seven final matches, including four of five head-to-head matches vs. second-place Duchesne. Altamont finished with 228.5 points, to the Eagles' 210.

"They've been in big tournaments all year and this is just another one," said Altamont coach Cory Allred. "The second round makes you or breaks you in 1A. We had 11 going into that round and that was really good. We've practiced a lot and all of these guys have been to camps for four years. All these guys are seniors and they've been wrestling since probably fifth grade together."

The clinching win came in the 215-pound match when Kyle Pugh won in a minor upset over Duchesne's Shayne Wilkerson, pinning him in the second round. Pugh was set up by a pair of big middle-weight wins by his teammates.

Randy Bird faced a rematch in the 145-pound match, going against Rich's John Herrera, who had defeated him in the finals last year. Bird got his revenge and won on a 10-3 decision.

In the 152-pound match, Bryce Fisher's second-round pin of Duchesne's Donald Powers gave Altamont some additional breathing room and made it a downhill cruise through the rest of the matchups.

"It was one of my goals in life to get that state championship. It means a lot," said Fisher. "We knew we had to get pin points to win this tournament. We've worked our butts off this year. We've put in a lot of work and a lot of extra time and this is what we deserve."

For Millard, the 2A finals turned into a pre-celebration party. With the team championship in hand, the Eagles totalled 313 points and had five players win individual championships, led by Wade Eldredge (171), who won his third title, and T.J. Robbins (189), who repeated.

"We've got great coaches and people who help us out," said Robbins. "We have great support from our community. We've got a restaurant reserved. We're going to go drink a lot of Mountain Dew and live it up."

Other champions in 1A were Altamont's Chet Goodrich (112), Bryson Foy (119), Colton Miles (130) and Jake Farnsworth (135); Duchesne's Vince Maestus (103), Tyler Reinhardt (140) and Glenn Woods (189); Monticello's Aaron Butler (125), Escalante's Tyson Torgerson (160); Rich's Eric Showalter (171); and Wayne's Tyson Hunt (285).

In 2A, the winners were Mason Stott (130), Quincy Thatcher (140), Kyle Tuttle (145) and Scott Whitaker (160) from Millard; Cody Thornton (103), Jake Kohler (119) and Kendall Prescott (125) from South Summit; Colby Barlocker (112) and Brian Cates (285) from Enterprise; Justin Reynoso (135) from Juab; Gunnison's Chad Satterfield (215) and North Sevier's Jace Tatum (152).