Feb. 16, 2007: Deseret Morning News

Wrestling Powerhouse Viewmont Dethroned
by Michael Black

BOUNTIFUL — The run is over. The three-time champions — and four of the last five — from Viewmont were finally dethroned for the team title at last week's state tournament.

Viewmont finished with 150 points, far from first-place Weber, which had 241.5, but ahead of third-place Bingham's 137.

"We had a miserable day on Thursday to actually fall behind Bingham, but we came back really well on Friday to go 7-for-7 in the consolation bracket and get all the guys into the third-fourth matches. That is where we got second place," Thompson said.

The Vikings finished second despite not having any individual champions. The four teams that finished behind them all had at least one — Bingham three, Pleasant Grove one, Brighton two and Davis one. Viewmont has developed a reputation during its reign at the top as a team that has a never-say-die attitude. Its wrestlers continue to fight and get those "back door" points necessary for a team to be successful.

A perfect example of how the team as a whole continues to be a contender is junior Nate Larsen. The 112-pound grappler was a state champion last year but suffered a bitterly disappointing loss to Bingham's Ryker Vandertoolen in the semifinals last week. Larsen regrouped and won his next two matches to finish third.

"I was proud of Nate for coming back," said Thompson. "I think that sometimes it is harder to finish third than it is to win it. You have to be mentally tough to overcome the emotions of losing and then continue to wrestle at your best. He did that and it just shows you how tough a kid he is. We had a bunch of others that did that for us."

"I thought Steve Platt, Sam Graham and Eric Call all had a great tournament," Thompson said. "They gave it everything they had and they had good results considering what was expected of them."

Taira Abe had the highest finish for the Vikings as he made it to the finals before losing to Weber's Shay Warren in a 6-4 decision, a very respectable loss considering Warren was a four-time state champion and undefeated on the year.

"Taira gave Shay all he wanted," said Thompson. "Shay told me afterward that it was the closest match he had all year."

Depending on how one looks at it, the Vikings either lose four of their eight state-placers to graduation or return four. They also have two wrestlers coming back — Moroni Redd and Ron Wyman — who won at least one match to get points. Besides those already with experience, Viewmont always seems to have great wrestlers entering the program from the little leagues.

"Shandell Smoot is the secret to our success," said Thompson. "He runs the youth program and is the reason why we can reload instead of rebuild. He gets the young guys a great base so that by the time they get to the high school level, they are ready to step in and contribute right away."

For any other team, second place would be quite the season, but for Viewmont, it simply provides fodder for working harder and getting back on top.

"We always expect to win," said Abe of his team. "Yes, Weber was the best team this year, but we have great coaches and great wrestlers in this program, and I know that every one of them is going to work their tails off in the offseason to come back next year even better."

Viewmont facts

State-placers
103— Mike Winger, third place, sophomore
112— Nate Larsen, third place, junior
125— Stephen Platt, fourth place, senior
125— Taira Abe, second place, senior
160— Eric Call, fourth place, junior
171— Sam Graham, third place, junior
189— Chase Hansen, fourth place, senior
215— Jesse Farnsworth, fourth place, senior

Other point-winners
130— Casey Smoot, senior
135— Travis Timothy, senior
145— Moroni Redd, junior
215— Nate Holgreen, senior
285— Ron Wyman, sophomore