April 2006: South Valley Journal

8-Year-Old Wrestles Out Another Victory
by Catherine Garrett

Tayler Johnson, son of Mike and Sheila Johnson of Draper, captured his third national championship at the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Denver, Colo., March 18-19.

"He was really excited to win in that type of a setting," his dad, Mike Johnson, said.

Probably even more impressive than Tayler's first place showing among 15 wrestlers in his 62-pound weight division was his Outstanding Wrestler award, chosen out of several weight classes in the 7-8-year-old division and one of six awards given to more than 2,500 participants from all over the country.

"I explained to Tayler how much of a long shot it would be to win that award no matter how hard you work, so to come away with that recognition is definitely icing on the cake," Mike Johnson said.

The Denver tournament featured folk-style wrestling, which uses high school wrestling rules, whereas Greco-Roman style is the Olympic type of wrestling.

"Tayler is an exceptional wrestler in just his third year," Tayler's coach Bill Killpack, of the Mountain Top Wrestling Club, said. "When he first came to wrestle here, within a couple of days, I talked to his dad about the potential I saw in him due to pure natural ability."

Tayler's other two national championships came last summer at the Grand Nationals held in Santa Fe, N.M., where he wrestled in both Greco Roman and freestyle competitions.