FARMINGTON — Last month when former Viewmont wrestling coach Bart Thompson announced that he was stepping down after 22 years, his first concern was leaving the program he built in the right hands.

Thompson believes he got his wish when 26-year-old Brandon Ripplinger was named the Vikings’ coach last week.

“Brandon is a great coach and comes from a great program and has a tremendous wrestling mind,” Thompson said. “But even more, Brandon is the kind of person I would want coaching my son. He has great character and integrity.”

Ripplinger is married with one infant son. He was one of the top junior college wrestlers at Ricks College before finishing his career with Utah State. The name Ripplinger is synonymous with high school wrestling as Brandon’s father Mike is the head coach at Box Elder High School, one of the state’s most powerful programs. Brandon has been working as an assistant at Box Elder.

“I am excited about this great opportunity,” Ripplinger said.

“When I heard the Viewmont position was open, I was excited because it is a program with a long history of success.

Bart Thompson has done a great job of having success here and I want to help keep that success happening.”

Ripplinger will teach English at Viewmont and also work in some capacity with the football team.

“I’m coming into a situation where the cupboard is full,” Ripplinger said. “We have some great wrestlers coming back and one of the best, if not the best, feeder programs in all of Utah.”

The Vikings re-turn state place winner Sam Graham who took third at 171 in spite of spending much of the season rehabbing an injured knee. Nate Larsen was a third-place finisher at 112, but later went on to capture the national championship in Virginia.

“We have the Northside Wrestling Club and the Centerville Junior High program that feeds Viewmont great wrestlers who come in already knowing how to wrestle, which makes any head coach job easier. We also have great assistant coaches, so everything is in place for us.”

Ripplinger expects those two and the crop of other talented wrestlers to lay the foundation for another state title run next season.

“Viewmont is al-ways one of the programs battling for the state championship and as I’ve met with the guys and talked, that’s what they all want…to get the state title back,” Ripplinger said. “They have the frame of mind of a champion and that’s an important aspect of a successful program.”

Viewmont has won four out of the last six state team titles, but was knocked off this year by Weber High School.

“We want to get that state championship back to Viewmont, and that is our goal,” Ripplinger said.