Oct. 23, 2006: The Wrestling Mall, High School News

Jordan Junior Wrestling Launches Into New Season with New Coach

(Sandy, Utah) Oct. 20, 2006 — Jordan Junior Wrestling will enter into the 2006-2007 junior high/middle school wrestling season with a new coach: Bill Kilpack of Mountain Top Wrestling Club.

"I'm very excited for the new season," Kilpack said. "There is a very well-established tradition in the Jordan Junior program since it started seven or so years ago, and I am confident that the team will continue to build and improve."

Kilpack is succeeding Jason Brown as head coach. Brown founded the program originally. Previous Jordan Junior Wrestling successes have included taking third as a team at the 4A/5A Junior High State Championships in the Middle School Division in 2005, a dozen individual state champions and several dozen state placers.

Kilpack said, "The majority of the guys who have gone through Jordan Junior Wrestling have ended up on varsity as freshmen and sophomores when they reached high school."

With the new coach will come some changes in the program, but the emphasis will remain the same, according to Kilpack. He said, "The goal will continue to be teaching these young athletes the skills and disciplines necessary to be successful in folkstyle wrestling. But the focus on making it as fun as possible will also live on. We have some ideas on things that will help build off the foundations that are already laid, creating some traditions, and continuing to expand this very successful program."

Kilpack, a native of West Jordan, was an original member of the Sundance Wrestling Club, arguably the finest freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling team in Utah history, producing the first two world champions from Utah, and dozens of other international and national honors. As a competitor, he garnered an AAU national championship, seven national silver medals, seven more national medals, and an alternate position on the Pan-Am team in Greco-Roman wrestling. In addition, he was named All-American 15 times by AAU, the US Wrestling Federation or USA Wrestling in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling; was a seven-time Zone/Western Regional champion; and a six-time state champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He also spent many years helping coach Sundance teammates.

He is Utah Editor for Wrestling USA Magazine, American Adrenaline Magazine and Intermat.com, and founder of UtahWrestling.org.

Also joining the coaching staff with Kilpack will be his father, also named Bill Kilpack, and also from West Jordan. The father Kilpack was one of the two original coaches of the Sundance Wrestling Club, and a member of the University of Utah wrestling team. He and his son founded Mountain Top Wrestling Club and built the program together.

During their time at Mountain Top Wrestling Club (formerly Jordan Freestyle Wrestling), the team has produced one Team Championship, 6-12 and Under Division, Gladiator World Championships; one Team Championship, 6 & Under Division, U.S. Folkstyle Nationals; one Team Runner-Up Finish, 8 & Under Division, U.S. Folkstyle Nationals; 18 All-Americans; 11 National Champions in freestyle, Greco-Roman and folkstyle; five National Runner-Ups; 44 placers at national tournaments; two champions and nine placers at the USA Wrestling Western Regional Championships; 35 State Champions; three members of the Utah All-Star Team; one representative on the Utah National Team; and one Outstanding Wrestler at the Rocky Mountain Nationals.

Another new addition to the coaching staff is Derek Jensen of West Valley City. Jensen has been involved with wrestling for more than 17 years. He was a varsity letterman all three years of high school at Hunter High School, was a Utah Summer Games champion, a Region champion, a two-time freestyle state champion, and competed at nationals as a senior in high school. Following high school, he was a member of the wrestling team at Palo Mar College in California before joining the military, where he was twice named to the All-Marine Wrestling Team. He has also coached youth sports such as football, baseball, and basketball for more than 12 years, resulting in five youth state titles between them.

Continuing to serve on the coaching staff will be Jake Ribald. Ribald of West Jordan wrestled in junior high and high school, starting in Kent, Wash., where he was a varsity wrestler at Kent Meridian High School, and finished third in state as a sophomore. He then moved to New Mexico, where he attended Mayfield High in Las Cruces, and took second in state as a junior and was a state champion his senior year. While in college, he pursued Kempo karate in earnest, achieving a first-degree black belt, and competed in full-contact karate and kickboxing. As an adult, he has coached community sports such as wrestling, football and soccer, as well as instructing in Kempo.

Practices are slated to begin on Nov. 6 at Jordan High School. Practices are held three days a week from 7_8:30 p.m. at Jordan High School. With the Middle School and Junior High Divisions now available, athletes from fifth to ninth grades (so long as they are not wrestling on a high-school wrestling team) are eligible.

Jordan Junior Wrestling is a folkstyle wrestling program offered through Salt Lake County Recreation, operating out or Jordan High School in Sandy. For more information, go to http://members.aol.com/jordanjuniors/ or email jordanjuniors@aol.com.