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Aug.
17, 2007: Wrestling USA
Magazine
Youth Wrestler of the Year Named for 2007
UtahWrestling.org has named William Kilpack of Sandy
the 2007 Youth Wrestler of the Year. Kilpack, a 12-year-old student in the seventh grade at
Indian Hills Middle School, has had an excellent year on
the mat, compiling a season record of 106-20, four state
championships, three national titles, three national
runner-up finishes, and two Western Regional
championships. Kilpack is now a seven-time national
champion, and an eight-time state champion. He was also
named the Intermountain Champion for the Novice (ages 11
and 12) division in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in
the first year of the Intermountain Champion Series. He is
a member of Mountain Top Wrestling Club, based in Sandy. Bill Kilpack, editor of UtahWrestling.org and Utah editor
for Wrestling USA Magazine, said, "William is an amazing
athlete, and has been since a little kid. He's got the
right physical attributes, but is also very smart on the
mat. William has all the potential in the world and,
despite all that he's done already, is really just
starting to take off as an athlete. It's humbling to see
someone as young as he is doing things that I couldn't
until I was quite a bit older. It never ceases to amaze me
to see what he is capable of." Kilpack is also William's
father and coach. Kilpack's junior-high season was hampered by a shoulder
injury, but he finished fourth at the Gladiator World
Championships and fifth at the Who's Bad National Classic
this past December, and finished second at the 4A/5A
Junior High State Championships. Several months later, he
won the state titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at
both the USA Wrestling-Utah State Championships and AAU
Wrestling Utah State Championships. He won a national
folkstyle title at the AAU Grand Nationals in Butte,
Mont., and two runner-up finishes in freestyle and
Greco-Roman, then went from there to take the gold in both
styles at the USA Wrestling Western Regional Championships
(11-state championship tournament) held in Klamath Falls,
Ore., where he wrestled 15 matches and won 14 by fall or
technical superiority (gaining a six-point lead in two of
three rounds). After, he went on to Green Bay, Wis., where
he came away with runner-up honors in freestyle at the USA
Wrestling Kids Nationals, and a fourth-place finish in
Greco-Roman. He wrapped up the season as a selection for
the Utah All-Star team this past July, and two more
national titles at the State Games of America in freestyle
and folkstyle. He has been a prominent athlete in Utah wrestling since
his first state championship at the age of five. In 2006,
he was ranked no. 2 in the Novice division (ages 11 and
12), as well as for all Kids divisions (ages 4 to 14). In
2005, Kilpack was the Youth Wrestler of the Year and, in
2004, he was the no. 2 ranked Midget division (ages 9 and
10) wrestler, and no. 6 ranked overall. Also in 2005, Utah
Sports Magazine recognized Kilpack as one of Utah's
Finest.
Over his young career, Kilpack has won eight state
championships, seven national titles, and 25 All-American
finishes and, in this the first year of the Intermountain
Champion Series, was named the Intermountain Champion for
the Novice division. Another young Utah wrestler who really shined this season
was Taylor LaMont of Mapleton. He finished out 2007 as the
no. 1 ranked Midget division wrestler, and no. 2 overall.
He won all three national titles at the AAU Grand
Nationals in Butte, both titles at the USA Wrestling
Western Regional Championships in Klamath Falls, Ore., and
state titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at both the
USA Wrestling-Utah State Championships and AAU Wrestling
Utah State Championships. He also won the U.S. Folkstyle
Nationals this year, and took runner-up honors at the Reno
World Championships (one of the toughest folkstyle
tournaments in the country). Nine-year-old LaMont is a fourth grader at Hobble Creek
Elementary. He is a nine-time state champion, and has won
three AAU Grand Nationals triple crowns (winning the title
in all three styles in Santa Fe, NM, Omaha, Neb., and
Butte, Mont.). He is a two-time place winner at the Reno
World Championships, and a two-time national champion at
the U.S. Folkstyle Nationals. For the 2005-2006 season,
Taylor was the top-ranked Bantam in Utah (ages 7 and 8),
the no. 2-ranked Bantam in the 2004-2005 season and the
top-ranked Flyweight (ages 6 and Under) for 2003-2004.
This year, Taylor was also voted the Utah Official of the
Year by members of USA Wrestling-Utah (athletes, coaches
and fellow mat officials). This is the fourth year that UtahWrestling.org has named a
Youth Wrestler of the Year. The recipient is selected
based on points earned for placement in local and national
wrestling tournaments. In 2006, the Youth Wrestler of the Year was Brandon George
of Woods Cross. At that time, he was a 12-year-old seventh
grader at Millcreek Junior High, with an excellent season
on the mat, finishing second at the U.S. Folkstyle
Nationals this past January, and state titles in all three
styles. He took fifth at the Reno World Championships, the
gold in Greco-Roman at the USA Wrestling Western Regional
Championships in Klamath Falls, Ore., and won a national
title in Greco-Roman at the AAU Grand Nationals held in
Omaha, Neb. At that same tournament, he took runner-up
honors in both freestyle and folkstyle. He wrapped up the
season as a selection for the Utah All-Star team, winning
one of the five matches that Utahns rose victorious
against the Ohio All-Star team this past July.
In 2005, the Youth Wrestler of the Year was William
Kilpack of Sandy. At that time, he was a 10-year-old
fourth grader at Sunrise Elementary, winning a national
title in each of the three styles (freestyle, Greco-Roman
and folkstyle), a state title in Greco-Roman wrestling, a
fourth-place finish at the USA Wrestling Western Regional
Championships in Greco-Roman, and a total of seven
All-American finishes. In 2004, the Youth Wrestler of the Year was Carson Kuhn of
Sandy. At that time, he was a 12-year-old seventh grader.
That year, he won a national title in freestyle, was the
runner-up in Greco-Roman, and earned two championships at
USA Wrestling Western Regionals (freestyle and
Greco-Roman). This came after taking state in all three
styles. WrestlingUSA Magazine has been the voice of national high
school wrestling since 1965. For more information, see
www.wrestlingusa.com. Kilpack is editor of UtahWrestling.org, an AAU national
champion and seven-time national silver medalist, a
15-time AAU/USA Wrestling All-American, and earned an
alternate position on the U.S. Pan-Am Team in Greco-Roman.
He coaches an independent freestyle and Greco-Roman
wrestling program through Salt Lake County Parks and
Recreation, Mountain Top Wrestling Club. |
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