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Aug.
19, 2007: InterMatWrestle.com, Youth Wrestling
News
Kilpack Named Utah Youth Wrestler of
the Year
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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