Nov.
21, 2007: Wrestling USA
Magazine
Mountain Crest's Ethen Lofthouse Tops Utahns in
National Preseason Junior Rankings
Wrestling USA Magazine published a national
ranking of high-school senior wrestlers. Top ranked of the
four Utahns included in the list was Ethen Lofthouse,
current king of Mountain Crest's dominating Lofthouse
wrestling family, who was ranked no. 2 in the country at
160 lbs. Some of Lofthouse's notable exploits include
taking two high-school state titles, winning a USA
Wrestling national championship in Greco-Roman wrestling
in Fargo, ND, last summer, winning a Utah High School
Coaches Association national sophomore title in Virginia
Beach, and winning the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Denver.
Through his sophomore year, he has accumulated an
outstanding interscholastic career record of 82-4, with
all four of those losses coming during his freshman year.
In the 2007 season, he was selected by the Wrestling
USA Magazine and IntermatWrestle.com Utah Editor as a
Sophomore Wrestler of the Year; and in 2006, a Freshman
Wrestler of the Year. Bill Kilpack, Utah Editor for
Wrestling USA Magazine and IntermatWrestle.com, has
chosen Lofthouse as the preseason pick for one of the
state's Junior Wrestlers of the Year. He said, "I've
watched Ethen destroy opponents for years. His brothers,
every one of them, are just monsters, but Ethen seems to
be headed for even greater heights than Luke (now
wrestling at Iowa). He finished out both his freshman and
sophomore years with state titles, pinning his way through
the state tournament his freshman year, and pinning
everyone except Box Elder's Kolby Williamson his sophomore
year - and Williamson he beat by technical fall. He hits
the toughest tournaments in the country and comes back a
winner, without fail. This kid's as tough as Luke, but a
better technician." The list was compiled by Dan Fickel,
National Editor for the magazine, based on six criteria:
1) accomplishments at state high-school championships
(folkstyle); 2) National Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman
success; 3) Cadet National freestyle and Greco-Roman
success; 4) performance at prestigious high-school
tournaments; 5) information from coaches and parents; and
6) the state from which the nominee hails. Four Utah
wrestlers appeared in the rankings. Other standouts
include Sean Sullivan of Wasatch, who was ranked no. 25 at
215 lbs.; Tyson Hunt of Wayne High School, no. 26 at 285
lbs.; and Hayden Peterson, Springville High School, no.
27, 130 lbs. Wrestling USA 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 and the
junior-high program, Jordan Junior Wrestling. |