The Lone Peak wrestling team got the season off to a solid start with a 51-28 victory over Provo Tuesday night (see next week's issue for detailed results).

"We've still got a long way to go," said coach Kimball Cluff. "We looked pretty good for the first meet, but we have a lot of stuff to work on."

The Knights will compete in the Layton Invitational this weekend.

Lone Peak has four returning state veterans on the mat this season, including defending state champion Paul Johnson. The others are Zane Mendenhall, Chase Stilson and Tyler Curtis.

The coach added that these four state-seasoned grapplers are helping the younger wrestlers with technique and demonstrating to them that it's more important than muscle.

"The kids are showing that they want to wrestle," he said.

According to Cluff, Lone Peak has had about 35 come out for the program. The team had a Maroon/Gold intrasquad meet on Nov. 20 to determine the starting varsity line-up and announce team captains.

Earning those coveted spots requires an ongoing effort, however, as other wrestlers can challenge for those spots at any time and changes are sometimes forced because of weight issues, illnesses or injuries.

The coach said his wrestlers worked on getting themselves into shape by going through two-a-day practices.

He said that he doesn't know which schools in Region 4 look the strongest right now. Cluff said, "I do know that American Fork and Pleasant Grove had young teams last year, so they have a lot of experienced guys back. We do have a lot of seniors, but only seven or eight of them are experienced wrestlers.

"We know, though, that we don't look at any team as an easy foe. We take the view that everybody's bound to be a tough opponent," he added.

The coach said that this year's Lone Peak team is equally divided among freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Cluff added, "I know of a couple of ninth-graders who have a good chance for making varsity."

Cluff took over for his former high school coach, Lyle Mangum, who resigned after last season for personal reasons. Cluff is still applying one of the lessons he learned while part of Mangum's program.

The coach said, "He taught us that talent without discipline is useless."

It's a belief that is reflected in the way Cluff has been conducting practices and in his expectations for his wrestlers, on and off the mat.

The Knights will open their Region 4 schedule with probably the toughest dual of the league season against the defending region champion Vikings at Pleasant Grove Dec. 13.

The Region 4 schedule will conclude with a league championship meet at American Fork Feb. 8.