Dec. 15, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

Prep Wrestling: Millard Hangs with the Big Boys
by Chhun Sun

BOUNTIFUL - When you mention Class 2A's Millard with the likes of the bigger schools like Mountain Crest, Viewmont or Payson, it's almost unbelievable to think the Eagles can compete with them.

But this isn't football, basketball or baseball.

It's wrestling.

So it's not a joke when someone says Millard can beat them all. And that's what the Eagles are currently doing in the Viewmont Invitational, which kicked off its first three rounds Friday at Viewmont High.

Millard has 106.5 points in the overall team standings - as Viewmont (91.5) and Layton (88) are in second and third places.

Davis and Mountain Crest round out the top five with 84 and 82.5 points, respectively, in the 22-team tournament.

"It's not easy to come from a little classification," senior Mason Stott said. "It's a small choice we have. To be able to come up here and to be able to hang with these guys, it really means a lot, especially for our community."

Stott and his Eagles are in good position to successfully defend the tournament title. Stott - who had a first-round bye and is a two-time state champion - won his matches against Mountain View's Zach Taylor 21-6 and Box Elder's Jesse Caldwell 7-2 in the 135-pound class.

Teammates Matt Tuttle (103 pounds), Kameron Day (112), Matt Barton (130), Quincy Thatcher (145),

Clancy Mortensen (160) and Sergio Pedroza (285) are all alive and well in the championship bracket as the final day of the tournament starts today at 9:30 a.m.

Still, with so many wrestlers in position to score major points, the Eagles don't want to say they have the title.

"There are a lot of great teams here," Millard coach Blake Turner said. "You've got your Payson, your Viewmont, your Box Elder, your Mountain Crest - all great teams. Hopefully, we can stay with them, and stay up there in the top five. . . . There's always that bulls-eye on you. We just try to do our own thing and hopefully we can take care of what we have control over."

• Millard, the two-time defending Class 2A state champion, is in the lead after three rounds at the Viewmont Invitational. The Eagles have 106.5 points. Host Viewmont is in second with 91.5.

• Seven Eagles are currently in the championship bracket, with two-time state champion Mason Stott leading the way in the 135-pound class. He wins both of his matches to improve to 23-0.