Dec. 16, 2007: Deseret Morning News

Brown, Millard Big Viewmont Winners
by John Coon

BOUNTIFUL — Nothing served as a better self evaluation for Cyprus wrestler Matt Brown than his loss to Jake Salazar at the Layton Invitational two weeks ago.

The Wasatch senior beat Brown in a 9-5 decision to deny him a tournament title. Suffering an early defeat against the Michigan-bound Salazar served as a real eye-opener for the Pirate senior.

"I realized I needed to get better in a lot of areas," Brown said. "I took it as a blessing that it was early in the season. It didn't mean much, except for being an experience I can learn and grow on."

Brown's growth was evident at the Viewmont Invitational on Saturday night. He walked away with a first-place medal in the 145, defeating Box Elder's Kolby Williamson 16-1 for a technical fall victory.

In his three matches at Viewmont High School, Brown gave up only three points. Getting a victory like this one keeps him on track for the ultimate goal of capping off his final season with a 4A title.

Brown also sees what he does now as preparation for what lies ahead when he goes to Iowa State to compete under Cael Sanderson. The prospect of wrestling under the tutelage of a four-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist pushes him to climb to even higher levels.

"That's the reason I chose Iowa State," Brown said. "I feel like I can become the best wrestler I can possibly be (while) there."

Millard rallied in the championship round to overtake Box Elder for the team title. The Eagles scored 182.5 points, nine more than the Bees.

Millard scored its go-ahead points when Clancy Mortensen won in a 6-3 decision over Payson's Taggart Miller in the championship match at 160. Eagle wrestlers Matt Tuttle, Mason Stott and Sergio Pedroza also won their respective championship matches.

"We just wanted to come and show everybody who Millard is," Mortensen said. "We just come and compete tough — no matter what happens."

One of the tightest matches of the tournament took place in the 125 final. Mountain Crest's Jarrett Morrill needed three overtime periods to outlast Layton's Nick Flores with a 4-2 decision.

Morrill earned the decisive two-point takedown with only a few seconds left in the final overtime period. He competed with his chest and lower back taped, after suffering a rib injury at the Layton Invitational two weeks ago.

Morrill did not want to use his injury as an excuse. He thought he let the match drag on longer than it should have.

"I would have liked to get stuff going sooner," Morrill said. "But it was just nice to get the victory. I guess I'll take it. He's a tough kid."

Nate Larsen was the lone individual title winner for host school Viewmont. Larsen used a two-point takedown with 38 seconds left in his match to claim a 3-1 decision over Mountain Crest's Raider Lofthouse.