Dec. 17, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

Prep Wrestling: Viewmont Grappler Draws Motivation from '06 Loss
by Chhun Sun

Nate Larsen has a simple philosophy, though it might be a little cliché.

Don't overlook anyone.

That's what the senior from Viewmont was thinking on Friday night, a day before he faced an opponent who destroyed his hopes of repeating as the Class 5A state champion by beating him in a 112-pound class semifinal last season. Larsen went up against Bingham's Ryker Vandertoolen in the semifinals at the Viewmont Invitational on Saturday and won in a 5-2 decision.

"That made me feel a lot of better," Larsen said.

Especially because his championship opponent was Mountain Crest sophomore Raider Lofthouse, a wrestler Larsen beat 5-2 earlier this month in the final match at the Layton Invitational.

But this time, the match was a littler closer. Heading into the third period, the score was tied at 1-1 - as Lofthouse was looking for an escape. The two ended up in a scramble. In the end, Larsen was able to force a takedown to win 3-1.

Larsen hopes to continue to win more tournaments - or at least finish in the top two - as he prepares to redeem himself at the state meet and win the state title for the second time in three years.

"I think it's been a motivator for him," coach Brandon Ripplinger said of Larsen's state semifinal loss. "You can tell by the way he trains. He's focused on overcoming that. You know, he's doing what he can to get better."

Millard Wrestlers Unbeaten

With winning the Viewmont Invitational team title on Saturday, a couple of the Millard wrestlers proved they're some of the best wrestlers in the state.

Senior Mason Stott didn't have much trouble in the tournament, as his wins came from one technical fall, two major decisions and a pinfall - with the pin coming against Davis' Braiden Hart in the final of the 135-pound class. His overall season record is now 25-0.

Teammate Sergio Pedroza improved to 24-0 by pinning his first two opponents to only have a tough time in the 285-pound championship match against Bingham's Spencer Paulson. In the latter match, Pedroza won 1-0.