January 2008: Cottonwood/Holladay Journal

Titan Wrestling Working for 8th Straight Region Title
by Michelle Taft

Olympus wrestlers are seeking their eighth straight Region 6 championship this year, and with four returning state finishers from last season, the Titans have the team to do it.

The Titans returned senior Nic DeJong, who placed second in the 4A state tournament in the 125-pound division last year and competes this year in the 130-pound division.

Senior Thomas Lee placed fourth at state last year in the 160-pound division and is competing in the same class this year.

Senior Zack Colton placed fifth in the 145-pound division and is competing in the same division this year, and Jon VanDenBerghe placed sixth in state last year in the 112-pound weight division and competes this year at 119.

The Titans have also had strong showings in the younger athletes as well.

“The rest of the team is also looking pretty good,” said coach Theros Johnson. “This is the first year we’ve had a full lineup -- we have every weight class fi lled in varsity. We have an even mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores so I’m really happy about this year.”

Johnson said he set out to assemble a tough schedule this season and face the best teams in the state, including 2A state champion South Summit.

“We’re wrestling all the top teams in the state so we’ve taken our losses along with some good victories,” he said.

Those victories include duals against Alta and Springville.

The Titans have also had a strong showing in season tournaments. The team competed at the Viewmont Invitational, a tournament Johnson said was stacked with state champions in every weight division, just before the holiday break and despite numerous injuries, had three medalists from the team. Olympus’ 153-pound Colton placed second and 140-pounder Aaron Hanson placed fifth.  Lee placed sixth in the 160-pound division but paid with the team’s first injury -- separated ribs. DeJong wrestled well the first day of the two-day tournament but unknowingly suffered an ACL tear in the second round. He went on to wrestle two more times and earned the team 10 points. Because of his knee, he was unable to wrestle the second day.

“We’re just happy to get to Christmas break where we can get healed up,” Johnson said. “We can practice a little bit without any pressure of competition during the week and relax a little bit and have fun at practice.”

The second half of the season starts this month and includes a Box Elder tournament.

“The Box Elder tournament is as tougher or tougher than the state tournament and hopefully everyone will be healed up and we will have a few more medalists,” Johnson said.

That tournament will be followed by the Rocky Mountain Ramble. Currently over 60 teams from nine different states are registered for the tournament.

The year will wrap up with the Region 6 tournament where the Titans hope to gain their eighth straight title and from there they will compete at state where they hope to improve upon last year’s 10th place finish.

Johnson said though the wins are impressive, the real strength of the team lies in their work ethic.

“The kids accept the challenges I throw in front of them full-heartedly and they just go out and get it,” he said. “They’re not afraid of the toughest competition around and are more than willing to go to the line with anybody.”