Jan. 8, 2008: Tooele-Transcript Bulletin

THS Grapplers Grab 2nd in Best of West Tourney
by Dylan Trujillo

Dan Goode and Monte Schmalhaus propelled Tooele to a second-place finish this weekend at the Best of the West tournament at THS. Grantsville placed seventh among the 13 teams competing. The two-day event was packed with throwdowns, crossfaces and controlled violence.

After the championships were held, Clearfield convincingly held first place with 242.50 points. Second place went to the host Tooele with 213.00, Carbon wasn’t too far behind with 204.50, and to round off the top four Cyprus finished with 197.50.

After the top four came Riverton (182.00), Syracuse (137.50), Grantsville (104.50), Kearns (86.00), Wasatch (83.50), Tooele JV (78.00), East (55.00), Hillcrest (35.00), and Piute (25.00).

With 14 weight brackets the competition was fierce. In the 103-pound class representing Grantsville were Rhett Steadman and Austin Rowley. Steadman and Rowley wrestled each other to try and stay alive, Rowley defeated Steadman but ended up losing to Zach Collins from Cyprus. Neither placed in the tournament. Representing Tooele was Tim Namanny who went (0-2) and ended up not placing.

In the 112-pound bracket representing Tooele was Jake Prather (2-2) who earned fifth place. Tooele JV had two competitors Ben Nelson and Braedon Torgenson, the two of them moved their way up the brackets and eventually grappled against each other. Braedon came out on top and ended the tournament with fourth place. Corey Gunderson (GHS) competed but was unable to place.

Derek Vigil (THS) competed in the 119-pound division, and went 0-2 and did not place in the tournament. Coby Soule (GHS) went 0-2 and was unable to place. Michael Thomas (THSJV) ended up with the same results 0-2.

Jake Golden (THS) 125 pound went 3-2 and ended up with fourth place. Tim Swenson (GHS) went 0-2 and ended up not placing. Julius Watts (THSJV) also went 0-2, also for THSJV Jimmy Searle went 0-2.

Jesse Bissegger (THS), 130 -pound division, went 3-3 and finished with sixth place. Jonathon Hope, Thomas Sandoval, and Mike Trujillo all from THSJV did not place.

Chris Heaps (THS), 135-pound division, ended up all the way into the final match where he competed against Bryce Lindsey from Clearfield, and Lindsey came out on top with the victory by decision, right behind Chris was Thomas Manning (THSJV) who ended up with third place. Cassidy Adams (THSJV) also competed but was unable to place.

In the 140-pound bracket, Tooele’s Dan Goode came out on top to win the championship with a decision in the match against Clearfields Greg Taylor. Toby Martinez (GHS) went 1-2 and was unable to place.

Austin Hansen (THS), and Trevor Anderson (GHS) Both placed in the 145-pound bracket. Hansen competed in the final match against Matt Brown who is ranked fourth in the nation, and fell short and was defeated three minutes into the match. Anderson also lost to Brown and was able to compete for third place, and lost to Jason Fredrickson from Carbon. Travis Covin (THSJV) also received sixth place.In the 152-pound category, Monte Scmalhaus (THS) and Austyn Vickers (GHS) ended up competing in the final match where he came out victorious three minutes and three seconds into the match.

In the 160-pound bracket, Zeb Hansen (THS) worked his way up to the final bout and lost to Davey Cox from Carbon. Skylar Phelps (GHS) also finished with sixth place. Colton Kroeger (THSJV), Ryan Bush (GHS), and Jake Campbell (GHS) also competed but did not place.

Seth Krieser (GHS), in the 171-pound bracket, came out beating Zach Huntsman (THSJV) for third place. Also placing was Glen Kummer (THS) who received fifth. Taylor Bouck (GHS) didn’t place. Ty Hamatake (GHS), at 189 pounds, worked his way up to the final match and lost to Caleb Moritz three minutes into the match. Brett Murray (THSJV), and T.C. Tate (THS) also placed.

Isaac Brown (THS), at 215- pounds, wrestled in the final bout against Eli Fielden from Riverton and lost three minutes into the match. Jake Templeton (GHS) and Mason Burbidge also competed but didn’t place.

Joel Spendlove (THS) received sixth place in the 285-pound bracket, Mike Warner (THSJV) was unable to place. Overall Tooele had 12 competitors place in their weight division, Grantsville had five wrestlers place, and last but not least Tooele’s JV had five players place.

“Tooele was very hospitable, the competition was great,” Grantsville head coach Eugene Evans said. “Our wrestlers competed to their fullest capabilities.”

Grantsville also had a couple of their junior varsity wrestlers compete with their fellow varsity team.

“This year was great,” Tooele head coach Gary Coffman said. “We had a lot of competition, and we tried to make it so they would like to come back in the next couple of years.”