Jan. 10, 2008: The Salt Lake Tribune

Prep Wrestling: Soph Hard to Beat
by Chhun Sun

To prepare for this season, to erase the memory of missing a podium finish, and to better compete at the level of the wrestlers in his 103-pound weight class, Alta's Carson Kuhn did two of his favorite things last summer.

Golf and eat.

OK, and other things, too.

He weighed 90 pounds last year, and though he had a fairly good freshman season by finishing 28-14, he did not reach his potential. He didn't finish in the top six at the Class 5A tournament. Then came the preparation for his sophomore year - and it was pretty impressive.

He competed for the U.S. Cadet National team in Beijing, where he wrestled with some of the best wrestlers in China during a 10-day period and finished 6-1. He won the individual title in his weight class at the Fargo Nationals leading up to this season; the only other Utahn to come out victorious was Springville's Jason Chamberlain, the No. 1 wrestler in the nation according to Wrestling USA Magazine.

And Kuhn gained some-much needed weight, too - by taking some time off before the wrestling season to partake in one of his favorite activities: golfing.

"He's incredible," Alta coach Barry Harrington said. "He's the real deal."

Though only a sophomore, a lot is expected of Kuhn. Some of the expectations come from Kuhn himself. He knows that wrestlers want to take him down to become the first to earn a win against one of Alta's team captains. Entering this week, Kuhn is 26-0 and no opponent has scored an offensive point against him.

"Everyone's gunning for me," Kuhn said. "So I just gotta train harder than everyone else does."

There are a few more reasons why opponents want to beat him. Kuhn is ranked No. 1 in his weight class in 5A in a coaches' poll, as he's expected to not only win the state championship in his weight class this season but also a couple more in the coming years. At the Layton Invitational (considered one of the toughest tournaments of the season) last December, he beat his closest competitor, West Jordan's Jacob Falk, in an 8-2 decision to capture the tournament title.

While he knows people are going to try to take him down, Kuhn just tries to put in extra workouts to give him an edge. Delta's Chase Tolbert will have a shot at Kuhn at the All Star Dual on Tuesday at the McKay Events Center in Orem.

But Kuhn welcomes all challengers.

"I want to beat every opponent that steps in front of me," he said.

Kuhn Aiming High

• At 26-0 entering this week, Alta's Carson Kuhn tries to "beat every opponent that steps in front of me" in his 103-pound class. He also wants to win the individual title at the Class 5A state tournament in February.

• Kuhn will compete at the eighth annual All Star Dual at the McKay Events Center in Orem on Tuesday, when top wrestlers from all the state's classifications face each other to see who's the best.