Feb. 16, 2008: Provo Daily Herald

Four 5A Wrestlers Win Individual State Titles
by Jared Lloyd

It seemed like a no-brainer to pick a winner in the Class 5A state wrestling 135-pound title match Friday evening at the McKay Events Center at UVSC.

Spanish Fork senior Rodney Cox had defeated his opponent, senior Cam Phillips of Lehi, in each of their three meetings this year, often by dominant margins.

Everyone knows that usually that type of record indicates that one athlete is simply a little bit better than the other and thus is most likely to continue that dominance on the sport's biggest high school stage.

Everyone except Phillips, that is.

The match started fairly predictably, with Cox scoring an early takedown to take the lead.

But then the Pioneer wrestler simply took over. He came up with a pair of big two-point near falls, then added a reversal.

On this day, when it mattered most, Phillips was simply too much and rolled to the 7-2 decision and the individual state title.

"I was warm and ready for him," Phillips said. "I wanted it. He beat me three times, but I beat him last."

Lehi head coach Dan Rice couldn't have been more proud of the performance by Phillips.

"That kid (Cox) had his number this year," Rice said. "He worked him over earlier but Phillips didn't give up. He improved match to match and just dominated out there."

Phillips had some company as a state championship winner on the team as senior Jacob Sasser once again needed a heart-stopping finish to get the victory over Jordan's Hayden Moss in the 160-pound classification.

"He was tough," Sasser said. "He's a strong kid that knew what he was doing."

The pair battled to a 4-4 tie late in the third round but — as he did in the semifinals — Sasser found a way to get the points he needed with a takedown, this time with 30 seconds left. After that he just tried to keep Moss from getting any leverage and ended up with the 6-4 win.

"I knew I had to hold him or else I could've gotten into trouble," Sasser said. "It feels really nice (to win a title). I've been waiting for this forever."

For Lone Peak senior Paul Johnson, that's a feeling that never gets old, even though he stood on the top of the podium for the third straight year by defeating West Jordan's Collin Grant in the 130-pound division.

"For this one there was a lot more pressure," he explained. "Since I'd taken it twice before, people expected me to take it again. Before it didn't matter whether I won or lost, but this was my last chance in high school."

The other individual state champion did more than just win for himself; his victory was a big triumph for his school as well.

Spanish Fork didn't get either the team result or many of the individual results they had hoped for coming into the week. After the first four Don finalists lost, senior Kyle Weight was the last chance for the team to bring home a title.

He faced a tough challenge from Lone Peak's Zane Mendenhall — who he had a 2-1 record against coming into the tourney — but scored a pair of big takedowns to get the 5-2 win.

"Part of me can't realize it while another part of me is screaming and going crazy," he said. "It's great to get one for my team. The coaches deserve it and the team deserves it. It feels so good right now. I'm going to sleep well tonight."

Spanish Fork did manage the best finish of Utah Valley 5A teams, coming in fifth, but Lehi had the better final day with wins in two of their three state title matches and ended up in sixth overall.

"We started the tournament a little rough, but we finished strong," Rice said.

Lehi also had the most grapplers place (finish in the top six) with five, while Spanish Fork and Lone Peak had four placers apiece.