OREM — Viewmont’s head wrestling coach was faced with a dilemma Thursday night. The first-year coach had just watched his team’s first-place stranglehold on the 2008 5A state tournament at Utah Valley University disappear into a three-point deficit to Region 1 rival Weber High.

It had been one of the most bizarre and the worst rounds of wrestling the Vikings had competed in all season and the goal of capturing the state title was all but gone. But Brandon Ripplinger had a plan.

“I just told the guys that we had a rough day and that we could all just give up and hand over the state title to Weber and be satisfied with what we had already done this year or we could all go home, get a good night’s rest and come back on Friday and get the title back,” Ripplinger said. “I knew if I challenged these guys that they would respond in a positive way.”

The plan worked.

Viewmont came back Friday and wrestled one of its best days. And with nine team members fighting through the consolation rounds and Nate Larsen winning the 112 crown, Viewmont captured its fifth state championship in seven years. The gap between victory and defeat was just 4.5 points. Weber finished second.

“I am so proud of these guys,” Ripplinger said. “They very easily could have just given up Thursday night and they didn’t. They fought.”

Ripplinger noted that in most state championship runs, a team will get on a roll and will carry momentum to a state title. This year was different.

“We never really got rolling,” he said. “This was a championship we had to grind out. Every match, every round was just a grind. It was tough.”

While Larsen finished 44-0 and led the Vikings, Ripplinger also had high praise for members of the team that put aside personal disappointment for the success of the team.

Sam Graham (171) and Eric Call (160) both dropped heart-breaking semi-final losses. The seniors were ranked no. 1 in their weight classes and after suffering the defeats came back to have big rounds on Friday.

“After I lost in the semi-finals I was so disappointed,” Graham said. “I knew I had to come back and have a big day for our team. This is a special band of friends and that’s what kept people like me going. I wanted to help us win a state championship.”

Graham came back and captured third place with a pin and a major decision. Call placed fourth.

Junior Josh Smoot fought a battle to an all-important fourth-place finish after dropping a match in the quarter-finals. After picking up a four-point win in the first consolation round, Smoot edged Cody Van Buren of Weber 3-2 and Brady Stanger of Fremont 6-4. The win over the Weber grappler was especially important since it meant he could no longer earn points for the Warriors.

“I knew I had to beat Van Buren because we needed to bump out those Weber wrestlers,” Smoot said. “That win felt great.”

Senior Bryce Leavitt picked up a similar win for his fifth- place finish. Leavitt, who missed his entire junior year with a knee injury, faced Weber’s Dan Linford for fifth place. On the line were two very important team points. Leavitt picked up those points with a grueling 2-1 win.

“This team has been pushed into the corner a lot this year and they have always come through,” Ripplinger said. “This was another such experience. The state championship is great, but more important are the lessons these guys have learned that will help them in life. That’s why we all love wrest-ling so much. It’s just like life.”