Feb. 28, 2008: Deseret Morning News

Wrestlers Fare Well at State
by Brian E. Preece

Utah County wrestling teams failed to win a trophy but rather made their mark at the individual level crowing five individual state champions.

Springville's Jason Chamberlain nailed down his fourth state title by defeating Pine View's Matt McDonald by technical fall 23-8.

Chamberlain was 42-0 on the season and finished off his career with 191 wins and just two defeats.

Chamberlain's last loss was in the first round of the Reno Tournament of Champions as a sophomore. Chamberlain bounced back winning nine matches in a row to claim third place. After that Chamberlain has won every single high school tournament he has entered since.

Besides Chamberlain, Lone Peak's Paul Johnson nailed down his third state title with a 4-2 win over West Jordan's Colin Grant. Johnson went 42-3 on the season and became Lone Peak's first three-time state champion.

Lehi crowned two state champions with Cam Phillips (135 pounds) and Jacob Sasser (160). Phillips defeated Spanish Fork's Rodney Cox 7-2 for the state championship avenging a loss just a week before at the Region 4 championships. Sasser defeated Jordan's Hayden Moss to win the 160-pound title in an exciting match as he fought off the Beetdigger star's late attack to win 6-4.

Pioneer teammate Dylan Stadel made the championship finals at 285 pounds falling 7-3 to Justin Blackmore (West Jordan).

Spanish Fork won an individual state title as Kyle Weight defeated Lone Peak's Zane Mendenhall 5-2 at 171 pounds. It was a rematch of the Region 4 final also won by Weight. Joining Weight and Cox as finalists for the Dons were Hadley Thorpe (140) and David Sorenson (152).

Payson's McCade Ford (135) also came away with the gold. As he did in the Region 7 championships, Ford again edged Springville's Hayden Petersen, this time by a slim 3-2 margin.

On the team front, Payson finished the highest of any Utah County team, placing third in the 4-A meet. The Lions were in contention until the final day for the top spot even leading the 4-A pack after the first round. The Lions had one state champion (Ford) and four other finalists in Brock Brown (119), Colton Cannon (145), Hesston Parkin (171) and Norman Adams (189).

Springville was the only other Utah County team to place in the Top 10 on the 4A side as the Red Devils placed seventh.

In the 5A race, Spanish Fork was the highest Region 4 team with its fifth-place finish, just ahead of Lehi in the sixth position; Lone Peak finished a respectable 11th place.

American Fork finished 15th place but had one wrestler place second in state as Justin Ballantyne was pinned by Alta's Carson Kuhn in the championship finals at 103 pounds.

Utah Valley's top teams, individuals

REGION 7 (4A)

• PAYSON, third place in 4A team standings. Individuals: McCade Ford (135 pounds), state champion; Brock Brown (119), second place; Colton Cannon (145), second ; Hesston Parkin (171), second; Norman Adams (189), second; Tito Ortiz (112), third; Jace Harmon (140), third; Brady Loveless (152), fourth; Jeremiah Guzman (130), sixth.

• SPRINGVILLE, seventh place. Individuals: Jason Chamberlain (140), state champion; Hayden Petersen (135), second; Caleb Christen (145), fourth; Sebastian Lucio (171), fourth; Rick Wirsch (125), fifth; Steve Brown (103), sixth.

• MOUNTAIN VIEW, 12th place. Individuals: Bryce Florea (125), fourth; Kyle Rodda (285), fifth.

• PROVO, 17th place. Individuals: Mick Ellis (189), fifth; McClain Griffin (125), sixth; Kevin Faires (171), sixth.

• OREM, 20th place. Individuals: Mitch Habel (189), sixth.

REGION 4 (5A)

• SPANISH FORK, fifth place in 5A state team standings. Individuals: Kyle Weight (171), state champion; Rodney Cox (135), second; Hadley Thorpe (140), second; David Sorenson (152), second.

• LEHI, sixth place. Individuals: Cam Phillips (135), state champion; Jacob Sasser (160), state champion; Dylan Stadel (285), second; Taylor Savio (189), fourth; Ryan Bennion (152), sixth.

• LONE PEAK,11th place. Individuals: Paul Johnson (130), state champion; Zane Mendenhall (171), second; Chase Stilson (145), fifth; Tyler Curtis (215), sixth.

• AMERICAN FORK,15th place. Individuals: Justin Ballantyne (103), second; Michael Hortman (145), third; Jason Day (285), third.

• PLEASANT GROVE, 18th place. Individuals: Craig Young (112), third; Brock Nichols (125), sixth.

• TIMPANOGOS, 23rd place.