April 14, 2008: The Wrestling Mall, High School News

Utah Youth Wrestling: AAU Championships Scheduled May 2, 3 in Murray

Murray, UT — Utah will host AAU state wrestling championships May 2 and 3, 2008, at Murray High School. State championships in Greco-Roman wrestling on Friday and freestyle wrestling on Saturday.

"This is one more opportunity to win a state title," said tournament director Bill Kilpack. "It's open to all ages — flyweight through open — and one more chance for in-state mat time before the big tournaments this summer."

This is the second year that AAU wrestling has been back in Utah. Entry fee is $15 per style, and all participants must have a current AAU athlete's membership. AAU cards will be available on site or can be acquired in advance through the mail (forms are available online at the AAU Wrestling Utah Web site) for $14 or $16. The tournament is the qualifier for Utah wrestlers wanting to compete in the AAU Grand Nationals in Castle Rock, Colo., in July.

"It's very, very exciting to bring some AAU wrestling back to Utah," said Kilpack. "I really encourage Utah wrestlers to take advantage of this opportunity."

Following AAU Grand Nationals last year, Pony Express Coach Davie Swenson said, "I'm grateful that we had an AAU state tournament this year [in 2007]. If we hadn't gone to that, we wouldn't have come here [to Butte, Mont.]. Corrick [Knight] had 24 matches up here — that's a season's worth of matches. What a great deal!"

For more information about the tournament or AAU memberships call 801-641-9832 or go to http://members.aol.com/aauwrestlingutah/ or e-mail AAUWrestlingUtah@aol.com.