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 Dec.
5, 2003: The Salt Lake Tribune, Prep
Wrestling: Blair Inherits Strong Program at Wasatch
by Peter Richins
After moving from
Nebraska in July, Wasatch's new wrestling coach Chris
Blair found himself in a unique situation.
Being hired as head
coach, a position held for years by Wade Discher, put
Blair at the helm of perhaps Utah's best wrestling
program. The Wasps have won three of the past four Class
3-A state titles and have been in the national rankings.
Early-season polls place Wasatch at the top of the state,
regardless of classification, and the Wasps' 33-24 victory
over 5-A Viewmont on Wednesday seems to back that up.
Blair appears to be
adjusting well.
"I'm nervous, but
I'm probably more excited than nervous," Blair said. The
team includes a pair of individual state champions in
Colton Salazar at 152 pounds and heavyweight Dallin
Norton. Also, Peter Rose took second at 145 pounds at
state and 140-pounder Cody Sweat took third.
"We have loads and
loads of talent," Blair said. "This is a great situation
for me to come into."
In addition, Cyler
Sanderson will wrestle with the Wasps this year after
spending his first two years at Timpanogos. Sanderson, a
junior and the brother of Cael Sanderson, took third place
in 4-A last year and won a state title his freshman year.
"Any time you get a
wrestler of his caliber, it brings your team to a higher
level," Blair said.
Blair said the Heber
City community is a definite plus for Wasatch's wrestling
program.
"The people here in
Heber City just love their wrestling program," Blair said.
"These kids are treated like it's a college program."
Taking over as coach
is another exciting challenge for Blair.
"As a coach and
individual, you like to challenge yourself," Blair said.
"I want to see if I can coach with kids of this caliber."
The Wasps are not a
lock for another state title if Lehi, Uintah or North
Sanpete have anything to do with it. Lehi has strong
wrestlers in Rodney Sager, Tyson Thompson and Tosh
Mackintosh, all of whom won individual titles last year.
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