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The Juab High School Wasps wrestling team arrived home from Kamas Saturday night to the sounds of sirens and honking horns. The commotion going up and down Main Street was in celebration of the eighth straight region championship won by the team. The team accomplished the feat in dominant fashion with all fourteen Varsity wrestlers making the finals; something that has probably never happened before in the history of the school.

Two JV wrestlers also made the finals, giving Juab a total of sixteen participants in the final round. Of course, the recent rule change in the 2A made it so JV points aren't scored at region and state tournaments, but the JV wrestlers can still participate and place.

In all, the Wasps qualified 26 of the 28 region wrestlers for the state tournament.

The team score was Juab 292, South Summit 202, North Summit 190, Grand 112, and Juan Diego 104. incidentally, if a separate score was kept for the JV teams, the Juab JV would have placed third with 197 points, just behind South Summit.

Of the sixteen finalist, six came away with individual championships. They were Wyet Ingram (103), Justin Reynoso (112), Tyson McPherson (119), Chad Greenhalgh (125), Jade Greenhalgh (140), and Thad Pay (152). Pay was also awarded the outstanding wrestler award for the upper half weights. Placing second were Tyson Ashworth (103), Jake Revoir (130), Jeff South (135), Stewart Allred (140), Kevin Worwood (145), Nathan Bastian (160), Joe Allred (171), Paul Everitt (189), Jesse Boyd (215), and Jordan Guillory (275). The finals ended up being a Juab duel against the rest of the region's best wrestlers, and though the fans from the other four schools teamed up their cheers against Juab, their boos were drowned out by the cheers from Juab's fans when the first place trophy was raised.

Several JV wrestlers placed third. They were Bryson Ashworth (112), John Terry (130), Dallen Proctor (145), Levi Jensen (152), Todd Watts (171), and Knik Beddoes (189). Shad McPherson (119), Robert Johnstun (125), and Kenyan Savage (130) placed fourth. Rian Ragle (160) placed fifth. The tournament was not without heartache however. Zach Larsen (215), Juab's scrappy sophomore in what ended up being the Region 14's deepest weight class, did not qualify for state. Zach had beaten every qualifier from Region 12, and several from Region 13. Devan Evans (275) also failed to qualify for the state tournament. Both are only sophomores and will be back next season.

Wyet Ingram and Tyson Ashworth battled it out in a match that went back and forth. In the end, Ingram threw Ashworth and sealed the narrow victory at 103. Justin Reynoso (112) pinned his way to the championship, as did Tyson McPherson (119) and Chad Greenhalgh (125). Jake Revoir lost a close one to last year's state champion. Jeff South (135) almost had his hands on gold, losing a four point lead in the final thirty seconds of a match he had dominated. Jade Greenhalgh and Stewart Allred wrestled for the championship at 140. Jade, who has established himself as one of the state's most dominant wrestlers, came out the victor. Thad Pay pulled out a nail-biter over rival Justin Bagnell from North Summit. The win actually puts Pay in the tougher bracket at state, but keeps him separated from the state's top-ranked wrestler at that weight. Kevin Worwood (145) and Nathan Bastian (160) both lost to South Summit wrestlers. Joe Allred (171) and Paul Everitt (189) both fell at the hands of North Summit wrestlers. Paul held a nine point lead in the first round, but was pinned to begin the second round. Jesse Boyd (215) wrestled Trevor Clegg, and Jordan Guillory (275) wrestled Zane Taylor in the finals.

Coach Waldron stated, "The team did a good job up there. We were in shape and ready to wrestle the morning rounds. I think our morning running paid off for us. It would have been nice to win a couple more matches in the finals, especially those ones where we were way ahead and then lost. I guess we'll just have to find a way to make up for it at state. I expect a very close tournament. Millard and North Sevier are great teams. If we get flat, our chances could get away from us in a hurry. But this team has as good as shot as any to win the state championship. It should be exciting."