FIVE IN A ROW • Juab nabbed their 5th-straight state wrestling title with a team total of 301 points, with five individual champions, four runners-up, and seven placing in the top 6. Juab qualified 24 wrestlers to the tournament which was held at Sevier Valley Center in Richfield on February 9th. Coach Joel Holman was voted Coach of the Year. Will Harmon was voted Outstanding Wrestler for the Upper Weights.
By Dr. Joel Holman
JHS Wrestling Coach
The crowd was a little smaller and the venue was different, but the outcome was the same – Juab Wrestling repeats as State Champs! In a “rebuilding” year, we had five champions, nine finalists and for the first time in Juab Wrestling history, we had a placer in every weight. We “repeated” with the Most Outstanding Wrestler – Upper Weights awarded to Will Harmon and Coach Holman was voted Coach of the Year. Though our Juab supporters were small in number, they were strong in voice and thanks to Local 10 TV we had fans everywhere. We scored 301 team points over Morgan’s 227, besting last year’s total by 15 points. With a UHSAA modified bracket, we packed in a lot of wrestling into one day. Our whole team wrestled hard in both victory and defeat. We are very proud of the effort of every individual on the team. Our first state champion was the first state champion of the night, Rowdey Peterson at 106 lbs. Rowdey ran the gauntlet in the 106 lb bracket. He beat the three best kids in the weight, two whom had previously beaten him. His quarterfinals match was against a returning state qualifier, an upper classman and arguably the pick to be in the finals. Rowdey wrestled aggressively but smart to win 7-2. In the semis, he had a repeat match with our Divisionals champion. He and Rowdey were 1-1 on the year and Rowdey avenged his recent loss to make the finals. This was Rowdey’s toughest match, winning 4-2. In the finals, Rowdey wrestled the previously unbeaten #1 seed. We had wrestled and lost to him mid-season, but we felt that Rowdey had significantly improved since then and we were grateful for the opportunity to prove it. Rowdey wrestled a smart controlled match to win 5-0 and secure his first state championship. We are so proud of Rowdey for all the work he has put in this season and we are glad that he got the gold to prove it. Kaden Ercanbrack was our next finalist at 113 lbs. After three pins to get to the finals, Kaden had a rematch with the returning state champion from Richfield. We felt that Kaden was prepared, and he was excited for the opportunity to avenge last year’s loss. Unfortunately, we were unable to do so. We are still very proud of Kaden and his journey this year. He is a hard worker who has dedicated himself to wrestling and his love of the sport. We know Kaden will continue to pursue his wrestling goals and accomplish greatness. At 120, Dax Johnson followed Kaden onto the mat. He also entered the finals with a string of three pins on his way there. He had a rematch with our Divisional champ from Morgan. Dax came out strong and got the first takedown before getting reversed and spending the remainder of the period on the mat. He started on top in the second period and was reversed again before ultimately getting pinned. Dax is one of our sophomore finalists and we plan to work hard this off season to beat our finish next year. After a short intermission, we returned to the finals mat with Channing Warner at 138 lbs. This is our third time in the finals with Channing and our second time at 138. He had a tough opponent who was a three-time finalist himself. He and Channing have wrestled a lot through the years and it was a close tactical match. After a scoreless first period, Channing chose down and scored first with an escape. Channing pursued through the second round but it still ended with no further scoring. His opponent scored early in the third to tie the match at one each. With approximately a minute left in the match they got into a good scramble and Channing scored a takedown. Channing rode until about ten seconds were left and let him go, to win 3-2. It was great wrestling by both wrestlers. Fortunately for Juab Wrestling, we have Channing back for one more year. Just like last year, Chase Ingram followed Channing at 145 lbs. This year the competition was a little stiffer for Chase. After three pins on his way to the finals, he wrestled his Divisional opponent from Morgan. They had split 1-1 on the year, though Chase had the most recent win. Chase scored the first takedown and a takedown in each period to maintain his lead throughout the match and win 7-4. Chase is now a two-time state champion in as many years and we plan to do everything we can in the off season to continue that trend. At 152 lbs, Logan Holdaway was our next finalist. He won two tough gritty one-point matches in the quarters and the semis to make it to the state finals. He wrestled a good finals match and was in a position to pin midway through the second period but ultimately lost 9-5. Logan is one of two sophomores who did not place at state last year and then made the finals this year. That is a big jump in one year. We hope he works even harder this off season and we will jump one more spot next year. Our next sophomore to make a big jump is Taylor Newton at 160 lbs. Taylor avenged a late season loss with a gutsy 5-2 win in the semifinals. He has been training especially hard since Divisionals for that opponent and it paid off. He faced a tough seasoned opponent in the finals who had tech-falled him at the end of regular season. Taylor was able to narrow the gap, but not enough to win the match. He has improved so much this year, especially the last few weeks, that if we had a few more weeks he would likely be a state champion. He has been dedicated in the off season, worked hard in practice, and done the extra throughout the season. It is nice to see it come together for him. If he can continue that dedication through next year, he will be a state champ. Will Harmon closed out our five-match run of state finalists with a win at 170 lbs. He has only two losses on the year and the last one was to his final’s opponent only two weeks ago. We were confident then that Will was the better wrestler, though not the victor at that time. Will stayed consistent in his training and his confidence did not waver. He is very methodical in his preparation as well as his execution. He wrestled a controlled disciplined match to win 3-1 and secure his second state title. He was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler – Upper Weights by the opposing coaches. That is a great recognition, especially as a sophomore. For our encore we finished the show with “Showtime” Shan Jackson at 285 lbs. Shan is at his best when the lights are brightest and it was no exception this night. He had a powerful opponent who has also been his rival in football. Shan wrestled a smart calculated match and using his incomparable strength and quickness, he caught his rival on his back to finish with a pin. Shan is now the sixth three-time state champion in Juab Wrestling history. He finished his exceptional career with a perfect state tournament, four falls in four matches. Congrats, Shan. As mentioned in the intro, this is the first time in Juab Wrestling history that we have had a placer in every weight. At 126, Cooper Blackett had an exciting quarter-finals win to secure a spot in the semis and a fourth-place finish. Hayden Park placed sixth at 132 to cap his freshman season. At 138 we had a champion, but Gavin Reynolds also placed fourth, as did Tyler Lynn at 152. Aiden Seely had a great tournament, placing fourth as well. Talon Holdaway (195) and Briggs Ludlow (220) rounded out our placers with third and fifth places respectively. Also qualifying for state, but not placing were: Tyler Payne (106), Braxon Steiner (113), Ben Holthaus (120), Gabe Perry (132), Breyer Wright (145), Ryler Blackett (160), Ty Blackburn (220) and Jaxton Adams (285). Many of these wresters were one match away from placing and every one of these wrestlers will be back next year. We hope they will use this experience as a step towards bigger goals next year. Our Seniors this year are Shan Jackson, Talon Holdaway, Keaton Sperry, Waylon Steiner and Kayson Sperry. We were very happy for Talon to end his career with a win and a third-place medal. He placed fourth in state last year and improved on it this year. He has come a long way in just a few years as a wrestler. He has been a solid anchor for our team at 195 and he will missed. Keaton Sperry is our other senior who has seen significant time in the Juab Wrestling lineup. Unfortunately, his career was ended early due to repeat concussions. He was a good leader for our team and we had high hope for him this year. He finishes his career as a three time state qualifier with a sixth and third place finish. Kayson Sperry and Waylon Steiner were both out for the season due to preseason injuries. They were, nonetheless, a valued part of our team who were supportive of our active wrestlers. Finally, we lose two dedicated managers in Bailey Wright and Sierra Thompson. Bailey has been a four-year manger as well as a talented regular performer of the national anthem at our home meets as well as the state tournament. She has trained many other managers and organized table help for four Juab Winter Classics as well as four state tournaments. Sierra has been on the team for three years. She too has been an asset and both will be missed. It has been another record-breaking year for Juab Wrestling. As a team, we are young and we look forward to the opportunities ahead. We are proud to represent the Juab community and we are grateful for your support. We appreciate those who have helped build our winning culture and we look forward to future success.
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