Recently, on Feb. 28 and March 1, the state qualifiers from the boys and girls wrestling teams went to the 5A State Championship tournaments at Park City Arena.
For the boys, senior Dalton Meyers placed third in the 175-lbs. division, racking up 20 points for the team, and junior Jonathan Rigler placed third in the 190-lbs. division, earning 16.5 points for the team. Sophomore Cyler Luck placed fifth in the 106-lbs. division, scoring 15.5 points for the team.
Senior Roberto Macias, junior Grady Lind, junior Jaxson Chartier, and sophomore Tanner Geist, did not place in their weight divisions but earned team points.
As a team, the boys placed 12th with 71 points out of the 33 schools participating.
“I was happy with the boys’ performance,” head coach Heath Meder said. “Most of our placers picked up some wins over some opponents that had beaten them in the past. And, for the most part, all season long, we only had two ranked wrestlers, and then we ended up placing three at state. So, it’s always good to do a little better than you expected to. Our wrestlers were solid and made it farther into the rounds or picked up some big wins and beat ranked kids in that state tournament.”
For the girls, sophomore Timber Lovewell placed third in the 145-lbs. division and earned 19 points, while junior Lexi Barnett placed fourth in the 155-lbs. division and scored 16 points. Placing fifth were senior Tionna Napue in the 135 lbs. division with 15 points, senior Ava Ruiz in the 140-lbs. division with 16.5 points and sophomore Eleanor Stoffel in the 190-lbs. division with 13 points.
Junior Addison Neuburger, junior Reese Vehige, sophomore Emersyn Copper, sophomore Kenlee Vehige and freshman Jenessa Carrillo all wrestled at state, but did not place.
As a team, the girls placed sixth with 94.5 points out of the 34 teams participating.
“The expectations were high, and we did well,” Meder said. “I always wish we could have got a few more on the podium, but honestly, we wrestled well. We placed five girls, which is the most we’ve ever placed on a girls’ team in a single state tournament, and the wrestling environment was fun, too. It was a great tournament to be a part of, and any time you can bring home eight state placers, it’s a good thing.”
27bstaleyherman@usd489.com
