Feeling Stronger Every Day

Wasatch hosts Intermountain Duals and makes their statement

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The floor of the Wasatch County Events Center was covered with mats this weekend as Wasatch High School hosted the 2012 Wasatch Intermountain Duels.  Hundreds of wrestlers, wrestling coaches, referees, officials and fans packed the house for the meet that saw 12 high school wrestling teams from as far as Grand Junction and Rock Springs compete in the two day event.

Included in the duels were Utah state powers Maple Mountain, who brought two varsity squads, Pleasant Grove and Box Elder.  All were here to stake claim on Wasatch County, and even though the Wasps did not win the event, they showed they were a formidable group of young wrestlers and a serious contender for a region championship.

Wasatch got off on the right foot Friday night with a dominating Round 1 victory over Rock Springs.  11 Wasps won their matches, two coming on forfeits.  Round 2 was much of the same as Wasatch soundly defeated Summit County neighbor South Summit with 12 black and gold wrestlers coming out on top.

Round 3 saw Wasatch pitted against the very tough Box Elder.  The Wasps managed only three individual victories, one each by Sterling Ballif at 120 pounds and Robby Minor at 126 pounds.  Matthew Provost was credited with a win by forfeit at 145 pounds.  Wasatch surrendered in three weight classes this round.

The Wasps returned to form in the final round on Friday night, beating Green River 54-15.  After losing by pins in the first two matches, Wasatch won 11 of the remaining 12.  In addition to Ballif and Minor remaining undefeated on the night, Garret Sweat (132 lbs.), Logan Huntington (145 lbs.), Alan Nichols (152 lbs.), Spencer Heywood (160 lbs.), Bryce Provost (170 lbs.), Jake McNaughton (182 lbs.), Parker Hortin (195 lbs.) and Joseph Forbush recorded victories.

Round 5, the first on Saturday morning had Wasatch facing the powerful Maple Mountain Golden Eagles.  Even though the Wasps lost the match, Head Coach Wade Discher was extremely proud of the way his team fought, finding the silver lining in the contest.  “We didn’t give in to those guys,” said Discher.  “We won two of our matches by pin and only lost one to a pin.  Other than that one, we took them the distance, we fought them hard” he added.  “I was real proud of Robby (Minor) for staying undefeated there, and for Garret (Sweat) and Joe (Forbush) for pinning their guys.  We learned to compete in that one.  A great team effort.”

The Wasp grapplers would not lose as a team for the rest of the duel.  They handily beat Lone Peak in Round 6 scoring 12 individual victories, seven coming on pins.  Freshmen Braiden Parker, wrestling at 106 pounds and Gage Bradley at 113 pounds both recorded big wins in the round. 

Wasatch had the bye in Round 7, but were back at it in Round 8 against Central of Grand Junction.  The Wasps dominated their opponents with 12 individual wins out of the 14 weight classes.  145-pound freshman Rex Bowden recorded a pin in a gutsy match stopped twice for his bleeding nose.

The final round of the duel found Wasatch facing region rival Uintah.  In what Coach Discher referred to as measuring stick, the Wasps won nine of their matches against the Utes proving to themselves that they are a contender for the Region 10 title.

In the end, Wasatch placed third as a team, winning six rounds and losing only two.  And the two where they came up short were against state championship contenders Box Elder and Maple Mountain.   Several Wasps had outstanding individual performances, including Robby Minor who finished undefeated at 8-0.  Garret Sweat was right behind him with only one loss going 7-1.  Spencer Haywood, Bryce Provost, Sterling Ballif and Joseph Forbush all finished 6-2 on the tournament.

“I am really proud of how our guys are not giving up.  We’re showing a lot of heart and a lot of character,” said Coach Discher.  “Everybody’s buying into the attitude and it’s showing in our level of confidence.  It really is why I love this group of guys,” he added.  “We don’t give up.  We just keep getting stronger.”