Wasatch Freshman Find Another Mat

Being declared ineligible for the State Junior High Tournament, forces eight Wasp grapplers to head north

BY KENNY BRISTOW

It seems unfair to penalize an athlete for competing at a higher level than their age, grade or size may indicate, but that was the circumstance last weekend for several Wasatch High School freshman wrestlers.

Eight boys were not permitted to participate at the 1-3A State Junior High Tournament due to a sanction based on a decision made against an athlete from Logan a few years ago.  A young man from that program had wrestled some high school varsity matches during the season, therefore making him ineligible for the state tournament… even in his own freshman class.

All of the eight young Wasps had wrestled in at least one high school dual or tournament during the regular season for Wasatch, subjecting them to this rule.

Tim Steinman 4th, Garth Healey 2nd, Rex Bowden 1st, Wayson Foy 3rd, Riley Gabrielson 3rd, and Kaelin Cummings 5th

Knowing this was a possibility for some of his ninth graders, Head Wrestling Coach Wade Discher advised the boys to sign up for the Utah Northern Regionals instead.

It turned out to be a very successful tournament for the Wasps as six of the eight boys who competed placed in the tournament.

Here are the results from last Saturday’s meet:

Rex Bowden 135 lbs placed 1st with an 5-2 win over Johnson of Pleasant Grove

Garth Healey 150 lbs placed 2nd with a 5-11 loss to Goodwin of Logan

Riley Gabrielson 115 lbs placed 3rd with a Pin in 2:04 over Sanchez of Logan

Wayson Foy 175 lbs placed 3rd with a pin in 1:11 over Revels of Riverton Wolf Pack

Tim Steinmann 142 lbs placed 4th with a 2-10 loss to Shuman of Champions

Kaelin Cummings 125 lbs placed 5th with a 4-2 win over Giddings of Olympus

Aaron Sluga 120 lbs had a 1-2 record in the tournament

Cole Johnson had a 1-2 record in the tournament

Shauna Bowden contributed to this article.

Rex Bowden (135 lbs) championship 5-2 win over Johnson of Pleasant Grove.

Garth Healey (150 lbs) pinning Price of Kingdom in Semi-final.

Riley Gabrielson (115 lbs) 8-0 win over Abe of TECH.

Wayson Foy (175 lbs) pinning Blatter of Mountain View.