5A STATE WRESTLING: Anderson leads Pleasant Grove to 6th straight title


7 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OREM — Pleasant Grove's Ben Anderson had waited four years for the chance to write his name in the Utah wrestling record books.

He wasn't going to wait a minute longer.

The senior 152-pound wrestler won his fourth-straight Class 5A state championship with a 54-second pin over American Fork's Porter Johnson, a win that helped propel the Vikings to a dominant sixth-straight state title.

"As soon as I had him on his back, I was just thinking 'pin, pin, pin,'" Anderson said. "I knew I had it, and I was just excited to get that fourth title.

"When there's a spotlight match, I feel like I do even better."

Anderson capped off a stellar senior season that saw him become the 27th four-time state champion in state history — along with the Vikings' sixth-straight team title and an academic all-state bid.

"This is the sweetest thing," said Anderson, who has committed to Duke. "Definitely no better way. It was awesome — I got the fourth title, academic all-state, and the team title.

"I'm definitely looking forward to college, going to a good academic school. It's going to be amazing, and ending this way — I think that's pretty awesome."

Anderson helped Pleasant Grove wrap up its sixth-straight 5A state title with a dominant showing from start to finish, scoring 262 points to Herriman's 156. The Vikings placed five wrestlers in the finals and added six more top-four finishes at the annual event Thursday night at Utah Valley's UCCU Center.

American Fork finished a distant third with 108 points, followed by Layton (104) and Fremont (94).

"That's what we want Pleasant Grove wrestling to look like," Vikings coach Brock Moore said of Anderson. "Good, hard-nosed, aggressive wrestling — and pinning people. He pinned his way through the tournament, from divisionals, too. That's how it's done."

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Teammate Koy Wilkinson earned his second state title at 170 pounds, second-year heavyweight Walker Wolfgramm won at 285, and the Vikings also got runner-up finishes from Nelson Jones (138) and Alex Young (145). Cole Zorn (106), Derek Fisher (120), Matthew Zorn (126), Josh Whitehead (160), Maika Tauteoli (182) and Brandon Closson (220) also earned top-four finishes.

"We picked it up today," Anderson said. "We had a good talk with the team, and asked 'how bad do you guys want it?' A lot of them pushed through. We had 12 placers total, and I think that's a lot better than last year.

"We definitely picked it up today."

Pleasant Grove held a commanding lead after Wednesday night's quarterfinals, and jumped to a decisive 96-point advantage before the finals had begun.

Far from a formality, Anderson's pin was icing on the cake. His match marked the third-straight finalist for Pleasant Grove, and though Jones and Young fell to place second, he felt the energy and momentum of a strongly pro-Viking crowd on the south end of the UCCU Center.

"He's one kid who does everything I ask him to do: summer weight lifting, summer camps, visiting colleges," Moore said of Anderson. "He does stuff without being asked, and he gets the job done."

At Utah Valley University
Class 5A state wrestling championships
106 — Tayton Bennett, Fremont, d. Dalton Stuzman, Layton, 7-4.
113 — Terrell Barraclough, Layton, d. Kegan Leatherow, Fremont, 10-2.
120 — Coby Vandertoolen, Bingham, d. Tanner Benedict, Layton, 8-6.
126 — Antonio Ruiz, Hunter, d. Brayden Stevens, Brighton, 7-6.
132 — Cameron Hunsaker, American Fork, d. Logan Jensen, Herriman, 4-1.
138 — Ryan Winger, Viewmont, d. Nelson Jones, Pleasant Grove, 6-3.
145 — Jaron Jensen, Herriman, d. Alex Young, Pleasant Grove, 15-5.
152 — Ben Anderson, Pleasant Grove, p. Porter Johnson, AF, 0:54.
160 — Cole Moody, Bingham, d. Curtis Smith, Viewmont, 3-1 (OT).
170 — Koy Wilkinson, Pleasant Grove, d. Ben Bolingbroke, Clearfield, 14-6.
185 — Connor Kirkland, Roy, d. Garrett Hoyt, Weber, 7-2.
195 — Wyatt Koelling, Davis, d. Shane French, Herriman, 4-3.
220 — Simeon Page, Riverton, d. Wade French, Herriman, 6-4.
285 — Walker Wolfgramm, Pleasant Grove, d. Stone Sagala, Herriman, 3-2.

Herriman finished second with 156 points, followed by American Fork (108), Layton (104) and Fremont (94.5).

Jaron Jensen paced the Mustangs with the 145-pound state title, and teammates Logan Jensen (132), Shane French (195), Wade French (220) and Stone Sagala (285) each finished second.

"Our expectation every year is to wrestle the best people in the country and to dominate," Moore said. "We want to score points and pin; we want it to be exciting and fan-friendly. We don't like to score two points and stall.

"It's not about winning. It's about wrestling good, with good technique, having an attitude and having aggressiveness. Today we opened up and finally started wrestling. We finished how we were supposed to finish."

Photos

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsHigh School
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast