OREM — There are 5,443 residents of Nephi, the home of Juab High School, according to the 2013 U.S. census

And a big chunk of them made the short drive up I-15 to Utah Valley University this weekend for a championship celebration.

Ashton Seely won his fourth state wrestling title to lead four individual champions as the Wasps won the Class 3A state wrestling championship after finishing second the past two seasons Saturday evening at the UCCU Center.

“It’s easier to quit on yourself than on your family and your community,” said Juab coach Joel Holman, who took home 3A Coach of the Year honors. “I think we’ve brought that extra bit of drive that people need. We’ll do a lot of things for other people that we don’t do for ourselves.”

Seely had won three state titles before, but in order to etch his name into the UHSAA record book with a fourth individual championship, he just needed to get by Cedar’s Quaid Murray in the 195-pound final.

Juab knocked off reigning 3A champion Bear River, 242.5 to 204. Morgan was third with 168.5 points, followed by Desert Hills (165.5) and Stansbury (110.5).

With a 5-0 lead after the first period, Seely cruised to the win, a 16-6 victory in front of a crowd that resembled a home meet on 650 East in Nephi.

“I wanted to come out in my last time wrestling for the crimson and gold,” said Seely, who became the first four-time champion in Juab history. “I wrestled for the program and for my community; my community is unbelievable. You look up, and there are thousands of people (at the UCCU Center). My community is huge.

“I wanted to go out with a bang, and I went out with a bang.”

When 285-pound finalist Dylan White was headed to overtime against Cedar’s Daniel Jordan, he took one look at the crowd and used the boost to edge his rival 5-4 in extra sessions.

“I didn’t know I had a stall call until he got the point. But I knew I was in better shape, and I knew I could take him down,” White said. “I just had to ride it out.”

Gentry Warner (120) and Jayce Lind (126) also win individual titles for the Wasps, who also got a second-place finish from Joey Aagard (170).

The night ended with a mass of residents of Nephi flooding the floor at the UCCU Center, celebrating a state title that appeared so close and so far away for the past three years. But even as he basked in the glow of a championship, Holman couldn’t help but think of what more could have been.

“I’m happy that we won, but I can name every kid I am sad for — that didn’t reach their individual goals,” an emotional Holman said while clinging to the Coach of the Year trophy. “It bothers me that there are some kids who didn’t get their goals.

“But until we get it perfect, I’m not going to be all the way.”

1A/2A Wrestling

Altamont 1A champs; Duchesne grappler earns 4th individual title

David Van Tassell’s hand was raised last, signifying his fourth-straight state championship and the first for the Eagles at the 2017 1A state wrestling tournament Saturday at Utah Valley University.

The Wasps may not have been perfect Saturday night. But they were still champions.

And even though Seely had done it himself three times previous, Saturday’s championship was the best one of all.

“It’s so sweet; there is no better way to end the season,” Seely said. “These guys bust their butts every day, and I’m proud that I was a captain for them and that we could get it done as a team. There’s no other way to explain it: this is the greatest feeling in the world.”

For complete results, visit trackwrestling.com.

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