Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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 — A lot of wrestling programs would wait a long time for three-straight state championships.
Wasatch’s senior class waited since fourth grade, when the majority of them got together as pee wee lightweights and embarked on a journey that would take the Wasps back to the top of Utah wrestling.
With one final pin by DJ Cohen at 220 pounds, Wasatch etched the latest streak into its history books.
The Wasps took home six individual state titles, and cruised to a 62-point win in the Class 4A state wrestling tournament for the third-straight year on Thursday evening at Utah Valley University.
“I came up short last year, and it was a bummer,” Cohen said. “I’ve been battling with it in my head all year. To finally redeem myself was amazing.”
Wasatch’s Jakob Discher took an extra couple of periods, but the senior 160-pounder used an explosive second-overtime period to hold off Uintah’s Tucker Tomlinson for his second-straight state title.
“It wasn’t about technique anymore,” Discher said. “It was about guts. I just had to find it deep in myself.
“Dig deep and go.”
Stockton O’Brien won his first title at 126 to start a run for the Wasps, who placed seven wrestlers through to the championship round. Zak Kohler (132), Corbin Smith (145), Ritchie Heywood (182) and DJ Cohen (220) each added an individual gold-medal performance as the Wasps handily defended their team championship with a bevy of multi-state title winners.
Cohen’s pin in 5:35 was a thunderous exclamation point on a resounding evening for the Wasps.
“He was desperate, so he tried some throw and I caught his head and elbow and squeezed as tight as I could to get the pin for the team,” Cohen said. “I felt like I was on top of the world. It was amazing.”
Wasatch entered the final round with a 40-point lead on second-place Payson, and then wasted little time in securing another trophy to add to the vaunted case in the Heber Valley, home of NCAA all-time wrestling legend Cael Sanderson.
“Wrestling is definitely a big part of our community,” Smith said. “To be able to bring home another one makes everyone happy. We’re bringing a tradition of winning back to Wasatch wrestling.”
Payson finished second with 200 points, followed by Uintah (194 ½), Maple Mountain (149) and Salem Hills (139 ½).
In addition to the team race, Box Elder’s Brock Hardy clinched his third state championship with a pin in 3:51 in the 152-pound weight class.
Uintah’s Gavin Ayotte opened the final round with a pin in 4:40, and Box Elder’s Garrett Ricks (113), Kearns’ Brandon Meikel (120), Olympus’ Isaac Wilcox (138), Maple Mountain’s Brandyn Van Tassell (170), Payson Chayce Loveless (195) and Corner Canyon’s Shaun Stockwell (285) each claimed an individual state title.
106 — Gavin Ayotte, Uintah, p. Jacob Ethridge, Payson, 4:40
113 — Garrett Ricks, Box Elder, d. Quenton Mortimer, Maple Mountain, 9-6
120 — Brandon Meikel, Kearns, d. Sammy Heywood, Wasatch, 3-1
126 — Stockton O’Brien, Wasatch, maj. dec. Noah Patterson, Salem Hills, 13-4
132 — Zak Kohler, Wasatch, tech. fall. Riley Noble, Olympus, 17-2
138 — Isaac Wilcox, Olympus, vs. Holland Knudsen, Timpanogos
145 — Corbin Smith, Wasatch, d. Jed Loveless, Payson, 9-5
152 — Brock Hardy, Box Elder, p. Jeff Eidem, Timpanogos, 3:51
160 — Jakob Discher, Wasatch, d. Tucker Tomlinson, Uintah, 6-3 (2OT)
170 — Brandyn Van Tassell, Maple Mountain, d. Wyatt Monroe, Payson, 2-1
182 — Ritchie Heywood, Wasatch, d. Justin Martin, Salem Hills, 5-1
195 — Chayce Loveless, Payson, maj. dec. Parker Kay, Maple Mountain, 8-0
220 — DJ Cohen, Wasatch, p. Alek Shope, Uintah, 5:35
285 — Shaun Stockwell, Corner Canyon, p. Riley Taylor, Box Elder, 3:03
