Region 9 wrestling: Girls and boys claim 4 state titles

Desert Hills' Keagan Boyce controls Cedar's Jancen Payne in the Enterprise Tournament, Enterprise, Utah, Jan. 23, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Boys from all across Region 9 took to the mat at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield, Utah, on Saturday for the state 4A championship tournament. For the first time as a sanctioned sport, girls wrestlers joined them in their own bracket, rather than competing with the boys.

Snow Canyon’s Jace Lang is awarded victor in the third-place match of the 145-pound weight class over Stansbury’s Jordan Hammond in the state championships at the Sevier Valley Center, Richfield, Utah, Feb. 20, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Snow Canyon Wrestling, St. George News

Individually, Region 9 wrestlers claimed four individual state titles. Ayelen Alissa Grilli of Cedar became the first Region 9 girl to win a state championship, taking down Cristell Flores of Mountain Crest by pin in the first period in the finals of the 136 weight class.

On the boys side, Desert Hills’ Dawson Bundy topped Cedar’s Payton Murray in the championships of the 220 class by an 8-4 decision. Joshua Armstrong of Hurricane took a narrow 3-2 win over Uintah’s Dillon Dick in the 152 finals and Jason Ponausuia gave Crimson Cliffs its first wrestling title in the 285 division, falling Green Canyon’s Garrett Herzog at the 1:08 mark of the first period. In addition to Bundy, Desert Hills had a pair of second-place finishes: Nathaniel Fordham in the 120-pound bracket, falling in a tight 8-5 final decision, and Keagan Boyce in the 160-pound bracket, who fell similarly in the finals, 8-4.

In the inaugural girls bracket, Cedar was the highest represented region team with 72 points and a sixth-place finish. Cedar City rival Canyon View slid in just behind them with just three fewer points. No other Region 9 school finished in the top 10.

Snow Canyon claimed the top spot for a region school in the boys bracket at No. 5 after sweeping through the league calendar. The Warriors finished seven wrestlers in the top six of their respective weight classes, more than any other Region 9 school. Desert Hills came in eighth, Crimson Cliffs came in ninth and Pine View came in 10th.

Here are the top-six finishers for each Region 9 school in the 4A state tournament:

Canyon View

Girls

Kristie Jensen, 108, third place

Tessa Campbell, 124, second place

Rose Van Blaricom, 136, sixth place

Maccoy Abbott, 160, sixth place

Jaylie Roden, 190, second place

Boys

Jacob Olsen, 132, fourth place

Cedar

Girls

Baileigh Andker, 132, fourth place

Ayelen Alissa Grilli, 136, first place

Emma Beacham, 160, fifth place

Broddyn Cox, 170, sixth place

Lexie Durfee, 245, fourth place

Boys

Payton Murray, 220, second place

Crimson Cliffs

Boys

Corbin Hansen, 106, sixth place

Matthew Martinez, 160, third place

Eldon Milton, 182, third place

Jason Ponausuia, 285, first place

Desert Hills

Boys

Nathaniel Fordham, 120, second place

Keagan Boyce, 160, second place

Dawson Bundy, 220, first place

Dixie

Boys

Korbin Suwyn, 132, fifth place

Aiden Crawford, 285, fifth place

Hurricane

Boys

Seth Armstrong, 120, fourth place

Tristyn Dennett, 138, fourth place

Joshua Armstrong, 152, first place

Pine View

Girls

McKelle Jeppson, 124, sixth place

Lillian Sterling, 128, sixth place

Emma Meidell, 145, fourth place

Boys

Jaren Marx, 113, third place

Jack Smart, 152, fourth place

Payton Calico, 285, fourth place

Snow Canyon

Boys

Ashen Farr, 106, fifth place

Edgar Renteria, 113, fifth place

Jace Lang, 145, third place

Rockwell Jones, 170, fifth place

Carson Hansen, 195, second place

Vincent Threlfall, 195, sixth place

Breccan Fisher, 220, sixth place

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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