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.
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
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