Beaver wins first 2A state wrestling title; Panguitch repeats as 1A champions

L: Beaver High wrestlers and coaches after the Beavers won 2A state title. R: Panguitch wrestlers and coaches after winning 1A title. Richfield, Utah, Feb. 12-13, 2021 | Photos courtesy of Beaver High and Panguitch High athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — The Beaver Beavers and the Panguitch Bobcats won the respective 2A and 1A wrestling state championships held recently in Richfield.

Panguitch High wrestler Porter Schoppe competes at 1A state championships, Richfield, Utah, Feb. 12, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Jake Schoppe, St. George News / Cedar City News

It was Beaver’s first-ever wrestling title and Panguitch’s fourth; the Bobcats previously took state in 1997, 2000 and 2020. The two schools were among several smaller Southern Utah high schools who fared well at the Utah High School Activities Association’s state tournaments staged at the Sevier Valley Center the weekend of Feb. 12-13.

Panguitch head coach Colin Marshall called his team’s repeat 1A title “a team effort.”

The Bobcats not only had five individual state champions but also had 10 other wrestlers place among the top four in their respective brackets.

“I think that’s what made the difference, is we just really got everybody involved,” Marshall told St. George News / Cedar City News. “We ultimately ended up winning because of a team effort, with everybody wrestling to their best potential.”

“This year, they all worked really hard. It’s been a little bit disjointed because of COVID,” Marshall added. “We’ve had kids in and out of the room, so that’s made it a little more challenging than it would have been otherwise. But they all just worked really hard and I think their efforts paid off.”

Beaver head coach Robbie Bradshaw also cited his team’s overall effort in winning the school’s first wrestling state title.

“We did have a kid place in every weight, which is kind of unusual,” Bradshaw said. “We took 25 kids to state and 18 of them placed. So you know, it did take all of them to be able to win the state championship. They all scored points and they all helped the team.”

Bradshaw, who has been Beaver’s head coach for the past 10 years, also credited his athletes for staying dedicated and sticking with the sport for the past several years.

“They started our junior high program going right about when they were in third and fourth grade,” he said. “So a lot of them have wrestled for me, actually, since third and fourth grade. I credit them for being consistent and coming out every year, and believing in the process, believing that they’re getting better. And I believe that we have the opportunity to take state as a team if they all continue to stay with the program. 

“They have a great work ethic,” Bradshaw added. “They’re really good at communicating with the other kids and helping the younger kids to come along as well. They’re awesome, and they’re great examples.”

Bradshaw also cited his athletes’ versatility and involvement in multiple activities. 

A Beaver High wrestler competes in 2A state championships, Richfield, Utah, Feb. 13, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Cory Norman via Beaver Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

“In Beaver, we’ve got to have them play football … we’ve got to have them either wrestle or play basketball. They do the school play and these other activities. Then after they do those three or four things, they play baseball or go run track in the spring. I mean, they’ve got to be involved for us to be successful.”

Bradshaw said the 35 members of year’s squad include 11 seniors, 10 of whom qualified for state.

Although the Beavers will lose those 11 wrestlers to graduation, Bradshaw says there should still be a strong group of current eighth-graders coming in that will help them stay competitive next year.

Both coaches thanked the parents, school staff and administrators, fans and community sponsors for their ongoing support.

This season also marked the first year girls wrestling has been an official UHSAA sanctioned sport. However, only the 4A and 6A classifications had their own separate girls tournaments, which meant that 1A, 2A, 3A and 5A classifications were all lumped together. In the combined tournament held in Orem on Feb. 17, four Southern Utah schools were represented, namely Water Canyon, Enterprise, Parowan and Kanab. The 124-pound state title match featured Corrie Williams of Enterprise defeating Merci Jessop of Water Canyon by a pin late in the first round. Also, Meg Fischer of Water Canyon placed third in state at 115 pounds, while Hayley Mobley of Parowan placed third in the 132 pound bracket.

Following are the boys state tournament results, with 1A first, followed by 2A, courtesy of trackwrestling.com. The individual matches listed are the state championship matches at each of the given weights.

1A boys 

1A boys state tournament team results, top 5

  1. Panguitch 214
  2. Piute 167.5
  3. Milford 146
  4. Rich 100
  5. Wayne 87

1A boys state tournament, individual championship match results, by weight

  • 106: Sophomore Owen Crofts of Panguitch (17-14) defeated sophomore Jayken Downing of Rich (16-5), fall 4:46.
  • 113: Sophomore Hunter Dickinson of Panguitch (17-18), defeated senior Ricardo Pena of Piute (21-11), sudden victory, 6-4.
  • 120: Sophomore Bryson Henrie of Panguitch (13-11) defeated sophomore Rayce Jeffrey of Wayne (24-9), fall 1:35.
  • 126: Senior Kolt Pace of Wayne (27-6) defeated junior Thomas Marshall of Panguitch (24-13), sudden victory, 9-7.
  • 132: Senior Porter Schoppe of Panguitch (29-6) defeated senior Keller Siddoway of Rich (21-2), decision, 6-2.
  • 138: Sophomore Mckray Gayler of Piute (30-1) defeated junior Riley Edwards of Wayne (8-9), decision, 8-1.
  • 145: Sophomore Quaid Thompson of Milford (29-3) defeated senior Jace Edwards of Wayne (23-10), decision, 5-0.
  • 152: Senior Jax Coburn of Piute (32-0) defeated sophomore Marcus Wilson of Wayne (16-4), fall 1:14.
  • 160: Senior Luke Finicum of Milford (20-6) defeated junior Ryker Conk of Rich (17-2), fall 1:05.
  • 170: Junior Blake Barnes of Milford (24-3) defeated sophomore Cael Houston of Panguitch (19-18), fall 5:00.
  • 182: Senior Calvin Holm of Milford (19-7) defeated senior Jaedon Rowe of Rich (20-5), decision, 8-3.
  • 195: Senior Porter Trapp of Piute (32-6) defeated senior Skyler Williams of Milford (11-10), fall 1:17.
  • 220: Senior Wade Christensen of Panguitch (18-3) defeated junior Jaden Kriegh of Tintic (30-7), fall 2:36.
  • 285: Junior Rhyder Ambrose of Milford (7-8) defeated sophomore Cole Harland of Panguitch (8-7), fall 5:25.

2A boys 

2A state tournament team results, top 6

  1. Beaver 254
  2. Millard 242
  3. Altamont 208
  4. North Summit 175.5
  5. Duchesne 164
  6. Enterprise 103

2A boys state tournament, individual championship match results, by weight

  • 106: Sophomore Camden Moat of Millard (36-3) defeated junior Slade Mickelsen of North Sevier (25-5), decision, 10-5.
  • 113: Sophomore Gatlen Farnsworth of Altamont (34-2) defeated sophomore Hagen Mayer of Beaver (21-5), fall 4:22.
  • 120: Freshman Sam Rasmussen of Millard (31-9) defeated sophomore Douglas Evans of Beaver (27-6), decision, 7-5.
  • 126: Freshman Russell Evans of Beaver (31-0) defeated junior Bronson Richins of North Summit (33-3), decision, 8-7.
  • 132: Senior Brevin Olson of Monticello (25-1) defeated junior Tezlin Winn of Gunnison Valley (38-3), decision, 6-3.
  • 138: Senior Kaleb Sanchez of Duchesne (30-4) defeated senior Brian Evans of Beaver (22-4), decision, 5-4.
  • 145: Senior Jaxon Morlan of Duchesne (33-2) defeated sophomore Dylan Rees of Millard (24-16), fall 2:23.
  • 152: Senior Braxton Messersmith of Enterprise (33-3) defeated senior Easton Richins of Altamont (26-14), decision, 10-4.
  • 160: Sophomore Riggin Boger of Altamont (47-3) defeated junior Josh Whitaker of Millard (23-16), fall 2:54.
  • 170: Senior Cort Raddon of Beaver (16-2) defeated senior Jaxon Verduzco of Duchesne (15-6), technical fall 4:08 (15-0).
  • 182: Senior John Gates of Millard (26-13) defeated senior McCoy Beal of Altamont (22-13), decision, 3-1.
  • 195: Senior Danny Garcia of Millard (38-1) defeated senior Michael Warino of Kanab (20-3), decision, 5-0).
  • 220: Senior Cash Robb of Altamont (19-1) defeated senior Collin Tuff Adair of Monticello (17-3), fall 3:34.
  • 285: Senior MacIntyre Thacker of Altamont (31-1) defeated senior Kyler Boren of Beaver (20-4), fall 1:22.

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

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