ST. GEORGE —Snow Canyon senior Vincent Threlfall can’t wait to get back to the 4A state wrestling tournament.

Last February, Threlfall made it to the final round in the 215-pound division before losing in triple overtime to Green Canyon’s Will Wheatley.

“People called it the match of the year,” Jeriah Threlfall, Vincent’s father, told St. George news Tuesday afternoon in the Snow Canyon High School weight room. “It went to the last second.”

Vincent is using the memory of that moment to fuel his offseason training routine. His desire and dedication will take him all the way to Vietnam for a wrestling camp featuring some to the top talent in the world.

“It’s called the Expanding Horizons World Camp,” Vincent Threlfall said of the camp, which runs June 16-30 in Hanoi, Vietnam. “It’s two weeks of camp activities with the last four days featuring matches with wrestlers from around the world.”

He went on to say that a visit to an orphanage is also on the itinerary as well as workouts and practices with local wrestling clubs.

And that’s all before the high school wrestling season even starts.

For Vincent, the memory of last year’s second-place team finish for the Warriors (perennial Utah powerhouse Mountain Crest won the 4A title), as well as the disappointment in his final match, still sting but also motivate him.

“As of right now we’re ranked No. 1 in preseason so we got some high expectations,” Vincent said. “We haven’t lost a regional dual in a couple of years now. It’s been a lot of fun and we got a really good team coming in.”

He went on to echo the belief of Snow Canyon head coach Nicholas Lang that last year’s Warriors team was the best in school history.

“And this coming year we’ll have a better team than that. It’s going to be historic,” Vincent said. “Hopefully we’ll get our first team title and I’ll get my first title this year. It should be a good time.”

As he prepares his senior season for a springboard into the ranks of collegiate wrestling, Vincent noted the value of the skills he’s learning.

“You do research on your diet and being healthy and that discipline goes to other parts of your life,” he said.

Added Jeriah: “He’s definitely the most disciplined eater and he’s a real fitness person.”

Vincent said part of his physical maintenance is to sit in what he called a “bod pod.”

“It’s an egg-shaped device you sit in and it measures body fat, metabolic rate, stuff like that,” Vincent said. “It helps me learn about how to cut weight if I have to and makes body maintenance a lot safer.”

Vincent watches his diet to such an extreme that he knows how much weight he loses while asleep. He knows which hoody to wear to make him sweat more.

“It’s amazing how much preparation is involved,” said Jeriah, adding that he remembers in his day all you had to do for a sport was show up and get some used equipment.

Growing up, Vincent’s passion was rugby. He also excelled at baseball and basketball. But soon he learned that wrestling is where his talent lies and he decided to focus on the mat exclusively.

“I was surprised at first he picked wrestling,” Jeriah said. “Coaches from other sports keep asking him if he’s going to play, he was such a good athlete.”

Vincent’s love for wrestling is bolstered by an Instagram friendship with Bo Nickal, the legendary three-time NCAA national champion at Penn State. Nickal recently embarked on an MMA fighting career.

“He follows some of my matches, I just want to shout out to him,” Vincent said. “It means a lot.”

Jeriah said his son took full responsibility for the fundraising necessary to make the trip to Vietnam. To attend that camp and go to national tournaments in Virginia and Fargo, North Dakota, Vincent had to raise about $8,000.

“I did a lot of yard work,” Vincent said.

“He worked his butt off,” Jeriah added. “Cleaning trashcans, getting work from people in the community. He did some work for Metcalf Mortuary and they helped him. I’m just so proud of his work ethic.”

While the rest of the family won’t get to go to Vietnam, they’ll be following Vincent’s progress every day.

“His little sister is his biggest fan,” Jeriah said. “He’s got two brothers too who just love it.”

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