1)   In January of 2011 we had our highest membership ever.  We had 1,571 USAWU members.  This year on January 1, 2012 we have 2,562.  That represents just short of 1000 members more than last year on New Year’s Day!  I am excited over our growth.  It is an excellent sign for the future of wrestling in Utah.  It also speaks volumes about the new structure for youth folkstyle wrestling.  We have three or four sanctioned youth tournaments each weekend and all of them are full of young wrestlers.  I hope that the rural communities can see the benefits of growth with the added structure that USAWU provides.  The communities that have embraced that structure are flourishing.

2)   USA Wrestling Utah has officially hired its second employee.  Sam Allen, recent UVU wrestler, has been hired as our Corporate Relations Specialist.  His job is to raise money for our organization through corporate relations and other alternative income streams.  Sam has a terrific resume and has hit the road running by bringing in more money in the first month of employment than what he was paid! For those of you who know business owners who would possibly donate, but are shy about asking for sponsorships, just contact Sam and he will take over for you.  We are excited and want to welcome Sam to our staff.

3)   USA Wrestling Utah has made an offer to merge with the Utah Amateur Wrestling Foundation.  The UAWF was founded over a decade ago by Ross Brunson in an attempt to save College Wrestling in Utah.  More than any other single movement, this foundation has made an impact in saving wrestling in Utah.  The money the foundation raised originally was what allowed UVU to adopt wrestling as a sport.  Their continued fundraising support is donated to the university each year to help offset costs of the program.  USAWU is 100% committed to support UVU wrestling and college wrestling in Utah and will now manage the foundation to help its events grow.  The UAWF will maintain its name and its focus on collegiate wrestling but will be a subsidiary of USAWU.

4)   Last but not least, USAWU has tripled its number of female wrestlers already this year.  As most wrestlers know, women’s freestyle wrestling was added to the Olympics 15 years ago.  Since that time women’s wrestling has exploded all over the country…well, almost all over.  Actually it hasn’t exploded in Utah, but we hope to experience some pyrotechnics in 2012. Here are some exciting things about women’s wrestling in Utah.  We have a new Women’s Wrestling Chair in Billy Cox.  We have a new women’s wrestling Facebook page, we have a state wide women’s wrestling practice that takes place weekly, we have added a girls division to our state tournaments, western regional and nationals this year.  We are excited to not only grow our membership in this area, but to offer girl’s only divisions to our big events.

Good luck to all Utah wrestlers working hard for their goals at their state tournaments coming up.  My New Year’s hope is that injuries will be few and that dreams can be reached by those that deserve it the most!  Go Utah Wrestling!

Craig LaMont

President, USA Wrestling Utah

1/12/12

106

1. Chandler Strand – 12 – Herriman
2. Jovani Tolayo – 11 – Orem
3. Marshall Curtis – 10 – Maple Mountain
4. Trevor Lowe – Mountain Crest
5. Kyle Smith – 9 – Box Elder
6. Colton Thiel – Clearfield

1. Britain Carter – 11 – Maple Mountain
2. Shand Hardy – 10 – Box Elder
3. Hayden Jackman – 12 – Bonneville
4. Christian Kodele – Clearfield
5. Logan Harrison – Logan
6. Braden Griffen – 11 – Provo

120

1. Brandon Winward – 12 – Skyline
2. Brandon George – 12 – Maple Mountain
3. Trent Kelly – 10 – Maple Mountain
4. Mason Kendrick – 10 – Mountain Crest
5. Jake Smith – 11 – Box Elder
6. Josh Canfield – 12 – Westlake

126

1. Brady Dart – 11 – Mountain Crest
2. Austin Rowley – 12 – Maple Mountain
3. Jackson Lightfoot – 12 – Murray
4. Skyler Lloyd – 11 – Highland
5. Talon Teeples – 11 – Logan
6. Jordan Zufelt – Westlake

132

1. Quinn Hinkley – 12 – Logan
2. Landon Knutzen – 11 – Maple Mountain
3. Rayden Lindley – 11 – Mountain Crest
4. Dante Winward – 12 – Box Elder
5. Brigg Butler – 11 – Westlake
6. Braiden Wilson – Salem Hills

138

1. Grant Lamont – 11 – Maple Mountain
2. Kaden Lindley – 11 – Mountain Crest
3. Teagan Hubbard – 10 – Box Elder
4. Jess Clapier – 12 – Skyline
5. Jacob Armstrong – 9 – Salem Hills
6. Isaac Harrison – 12 – Logan

1. Craig Findlay – 12 – Salem Hills
2. Jake Tolman – 11 – Box Elder
3. Jesse Carlisle – 11 – Maple Mountain
4. Matt Williams – 10 – Box Elder
5. Jordan Wengreen – 11 – Mountain Crest
6. Josh Campbell – Springville

152

1. Rasten Yeates – 11 – Box Elder
2. Kimball Bastian – 10 – Maple Mountain
3. Hunter Ballam – Logan
4. Taylor Thorpe – Salem Hills
5. Danny Shepherd – 12 – Provo
6. Kieffer Taylor – 9 – Maple Mountain

160

1. Nick Sorenson – 11 – Box Elder
2. Josh Searle – 11 – Maple Mountain
3. Logan Kinross – 12 – Maple Mountain
4. Bob Nenbee – 12 – Cyprus
5. Bradley Brockbank – Murray
6. Alex Werling – 11 – Box Elder

170

1. Brandon McBride – 12 – Olympus
2. Spencer McKay – 12 – Logan
3. Jordan Argyle – 12 – Maple Mountain
4. Britton Gunter – 12 – Box Elder
5. Jon Britt – 12 – Springville
6. Ryder Wright – Mountain View

182

1. Talon Niederhauser – 11 – Mountain Crest
2. Mason Prestwich – 12 – Timpanogos
3. Lorenzo Rowley – 12 – Maple Mountain
4. Kohler Smoot – 11 – Box Elder
5. Kaleb Egbert – 12 – Orem
6. Josue Arredondo – 12 – Logan

195

1. Dustin Christensen – 12 – Roy
2. Drake Comer – 12 – Mountain Crest
3. Breckin Gunter – 10 – Box Elder
4. Colton Cavalli – 12 – Mountain View
5. Trevor Ringwood – Olympus
6. Tony Mendez – 11 – Woods Cross

220

1. Sylas Wells – 12 – Mountain Crest
2. Joe Flores – 11 – Box Elder
3. Pete Olvany – 12 – Logan
4. Raul Aguilar-Macias – Murray
5. Hunter Riley – Mountain View
6. Steven Gueck – Springville

285

1. Derek Mangelson – 12 – Salem Hills
2. Rylee Reeves – 12 – Box Elder
3. Zac Rittenhouse – 12 – Provo
4. Jacoby Wildman – 12 – Logan
5. Ben Krutsch – Springville
6. Dallas Howard – 11 – Murray

35lbs – Simjay Engberg – Brighton

40lbs – Ty Maynard – Dixie Red Storm

45lbs – Cam Ford – Payson Grappling Force

50lbs – Cole Eldredge – Westlake Thunder

55lbs – Chanse Pendergrass – Carbon Raptors

55lbs+ – Cole Cripps – Carbon Raptors

1st – 2nd Grade Division

40lbs – David Edwards – Uintah

45lbs – Tristan Smith – North Summit

50lbs – Will Manning – Team Legacy

55lbs – Tristan Farnsworth – Altamont

60lbs – Jack White – Team Legacy

65lbs – Kameron Moss – Pride

70lbs – Cael Keith – Dixie Red Storm

70lbs+ – Spencer Tauteoli – Mettle

3rd – 4th Grade Division

50lbs – Cameron Dickson – Uintah

55lbs – Oakley Ridge – Mettle

60lbs – Cole Zorn – Mettle

65lbs – Zak Kohler – Wasatch

70lbs – Jack Lang – Team Legacy

75lbs – Mason Christiansen – Team Legacy

80lbs – Spencer Curtis – Champions

85lbs – Denver Hiatt – Payson Grappling Force

90lbs – Alec Bolingbroke – Crusher

95lbs – Joseph Watson – Brighton

105lbs – Kade Carlson – Team Rulon

105lbs+ – Carson Kay – Champions

5th – 6th Grade Division

65lbs – Jaxon Cole – North Summit

70lbs – Seth Gardner – Wasatch

75lbs – John Manning – Team Legacy

80lbs – Brandyn Van Tassell – Champions

85lbs – Ryan Hansen – Champions

90lbs – Michael Peterson – Champions

95lbs – Tucker Tomlinson – Uintah

100lbs – Rand Pentz – North Summit

105lbs – Chayce Loveless – Payson Grappling Force

115lbs – Ashton Seely – Champions

125lbs – Cutler Thomas – Dixie Red Storm

145lbs – Christopher Rojas – Champions

7th – 9th Grade Division

75lbs – Tanner Cox – Team Legacy

80lbs – Taylor Lamont – Champions

85lbs – Bo Labrum – Mountain Crest

90lbs – Marshall Curtis – Champions

95lbs – Dallin Denton – Fremont

100lbs – Riley Loveless – Payson Grappling Force

105lbs – Jordan Mcrae – Pride

110lbs – Johnny Ohearon – Champions

115lbs – Bracken Lovell – Delta

120lbs – Brandon Musselman – Blanding

125lbs – Cameron Killian – Champions

130lbs – Jacob Armstrong – Champions

135lbs – Will Lang – Team Legacy

142lbs – Spencer Heywood – Wasatch

150lbs – John Harmon – Payson Grappling Force

160lbs – Aaron Dick – Independant

175lbs – Rylee Foy – Altamont

210lbs – Roy Nash – Brighton

285lbs – Caleb Birchell – Uintah

The Quest program is an effort by USA Wrestling Utah to give inner city kids an opportunity to get involved in wrestling at a young age in an attempt to keep them from the trouble they so often get into in the streets.  Quest is modeled after the successful “Beat the Streets” campaign in many major cities around the country.   USAWU picked inner city Ogden to start this program with a new club called Ogden City Quest (www.ogdencityquest.com).  This is a club that is actually owned by the state association and has its own creative funding sources for paying for the USA membership cards for these kids.  Ogden City School District decided to not only support the club, but decided to sanction and support the Jr. High Wrestling program too.  Those interested in donating to this program can do so through USAWU.

This program not only serves the community in fighting crime, it serves to change the participation level of the high schools in Ogden City that traditionally have struggled to fill full teams.  Here is a letter written by long time USAWU supporter and Ben Lomond HS coach Gary Boden about this program:

“I am very excited and thankful that USA Wrestling Utah has provided the Ogden City area with an opportunity to have a K-6 wrestling club.  I believe this club will have benefits beyond just being a positive experience for our youth. This helps complete the wrestling chain that successful programs and communities have, (K-6, Junior High, High School). Communities support winning programs.  This Ogden City Quest club will help create winning programs in our local schools.  This means more people will attend meets and take an interest in the program and the participants.  Parents and families will also take a more active role in their athlete’s lives. Having people interested in a child’s success is a blessing that many do not have. High expectations and community support will have a positive effect on the youth and community of Ogden.  Thank you USA Wrestling Utah and Ogden City School District for the courage and hard work to make things better. We, in the wrestling community know how important it can be to provide opportunities for our youth.  Through the hard work of the Ogden City School District and athletic director Ken Crawford, they have expanded all athletics at the junior high level, including wrestling.  I believe it is important for our young people to stay active in an organized sport and wrestling is a great choice.”

As you can see there are a lot of reasons to be excited about this upcoming year, I wish all the athletes and coaches a successful season.

Craig Lamont

President – USA Wrestling Utah

10-28-2011

1. Millard

2. South Summit

3. North Sevier

4. Beaver

1A Preseason Team Rankings

10-28-2011

1. Altamont

2. Monticello

3. Panguitch

4. Duchesne

1. Grant LaMont – Maple Mountain – Jr. – 1x State Champion, Fargo double AA, Pan Am Games Champion, Sophomore National Champion, 57-4 in 2011
2. Brandon McBride – Olympus – Sr. – 3x State Champion (3 different States), 49-1 in 2011
3. Mitch Brown – Payson – Sr. – 3x State Champion & Fargo AA, 47-2 in 2011
4. Jed Mellen – Payson – Jr. – 1x State Champion, 54-0 in 2011
5. Korbin Levin – Pleasant Grove – Sr. – 2x State Champion, 49-5 in 2011
6. Carlos Turner – Layton – Sr. – Fargo AA, 3rd State, 39-8 in 2011
7. Rasten Yeates – Box Elder – Jr. – 1x State Champion, 51-3 in 2011
8. Zac Loveless – Payson – Sr. – 2x State Champion (2009, 2010), 50-5 in 2011
9. Nick Sorenson – Box Elder – Jr. – State Runner-up, 47-6 in 2011
10. Rami Haddadin – Brighton – Sr. – 1x State Champion, 50-2 in 2011
11. Britain Carter – Maple Mountain – Jr. – 2x State Champion, 44-5 in 2011
12. Brandon George – Maple Mountain – Sr. – 1x State Champion, 58-6 in 2011
13. Zach Coffman – Tooele – Jr. – State Runner-up, 60-4 in 2011
14. Jeff McCormick – South Summit – Sr. – 3x State Champion, 38-0 in 2011
15. Matt Findlay – Alta – So. – 1x State Champion, 46-3 in 2011
16. Morgan Sweat – Wasatch – Sr. – 1x State Champion, 55-6 in 2011
17. Ken Astle – Layton – Jr. – 1x State Champion, 41-9 in 2011
18. Kimball Bastian – Maple Mountain – So. – Fargo National Runner-up, 4th State, 46-14 in 2011
19. Branson Ashworth – Spanish Fork – So. – State Runner-up, 41-9 in 2011
20. Cole Ford – Payson – State Runner-up, 46-8 in 2011
21. Kyle Foy – Altamont – Jr. – 2x State Champion, 35-4 in 2011
22. Dane Nielson – Delta – Sr. – State Runner-up, 46-10 in 2011
23. Sylas Wells – Mountain Crest – Sr. – State Runner-up, 43-7 in 2011
24. Keith Kessler – Millard – Sr. – State Runner-up, 46-8 in 2011
25. Zach Prince – Hurricane – Jr. – 2x State Champion, 53-4 in 2011

www.wrestleutah.com

The high school season is right around the corner and we have preseason rankings updated on the website. We are also coming out with the Beehive Top 25. This is the top 25 high school wrestlers, all classifications all weights. The Beehive Top 25 will be posted on the website Tuesday October 4th. We will also be coming out with the Beehive Top 25 for youth in the near future so be looking for that.

Fall League is half over and only has 4 weeks left. We have had a good turnout this first year of USA Wrestling Utah taking over the league. We hope to grow next year and add some cool elements that we have not had in the past. Every year the Fall League will get better and better so come out and participate.

USA Wrestling Utah is very excited about the new changes this upcoming year. Changes include the hiring of a part time Sales Manager (if you are interested please contact us for further information), a new website that should be launched within a couple weeks, USA Wrestling Utah hosting 4A/5A Junior High State and the changes that allow 4th graders to enter the Middle School division. There are 3 different types of USA Cards, including a $15, $40, and $100 card. Be sure to get your card soon so you are ready to compete in November.

The Youth Folkstyle season kicks off November 5th with tournaments as well as Utah Valley University on the 5th of November. Also be sure to mark your calendar for the 11th of February when Utah Valley hosts Cael Sanderson and the number 1 ranked Penn State Littany Lions.

10/28/11

106lbs

1. Kyle Robison – 12 – Millard
2. Skyler Bogh – 12 – Gunnison
3. Braxton Baker – 10 – North Sevier
4. Thomas Maisey – South Sevier
5. Cameron Dickenson – Rich

113lbs

1. Chase Kelly – Millard
2. Caleb Jones – 10 – South Sevier
3. Kameron Fowles – 10 – Manti
4. Dillon Thurston – 10 – North Sevier
5. Kade Crittendon – 10 – South Summit

120lbs

1. Bryce Jackman – 12 – North Sevier
2. Nick Sorenson – 11 – Millard
3. Dalin Jacobsen – 11 – San Juan
4. Jorge Minchey – 12 – Beaver
5. Garret Chlarson – 11 – Millard

126lbs

1. Brendan Turner – 12 – Millard
2. Logan Lozano – 11 – Beaver
3. Reed Udy – 12 – North Sevier
4. Nathan Gurr – 11 – Parowan
5. Kevin Hill – 10 – North Sevier

132lbs

1. McKay DeGering – 12 – South Summit
2. Brendan Sorenson – 10 – North Sevier
3. Skyler Shotwell – 12 – Beaver
4. McCrae Thatcher – 10 – Millard
5. Colton Schill – 10 – Enterprise

138lbs

1. Cash Allred – 11 – North Sevier
2. Jacob Armstrong – 9 – ALA
3. Cole Craggs – 12 – South Summit
4. Keaton Green – 12 – Beaver
5. Jacob Francis – 10 – Grand County

145lbs

1. Dixon Richens – 12 – North Summit
2. Wyatt Argyle – 12 – South Sevier
3. Cory Johnson – 12 – North Sevier
4. Rudy Alcala – 10 – Millard
5. Riley Blackham – 10 – South Sevier

152lbs

1. Jeff McCormick – 12 – South Summit
2. Anthony Gibson – 11 – Beaver
3. Joey Edwards – 12 – North Sevier
4. Chris Dowell – 12 – South Sevier
5. Joe Holt – 11 – Enterprise

160lbs

1. Conner Crandell – 12 – South Summit
2. James Anderson – 11 – Kanab
3. Jeremy Skagerberg – 12 – North Summit
4. Tyson Adams – 12 – Millard
5. Rob Reber – 11 – Enterprise

170lbs

1. Keith Kessler – 12 – Millard
2. Josh Urianza – 12 – Kanab
3. Don Fullmer – 11 – Millard
4. Boedi Lofland – 12 – Beaver
5. James Oldroyd – 11 – South Sevier

182lbs

1. Nick Degraffenreid – 12 – North Sevier
2. Jordan Anderson – 12 – Millard
3. Gordon Whitaker – 11 – Millard
4. Daniel Gardner – 12 – Enterprise
5. Daniel Bowman – 12 – Kanab

195lbs

1. Joey Leavitt – 12 – South Sevier
2. Dakota Sorenson – 12 – North Sevier
3. Jeremy Aleman – 12 – Millard
4. Ty Yardley – 12 – Beaver
5. CJ Metcalf – 12 – South Summit

220lbs

1. Landon Carter – 12 – Manti
2. Kevin Ballard – 12 – Grand County
3. Tre Ashton – 12 – Millard
4. Randon Myrick – 12 – Enterprise
5. Colin Lyman – 11 – North Sevier

285lbs

1. Sam Embry – 12 – South Summit
2. Trent Christensen – 10 – South Sevier
3. Brandon Latting – 11 – Millard
4. Sam Myers – 10 – Beaver
5. Edgar Gomez – 10 – Grand County

8/29/11