SYRACUSE TITANS WRESTLING

Congrats to all our 2011-12 Lettermen, End-of-Season Coaches Awards recipients, and Elite Lettermen Scholarship recipients. Through our fundraising efforts we were able to award three outstanding young men with $500 scholarships. The winners of these scholarships must be 3 year lettermen that excell in the classroom, on the mat, and in the community. Our recipients for this year are Caden Wilson, Gregg Marchant, and Dallyn Zaugg. Congratulations to these great young men and we thank them for their dedication to our team and community.

Winners of our Coaches Awards are:
Most Coachable: Jake Garver
Most Inspirational: Zane Rich
Student-Athlete: Caden Wilson
Sportsmanship: Austin Wilcox
JV WOY: Brantley McGuire
Off Season WOY: Brock George
Rookie of the Year: Kaden Craig
Outstanding Underclassmen: Teague Vigil
Most Improved: Gregg Marchant, Dillon Spencer
Hardest Worker: Josh Boman
Outstanding Wrestler: Zane Rich

Congrats to Kierstien Bush for becoming our first female All-American. Kierstien traveled to Oklahoma City, OK this past weekend to compete in the girls USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals. She placed 7th in the Novice 70 lb division competing against girls from all over the country. We are proud of her dedication and hard work.

Congrats to all the ATTACK wrestlers that traveled to Idaho for the Intermountain Warriors Ultimate Challenge at Holt Arena in Pocatello.  We had 26 grapplers compete and they all wrestled their butts off.  We had quite a few placers including:  Brock George  1st, Seth Rich 1st, Zane Rich 1st, Kalin Gray 1st, Bryce Brimhall 1st, Brock Estheimer 1st, Teague Brown 2nd, Jaxen Endreason 3rd, Aspen Naylor 4th, Braxton Anderson 5th, Colton Berger 5th, Kent Neilson 5th, and Easton Gines 6th.  Thanks again to all the dedicated wrestlers and their parents that are helping us build a great program.  I am proud of the fact that we are not a super club that mixes multiple schools, charges a lot of money, and that our coaches are dedicated VOLUNTEERS!  We are doing our best to help each wrestler improve and work toward their goals. 

The USA Wrestling Freestyle/Greco/Folkstyle season begins this week.  Practices for our ATTACK program start on Tuesday (pk-4 st 5:30 pm; 5-12 at 7:00 pm).  It’s not too late to register.  See the ATTACK link above for a complete schedule, registration form, and general information.  Hope to see you there. 

Zane Rich completed his fourth consecutive come-from-behind victory at the state tournament to win the 5A state title at 132 lbs. After falling behind 6-3 late in the match, Zane battled to the very end. Proving in overtime that he was the more conditioned and determined wrestler. Zane is a testiment to all young athletes out there that overcoming adversity, unwavering determination, and good old-fashioned hard work can be a recipe for greatness.

We also want to congratulate the team’s other state placers who completed an outstanding season for the Titans. Jake Garver (120 lbs) and Kalin Gray (126 lbs) both finished in 4th place. James Stubbs (170 lbs) ended the tournament in 5th place. We also had many other wresters win matches and score points at the tournament to help us complete our third consecutive top ten finish.

Unfortunately, before the tournament even began the Titans were dealt some devastating news. Josh Boman (2010 state champion) and Brantley McGuire (Region runner-up) were not allowed to participate due to medical issues. This was a tough blow to a well prepared and determined team that was vying for a top three finish. I am proud of Josh and Brantley for the way they handled themselves during this adversity.

From the Deseret News:
“Syracuse’s Zane Rich dramatically claimed the 132-pound belt in the bout of the night against West Jordan’s Cody Paraso. The grapplers were deadlocked at six points apiece to force sudden-death overtime. In the extra period, Rich quickly succeeded with a two-point takedown for the win.”

From the Salt Lake Trib:
“And in the feel good/feel bad match of the night, Syracuse junior Zane Rich earned an 8-6 overtime win over West Jordan’s Cody Paraso. While Rich was getting hugs from everyone in a raucous Syracuse fan section, Paraso was pondering the futility of two third-place finishes and an overtime loss in the finals to cap his Jags career.”

The Titans were down by 10 points going into the placing rounds at the 2012 Region 1 Championships at Syracuse on Saturday. The team actually took the lead after 3rd place wins by Teague Vigil, Wyatt German, and Dillon Spencer. The team ran out of steam in the finals and ended up in 3rd place. It was an awesome championship, however, that saw a packed gymnasium as the top 4 teams all had a chance to win the Region title going into the finals. Our team battled all the way to the end and saw two Titans come away with region titles. Jake Garver and Zane Rich both won the toughest weight classes of the entire field. Josh Boman, Brantley McGuire, Kalin Gray, Gregg Marchant, and James Stubbs all battled in their champoinship matches but finished as runner-ups. Brock George and Austin Wilcox both took 4th and will round out the 12 Titans that will take their talents to the State Championships next Wednesday and Thursday at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University.

Congrats to our Super State (k-9) placers.  Colton Wood 3rd (3-4th grade 95 lbs); Brock Estheimer 3rd (5-6th grade 145+); Jaydon Burton 4th (5-6th grade 115 lbs); Bryce Brimhall 4th (7-9th grade 80 lbs); Jaxon Endresen 6th (pk-k 45 lbs); Taite Martin 6th (7-9th grade 95 lbs).  This is Utah’s premeire tournament for grades pk-9 with over 900 competitors.  Our team performed very well with over 35 competitors from Syracuse.  I am very proud of all the kids who stuck it out the entire season, and even more proud of the kids that competed at this tournament.  Many brackets had over 40 athletes in them.  The competition was fierce, but we held our own.   Thanks again to all the dedicated wrestlers and their families in our program.

Congrats to Caden Wilson, Gregg Marchant, and James Stubbs.  They were named to the Academic All-Region Team.  The Academic All-Region Team consists of the 10 wrestlers with the highest cumulitive gpa.  Caden and Gregg actually had the two highest gpa’s in the entire region.  We should find out soon if their gpa was high enough to be named to the Academic All-State Team. 

Congrats to the boys for their outstanding performance at the 5A dual tournament.  The varsity team finished with a 6-1 dual record on their way to a runner-up finish to 2nd ranked Viewmont.  There were many outstanding individual performances, which were highligted by three undefeated wrestlers (Josh Boman, Teague Vigil, and Spencer Woodhall).  The team fought hard in the finals, but a few close swing matches didn’t quite go in our favor.  That’s the fun in a dual with two great teams, one or two matches can change the outcome dramatically.  The JV team also wrestled well and showed that the depth of our team is going to benefit us greatly at Region and State.  If this team can stay healthy, peak at the right time, and stay determined great things will happen at Region and State.