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Orem • After a resounding 106.5-point victory, with a 262.5 total score, Pleasant Grove accepted the Class 5A championship at the UCCU Center on Thursday. It's becoming a routine every February, as the Vikings captured their sixth consecutive title.
"It's going to be hard sleeping tonight," said Pleasant Grove's Ben Anderson. "I'm going to be so excited. It feels good to get back to this point."
Pleasant Grove's span of six straight titles is tied for the fifth-longest streak in state history, trailing its own stretch of seven straight from 1991-97, Delta's two separate runs of eight titles and nine titles, and Brighton's state-record 11 consecutive championships. The Vikings have 17 state titles in school history.
Herriman finished second in the 5A classification, with 156 points. American Fork was third, with 109; Layton (104) fourth and Fremont (94.5) fifth.
Wasatch, with each wrestler adorning the long-standing tradition of bleached blonde hair, captured its second consecutive 4A title and 19th overall — the third-most in UHSAA history behind Delta (32) and Uintah (23) — after finishing with 283.5 points.
"I'm so happy," said Wasatch's Ben Bos, who pinned Box Elder's Riley Taylor in 36 seconds to win the title in the 285-pound heavyweight division. "It's really cool to be a state champ. Last year, taking second really hurt. It's really what helped drive me to keep working harder."
Maple Mountain placed second in the 4A classification, with 234.5 points; Box Elder (177.5) third, Uintah (160.5) fourth and Payson, in its first year in the higher classification after winning the Class 3A title the past two years, finished fifth, with 134.5 points.
Nine players had opportunities to repeat as individual champions this season in the 5A and 4A classifications, and all nine advanced to the finals, with seven accomplishing the feat.
Wasatch's Braiden Parker was upset by his teammate, Zak Kohler, 8-7, while Riverton's Simeon Page upset Herriman's Wade French, 6-4, in overtime.
"It was like the best moment of my life," said Page, who overcame a third-round deficit to force overtime. "When I fell over on the last takedown — it was every emotion you could have at once."
Maple Mountain's Tanner Cox (126 pounds), American Fork's Cameron Hunsaker (132), Box Elder's Brock Hardy (145), Pleasant Grove's Koy Wilkinson (170) and Davis' Wyatt Koelling (195) all repeated.
But the storyline in the individual competition centered around Maple Mountain's Taylor LaMont, who finished 55-0 on the season, and Pleasant Grove's Anderson — who both entered rarefied air as four-time champions. Anderson, a Duke commit, graduates having never lost in the state tournament, as a four-time team and individual champion.
"It feels unbelievable," said Anderson, who pinned American Fork's Porter Johnson in 54 seconds. "It's everything I dreamed it would be. I've worked so hard. I had one goal. It feels amazing to go out and accomplish such a great goal. Everything I've worked for came true."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Pleasant Grove wins sixth straight championship with resounding 106.5-point victory.
• Wasatch claims its second consecutive 4A championship.
• Pleasant Grove's Ben Anderson and Maple Mountain's Taylor LaMont, who finished the season with a perfect 55-0 record, both enter rarefied air as four-time individual champions.