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Orem • Purely on the results, there weren't a lot of surprises at the Utah All-Star Duals on Monday night.But seeing that Payson's Mitch Brown scored a 5-3 decision doesn't relate Rami Haddadin's intensity as he challenged the three-time champ every step of the way. Seeing that Hurricane's Brian Scott got a pin doesn't show how much he labored through the first minutes of his match against Sylas Wells.And Matt Findlay's 11-8 comeback over Britain Carter with a last-second takedown? Anything but boring."He was backing up and trying to finish out the last seconds, and I caught him perfectly," Findlay said. "It was the best takedown I could have asked for."Sure, there weren't surprises, but the drama was high at Utah Valley University. Findlay was a huge hero with a 5-point swing in the closing seconds of his match against two-time state champ Carter. So was Scott, who looked winded halfway through his match with Mountain Crest's Wells before he suddenly got a body-slamming takedown that changed the match.It took only a blink for a some of the best matches of the night to turn. A huffing and puffing Scott, a two-time champ himself, was grateful to even get a chance to compete, selected by coaches across the state as one of the best wrestlers Utah has to offer regardless of classification."It's an honor, for sure," Scott said. "I love football, but I think wrestling is a great teacher for all sports. To have been here twice is great."But beyond having the best wrestlers on paper, most of the matches reflected the level of competition. Very few matches weren't close.Layton's Ken Astle lost, but he didn't let up much ground to All-American Grant LaMont in a 2-0 decision. Brighton's Haddadin battled Brown to the bitter end for a respectable result. Despite coming from Class 1A, Altamont's Kyle Foy proved a worth adversary to Olympus' Brandon McBride though he suffered a 5-1 defeat.The dominant showings, though few, were awe-inspiring. Hardly anyone noticed Kohl Tolbert's match had begun before the Delta 106-pounder had pinned his opponent in the first round.Payson's Jed Mellen got caught a little off-guard, ceding a small lead to Logan's Quinn Hinckley. The reigning state champ swiftly turned it around, punishing Hinckley and nearly pinning him in a 18-3 technical fall."Yeah, he surprised me a little bit," Mellen said. "You have to be prepared for this one. Everyone is pretty good."
Results
126: Mitch Brown (Payson) 5-3 dec. over Rami Haddadin (Brighton)132: Jed Mellen (Payson) 18-3 tech fall over Quinn Hinckley (Logan)220: Landon Carter (Manti) 3-0 dec. over Brandon Dennison (Pleasant Grove)113: Shand Hardy (Box Elder) 4-3 dec. over Josh Boman (Syracuse)132: Cody Paraso (West Jordan) 6-1 dec. over Cole Craggs (South Summit)113: Dusty Hone (Cedar) 8-2 dec. over Jory Owens (Panguitch)145: Jesse Carlisle (Maple Mountain) 4-2 dec. over Hunter Riggs (Weber)138: Zach Loveless (Payson) 5:27 pin over Dixon Richins (North Summit)170: Taylon Niederhauser (Mtn. Crest) 5:57 pin over Talon Bryan (Juab)120: Austin Johnson (Viewmont) 4-2 dec. over Garrett Sweat (Wasatch)195: Paul Langi (Bingham) 4:55 pin over Joey Leavitt (South Sevier)113: Matt Findlay (Alta) 11-8 dec. over Britain Carter (Maple Mountain)160: Dane Nielsen (Delta) 4-0 dec. over Josh Urianza (Kanab)220: Brian Scott (Hurricane) 5:47 pin over Sylas Wells (Mountain Crest)152: Keith Kesler (Millard) dec. over Gavin Godfrey (Alta)120: Branson Ashworth (Spanish Fork) 2-0 dec. (OT) over Brandon Winward (Skyline)106: Kohl Tolbert (Delta) 1:53 pin over Jovani Tolayo (Orem)182: J.J. Larsen (Bingham) 14-4 major dec. over Dakota Sorensen (North Sevier)145: Jeff McCormick (South Summit) 5-0 dec. over Cole Ford (Payson)285: Carlos Turner (Layton) 3:46 pin over Derek Mangelson (Salem Hills)126: Brenden Turner (Millard) 12-6 dec. over Brady Dart (Mountain Crest)126: Morgain Sweat (Wasatch) 9-2 dec. over Austin Rowley (Maple Mountain)195: Ryan Peterson (Delta) 14-4 dec. over Dustin Christensen (Roy)152: Rasten Yeates (Box Elder) 7-5 dec. over Zach Prince (Hurricane)170: Zach Coffman (Tooele) 6-3 dec. over Brad Mortensen (Kearns)285: Kalob Stevenson (Desert Hills) 1:46 pin over Sam Embry (South Summit)120: Korbin Levin (Pleasant Grove) 12-6 dec. over Bryce Jackman (North Sevier)132: Landon Knutzen (Maple Mountain) 16-7 dec. over Beau Blackham (Uintah)106: Kyler Machan (Jordan) 4:20 pin over Kyle Robison (Millard)170: Brandon McBride (Olympus) 5-1 dec. over Kyle Foy (Altamont)160: Nick Sorenson (Box Elder) 9-7 dec. over Mack Huntsman (Weber)138: Grant LaMont (Maple Mountain) 2-0 dec. over Ken Astle (Layton)
kgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon —
All-Star Duals
Big match of the night • Alta's Matt Findlay scores a comeback 11-8 decision over Britain Carter at 113 pounds with a takedown and a near fall in the final seconds of their match.
Big winner of the night • Payson's Jed Mellen slips initially but wins a 18-3 technical fall over Logan's Quinn Hinckley at 132 pounds.