Brian E. Preece, Daily Herald special
ALA’s Olivia Carrillo (left) battles Westlake’s Lizzie Shunn (right) in the Girls Dual at the Wrestling Against Cancer Duals on Tuesday, November 26, 2019.
Last year, Governor Gary Herbert imposed a two-week moratorium on winter sports. It had an impact on some early season events that resulted in them being postponed or canceled altogether.
And that’s exactly what happened with the Wrestling Against Cancer Duals.
But this year things are going at full steam and this year’s incarnation will offer more girls’ duals and competitions at two different locations.
Provo was the traditional host of this event and will still have four dual meetings, but most of the competition will be held at Westlake High School. Westlake will have a total of 12 duals, nine duals for girls and three duals for boys. Provo will have four duals, three of them between boys teams and one girl dual. The university campaign starts today at 5:00 p.m.
The 2021 Wrestling Against Cancer Duals attracted some top talent among both boys and girls at both a team and an individual level.
Last year’s team champions with Westlake (6A), Mountain Crest (4A) and Maple Mountain (1A-3A, 5A) compete in the girls’ duals.
Westlake features returning state champions Jamie Barton, Celeste Detoles, Lizzie Shunn and Emmy Finlinson. Maple Mountain has returning State Champion Morgan Honsvick and returning finalists Donna Wright and Nya Seiuli. Springville brings back returning national champion Hotaia Valeti and runner-up Valery Ethington. Mountain View returns to Zarieh Power, who finished second last year.
Billy Cox, who coached Maple Mountain to the 1A-3A, 5A state title last year, will now lead the Juab wrestling program. A juggernaut in 3A boy wrestling and hoping to do the same with the girls, Juab currently has a dozen or so girls on his team. His daughter Hailey Corona will take the helm as the head coach of the Golden Eagle Girls program.
Westlake has also seen a coaching change, with longtime boys’ coach Cody Burdett now leading the girls’ team, while former Box Elder 4-time state champion and Utah Valley wrestler Jeff Newby takes over the helm of the boys’ program.
Mountain Crest has so many girl wrestlers that they will be adding two teams to the Wrestling Against Cancer Duals, and Westlake also has a sizable roster of over 30 female contestants.
The boys will be showing off the 6A powerhouses Layton and Westlake and the prohibitive 4A darling Mountain Crest, and everyone will be wrestling against each other at the Westlake grounds. In Provo, Mountain View, Riverton and Skyridge will fight alongside the host school. Mountain view and
Skyridge appears to be the top five teams in the 5A and 6A respectively, while Riverton has a solid line-up.
There should be a chance to see several returning state champions and finalists including Brayden Robison (Westlake), Joshua Millward (Skyridge), Jace Lemons (Layton), Gable Stoddard (Mountain View), along with several from Mountain Crest like Easton Evans, Elijah Larsen and the brothers Cooper and Gabe Sanders. Gabe Sanders is a two-time national champion and three-time finalist while Millward is a three-time finalist and returning national champion.
It should be noted that Trey Thompson, grandson of former Payson head coach Ric Thompson, who inspired this event and died just days before the 2010 opening competition, is wrestling for Westlake.
The event raises money for two people fighting cancer.
Provo football assistant coach Kevin Norman and five-year-old Zion Zollinger are the focus of this year’s community service and are honored at the duals at Provo High School.
The Utah County’s wrestling community mourns the loss of Fred Rowland, who passed away on Saturday. Rowland was 84 years old.
Rowland began his coaching career at West High School and in 1969 won the school’s only state title in wrestling. Rowland moved to Orem High School and the Tigers won the state title in 1976. When Mountain View opened in 1980, he moved there and ran the Bruins to second place in 1982. Rowland is only one of three Utah Prep Wrestling coaches to win state titles at two different schools and the only coach in Utah Prep history Wrestling, who coached three different schools that ranked first or second in the state competition.
Even after he officially retired as a teacher, Rowland continued to offer his expertise to many and worked as an assistant coach at Jordan, Mountain View and Spanish Fork high schools until his 1970s. Rowland was inducted into both the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Wrestling Against Cancer Duals Itinerary
Provo High School
5:15 pm
Mat 1 (West Mat) Skyridge vs. Mountain View (boys)
Mat 2 (middle mat) Springville vs. Mountain View (girls)
6:30 in the evening
Mat 1 (West Mat) Riverton vs. Mountain View (Boys)
Mat 2 (middle mat) Skyridge vs. Provo (boys)
Westlake High School
17 o’clock
Mat 1: Westlake vs Canyon View / American Fork / North Sevier (girls)
Mat 2: Maple Mountain vs Riverton / Bonneville (girls)
Mat 3: Juab vs Mountain Crest 1 (girls)
Matt 4: Mountain Crest vs. Westlake (boys)
6:15 p.m.
Mat 1 Westlake vs. Maple Mountain (girls)
Mat 2 Mountain Crest 2 vs Layton (girls)
Mat 3 Ogden / Hillcrest vs Juab (girls)
Mat 4 Mountain Crest vs Layton (guys)
19:30 o’clock
Mat 1 Mountain Crest 1 vs Westlake (girls)
Mat 2 Canyon View / AF / Sevier vs Ogden / Hillcrest (girls)
Mat 3 Mountain Crest 2 vs Riverton / Bonneville (girls)
Mat 4 Layton vs Westlake (guys)
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