3A Wrestling State Tournament Preview

After finishing second in their divisional and qualifying 22 wrestlers for state, the Trojans take to the mats, today, Friday, Feb. 16, and tomorrow, Feb. 17 at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield in the pinnacle of their season: the 3A State Championships. The 22 wrestlers will be vying against the best in 3A for the one elusive honor – State Champion.

Morgan qualifies a team with seven returning placers and 18 returning qualifiers. With six seniors, seven juniors, and nine sophomores, the Trojans underclassmen will be critical in their chase for a championship after finishing second to Juab the last three years. Juab, as always, is the team to beat in 3A, but South Summit will be a strong contender after winning the divisional tournament over the Trojans and taking the Region 13 title.  

Coming in as the underdog, the Trojans will have to wrestle stellarly and take some matches from Juab and South Summit in order to claim the team title. Morgan’s lone Wrestling State Championship came in 1962, under Bob Wilson, father of current head coach Kelly Wilson. 

Leading the team are the six seniors–two four-time qualifiers, Zak Sargent and Lance Toone, and three three-time qualifiers, Lane Henderson, Ezra Cadena, and Treyson Rich. Senior Tavin Allen is a first-time qualifier. Last year Sargent, Rich, and Toone placed at state.

Zak Sargent (190) wrestled South Summit’s Ben Smith in the championship match last year as a junior (157) and came up just short losing by decision, 6-4, and finishing second. As a sophomore (144) he claimed third after a loss to Smith in the quarterfinals and took fifth as a freshman (126) in an abbreviated, post-Covid tournament that didn’t allow quarterfinals losers to advance to the 3rd Place match. With a 42-7 record and all of his losses coming against 5A or 6A opponents, Sargent looks well-positioned to return to the finals and bring home a championship.

Rich wrestled 190 as a sophomore going 2-2 in his first state tournament. Last year at 215, he placed fifth after a tough sudden victory overtime loss in the quarterfinals to Juab’s Aiden Seely. In the fifth-place match, Rich avenged the quarterfinal loss by pinning Seely. As a divisional champion at 215 this year, Rich is positioned well to advance far into the tournament. On the other side of the bracket, returning state champion Dallin Sweat of Manti will be shooting for a repeat title and will be tough competition for Rich.

Cadena wrestled 165 as a sophomore and went 0-2 at state. Last year after a great upset at the divisional tournament as a junior wrestling 190, Cadena went 1-2 at state. After placing third at divisionals, Cadena will be in the bottom 215-pound bracket with Rich and will meet him in the semifinals, if both win their opening two matches. Cadena is in good position to place at state his final year.

As a freshman (160) and sophomore (175), Lance Toone qualified but did not place. Last year, he earned sixth at 175 after battling back from a first-round loss. After placing second at divisionals, he looks to close out his senior year on the podium again. Lance will open against Juab’s Mason Ekins whose teammate Krew Galbraith tech fell at Morgan 16-0.

Henderson has wrestled 285 his entire high school career. As a sophomore and junior, he went 1-2 at state. This year, as the third-place divisional qualifier, he is poised to earn a spot on the podium with victories at state. Henderson is in the bottom bracket with South Summit’s returning state champion Travyn Boger. In their bout at Morgan, Boger pinned Henderson in the first period.

Tavin Allen’s third-place finish at divisionals puts him in a good spot for state. He will open against the No. 6 seed, Pierce O’Raredon, a first-year qualifier from Grantsville.

The seven juniors on the team boast four three-time qualifiers: Krew Galbraith, Drew Korth, Maverick Guymon, and Ryler Jorgensen. Simoron Wardell is a two-time qualifier with Carter Meibos and Nathan Dotson making the trip to state for the first time.

Korth won a state championship as a freshman at 113 pounds. It was a special night for him to celebrate with his brother, Will, who also won a state title at 126 pounds. As a sophomore (126), Korth fell to four-time state champion Dayson Torgersen from Richfield in the championship bout and took second. After winning the division, Korth is looking to return to the championship bout. Juab’s Garrett Perry is the No.1 seed at the top of the bracket. Korth beat Perry by decision, 7-2, when the Wasps visited Morgan in January.

Jorgensen finished fourth (106) as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore (120). As a division champion this year, he is looking to finish on top of the podium. Juab’s Ladd Holman, the No.1 seed from the other division, pinned Jorgensen in their matchup at Morgan in January. Jorgensen is hoping to get another shot at Holman in the championship bout and earn his first state title.

Wardell qualified his freshman year (120) going 1-2 and did not place, but he finished second at divisionals this year wrestling 138 and has positioned himself well in the top bracket at state.  

Galbraith (150-9th, 165-10th) and Guymon (132-9th, 132-10th) are looking to place for the first time this year after gaining two years of experience at state. Guymon, now at 138, placed third at divisionals, with plans to disturb the bottom of the bracket while Wardell controls the top half.

Galbraith (175) earned third at divisionals and opens at state against Juan Diego. He has put himself in a great position to place this year, but to advance to the finals, Galbraith will have to go through South Summits’ Ryker Woodward. Woodward majored Galbraith, 11-3, in their meeting in Morgan.  

After finishing sixth at divisionals, Dotson (157) will face Grantsville’s Zach Powell in his opening match. Meibos (165) opens against Union’s Denver Cloward on the bottom half of the bracket after a seventh-place finish at divisionals.

Morgan’s sophomore crew features eight returning qualifiers – Gabe Toone, Skyler Crowther, Joseph Belinski, Tyson Pace, Dilyn Pentz, Luke Woolsey, Max Holtry, and Carter Wardell–and one first-timer, Chace Allen.

Luke Woolsey was the only placer from the group of qualifiers as a freshman. At 113 pounds, Woolsey fell in the semis in sudden victory overtime to Delta’s Robert Meinhardt, 5-3, and finished the tournament fourth. As a division champion, Woolsey heads up the bottom of the bracket and will face Juab’s Cooper Blackett in the finals if he wins out.  Blackett majored Woolsey 11-0 in their match at Morgan, and Woolsey could get another shot at him at state.

At state last year, Gabe Toone (165) and Max Holtry (106) went 2-2. This year Gabe Toone will wrestle 190 and work to place by improving his fourth-place finish at divisionals, opening against Grantsville’s Daegan Herren. Sargent pinned Herren in the first period when Morgan wrestled Grantsville and can share tips with Gabe in practice.

Holtry (120) is looking to better his eighth-place finish at divisionals, but he faces a tough opening round match against the No.1 seed from Juab, Ladd Holman. 

As freshmen, Crowther (144), Belinski (150), Pace (132), Pentz (120), and Wardell (106) all went 1-2. With a year of experience, each wrestler looks to place this year. 

At 150 pounds, both Pace and Belinski will need to beat Emery’s Damon Farley who defeated both of them at divisionals. Belinski could face him in the semis, but Pace wouldn’t see him until the championship bout if he can get past Union’s Tucker Rybal, the No. 1 seed. Rybal pinned Belinski in their Region 13 bout this season.

Crowther, now at 157, finished fourth at divisionals and will take on the 5th place finisher in his opening match. A win will advance him to face the No. 1 seed from the other division from Canyon View.

Carter Wardell remains at 106 from last year, but with a second-place finish at divisionals, he looks to perform well in a bracket dominated by freshmen.

Pentz (132), an 8th seed, will open the tournament against Juab’s first-seeded Cooper Blackett, looking for the big upset win in the first round.  

 As a first-time qualifier, Chace Allen took third at divisionals and will open against Delta. A win will place him against Zak Sargent’s nemesis from South Summit Ben Smith. Allen has not wrestled Smith this year. λ