High school boys wrestling: Mustangs repeat 4A state title performance

As Mountain Crest High School wrestler Lincoln Lofthouse celebrated his state title win Saturday night, he held up a picture of his younger brother.

The junior had dedicated his state championship bout in the 4A 138-pound division to his younger brother, who is hospitalized with a recent cancer diagnosis. 

“I came in and I was going to win either way,” Lofthouse said. He was able to defeat Cooper Redd of Logan in a close 3-2 decision. 

He was one of five Mountain Crest wrestlers to capture individual titles, as Mountain Crest clinched the team title — the second consecutive and fourth in six years for the Mustangs.

“It was nice to see their hard work pay off today,” said coach Jay Tovey, who is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Mustangs. “We have a lot of great kids. I think it’s mostly them and their parents. They all dedicate a lot of time.”

Going into the finals, Mountain Crest was leading the points standings, and had 11 wrestlers in the first place matches. 

“That’s the most we’ve ever had at Mountain Crest,” Tovey said. “We had a great round this morning and I think they really wrestled inspired.”

Mountain Crest’s boys were able to celebrate alongside the girls, as the Lady Mustangs also picked up a state title.

“It felt like even though we won last year, we had something to prove,” Tovey said. “Our philosophy is to build the toughest schedule possible. They don’t need the stress of an undefeated record or something like that on the line. We try to get them some losses early on so they can build and learn from it.” 

Mountain Crest ended the tournament with 361 points, beating second place Bear River with 223 and Snow Canyon with 187.

“Our athletic department loves wrestling and we get everything we need to be successful,” Tovey said. “I train our kids really, really hard, wind them up and let them go.”

Mountain Crest’s James Rollins was able to defeat teammate Cayden Chalmers in a 13-10 decision match at 106, kicking off the finals for Mountain Crest. 

Senior Easton Evans picked up a technical fall victory over Green Canyon’s Aaron Shumway in the 126-pound division, marking his third state title. 

“I just knew I had to go out there and wrestle no matter what happened,” Evans said. “This was my goal since I was a little kid to win state, and now to have three, it just feels great.”

In the 150-pound division, Bear River’s Braegger Richards resisted pin attempts from Mountain Crest’s Jace Mcbride.

“I was just squeezing as hard as I possibly could and it finally happened,” Mcbride said. A senior, this was Mcbride’s first state championship.

“I was tired, but I grinded,” said Bridger Thalman, a junior. He earned his first state championship against Snow Canyon’s Phoenix Oliver.

“We pride ourselves a lot on running hard, working hard and wrestling hard,” Thalman said. 

Mountain Crest’s coach Tovey was named as the outstanding coach of the year during the awards ceremony. 

4A boys state tournament

At Sevier Valley Center

Team scores

1. Mountain Crest, 361
2. Bear River, 232
3. Snow Canyon, 187
4. Ridgeline, 178.5
5. Green Canyon, 156
6. Cedar City, 114.5
7. Hurricane, 108
8. Sky View, 102

Individual results

106 pounds

1. James Rollins, Mountain Crest
2. Cayden Chalmers, Mountain Crest
3. Brandon Thorsted, Bear River
4. Hunter Mcbride, Ridgeline
5. James Houston, Cedar City
6. Jaxon Morgan, Bear River

Championship — James Rollins, Mountain Crest def. Cayden Chalmers, Mountain Crest, 13-10

113 pounds

1. Payton Redd, Logan
2. Quinn Richards, Green Canyon
3. Zach Halligan, Mountain Crest
4. Kooper Keenan, Crimson Cliffs
5. Eli Breinhollt, Crimson Cliffs
6. Kayson Leak, Sky View

Championship — Payton Redd, Logan def. Quinn Richards, Green Canyon, 12-0

120 pounds

1. Kaden Guymon, Snow Canyon
2. Carter Nelson, Mountain Crest
3. Daxton Bingham, Bear River
4. Bryson Frentheway, Dixie
5. Caden Andersen, Hurricane
6. Greg Melling, Cedar City

Championship — Kaden Guymon, Snow Canyon def. Carter Nelson, Mountain Crest, 7-0

126 pounds

1. Easton Evans, Mountain Crest
2. Aaron Shumway, Green Canyon
3. Jack Semadeni, Ridgeline
4. Wyatt Greenhalgh, Cedar City
5. Keaton Smith, Bear River
6. Zack Butt, Ridgeline

Championship — Easton Evans, Mountain Crest def. Aaron Shumway, Green Canyon, 18-2

132 pounds

1. Max Miller, Bear River
2. Seth Armstrong, Hurricane
3. Collin Miller, Sky View
4. Kayden Madsen, Crimson Cliffs
5. Tanner Tolman, Mountain Crest
6. Dallas Millsap, Desert Hills

Championship — Max Miller, Bear River def. Seth Armstrong, Hurricane, 5-1

138 pounds

1. Lincoln Lofthouse, Mountain Crest
2. Cooper Redd, Logan
3. Camron Carling, Sky View
4. Max Edwards, Snow Canyon
5. Everett Duce, Crimson Cliffs
6. Ty Hawkes, Bear River

Championship — Lincoln Lofthouse, Mountain Crest def. Cooper Redd, Logan, 3-2

144 pounds

1. Brenden Smith, Snow Canyon
2. Parley Thacker, Sky View
3. Sam Welker, Ridgeline
4. Caleb Korth, Bear River
5. Tyler Payne, Green Canyon
6. Peter Jeppson, Ridgeline

Championship — Brenden Smith, Snow Canyon def. Parley Thacker, Sky View, 9-7

150 pounds

1. Jace Mcbride, Mountain Crest
2. Braegger Richards, Bear River
3. Jarom Nelson, Bear River
4. Keaton Terry, Crimson Cliffs
5. Caleb Bundy, Pine View
6. Cooper Jolley, Cedar City

Championship — Jace McBride, Mountain Crest def. Braegger Richards, Bear River, fall 3:39

157 pounds

1. Keagan Boyce, Desert Hills
2. Hans Herrmann, Sky View
3. Kayleb Murphy, Hurricane
4. Kyle Detwiler, Bear River
5. Jancen Payne, Cedar City
6. Dylan Twedt, Ridgeline

Championship — Keegan Boyce, Desert Hills def. Hans Herrmann, Sky View, 9-2

165 pounds

1. Owen Munk, Ridgeline
2. Dontay Mcmurtrey, Mountain Crest
3. Alex Stubbs, Hurricane
4. Justin Anderson, Cedar City
5. Vincent Fertig, Bear River
6. Brooks Esplin, Snow Canyon

Championship — Owen Munk, Ridgeline def. Dontay Mcmurtrey, Mountain Crest, 4-2

175 pounds

1. Bridger Thalman, Mountain Crest
2. Phoenix Oliver, Snow Canyon
3. Logan Hull, Green Canyon
4. Will Dekorver, Mountain Crest
5. Cash Carlisle, Dixie
6. Skyler Yeates, Bear River

Championship — Bridger Thalman, Mountain Crest def. Phoenix Oliver, Snow Canyon, 4-0

190 pounds

1. Jackson Landon, Green Canyon
2. Sam Schroeder, Mountain Crest
3. Luke Stearns, Logan
4. Aiden Po`uha, Cedar City
5. Kwade Kosoff, Bear River
6. Porter Kennington, Mountain Crest

Championship — Jackson Landon, Green Canyon def. Sam Schroeder, Mountain Crest, 3-1

215 pounds

1. Vincent Threlfall, Snow Canyon
2. Hunter Hammer, Mountain Crest
3. Judson Wells, Mountain Crest
4. Beau Miller, Snow Canyon
5. Braydon Barlow, Pine View
6. Hollus Risher, Ridgeline

Championship — Vincent Threlfall, Snow Canyon def. Hunter Hammer, Mountain Crest, 7-4

285 pounds

1. Aiden Crawford, Dixie
2. Tyler Gubler, Snow Canyon
3. Caysen Dana, Ridgeline
4. Will Wheatley, Green Canyon
5. Bridger Fleming, Desert Hills
6. Ethan Kunzler, Green Canyon

Championship — Aiden Crawford, Dixie def. Tyler Gubler, Snow Canyon, fall 5:58