Emery High, along with other 2-A high schools that have wrestling teams, traveled to the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield and wrestled in the 2-A Divisional tournaments. Eighteen high schools participated in the two day affair. The schools were divided into Division A and Division B.
Emery High wrestled in Division A and the team finished fourth with 166 points and the team sent 13 wrestlers for the state tournament at Utah Valley University.
Millard, as expected, won Division A with 368.5 points and they were followed by South Sevier with 225 points and Gunnison with 168 points. The other teams in the division were Richfield, Grand, Summit Academy, North Summit and Kanab.
Beaver won Division B with 324 points. They were followed by North Sevier, South Summit, Manti, Enterprise, ALA, San Juan, Parowan and Wasatch Academy.
McKoy Christiansen at 106 pounds and Wyatt Oveson at 126 pounds finished in second place in their respective weight classes, both losing to Millard wrestlers. Three Emery wrestlers finished in third place in their classes; Paden Wells at 138 pounds, Ryan Cox at 145 pounds and Kendon Huff at 220 pounds.
Three additional Spartan wrestlers finished fourth in their classes. Cezly Collard at 126 pounds, Cole Guymon at 160 pounds and Ky Jensen at 220 pounds. Also placing in the top eight in their class and qualifying for the state tournament were George Sorensen fifth in the 195 pound class, Duncan Thomas sixth in the 285 pound weight class, Matt Mecham sixth in the 152 pound class, Kennidee Byington sixth in the 160 pound weight class, and Adam Brinkworth eighth in the 132 pound weight class.
As expected, the 2013 Utah High School 2-A wrestling championship came down to the same three schools as in years past with Millard High coming out on top again. Millard won for the 12th time in the past 16 years and Beaver and North Sevier the schools putting up the best fight to derail the Eagle express.
Millard scored 286 points to win followed by Beaver with 216.5 points and North Sevier with 212 points. Emery finished in ninth place in the meet as five Spartan wrestlers place in the top six of their weight class.
The best finish by an Emery wrestler was Wyatt Oveson at 126 pounds. Oveson, with a 32-19 season record, finished third and went 4-1 at the tournament. Fellow Spartan Cezly Collard finished fifth in that weight class.
Freshman McKoy Christiansen and junior Ryan Cox finished fourth in the meet. Christiansen, in the 106 pound class, finished the season with a 26-9 record while Cox, in the 145 pound class, ended with a 30-14 season record. Both wrestlers went 3-2 in the two-day affair with three of the four losses coming by a single point.
Cole Guymon finished sixth in the 160 pound weight class as he went 3-3 over the two days.
Eight other Spartan wrestlers made it to the state tournament. They were Adam Brinkworth at 132, Paden Wells at 138, Matt Mecham at 152, Kennidee Byington at 160, Josh Gonzalez and George Sorensen at 195, Ky Jensen at 220 and Duncan Thomas at 285.
Adam Brinkworth received the academic all-state award for wrestling at the state tournament.
Emery Wrestlers battle at region and state
"Medalists at the state meet include From left to right: Ryan Cox 145 lbs. placed fourth, Cezly Collard 126 lbs. placed fifth, Wyatt Oveson 126 lbs. placed third, McCoy Christiansen 106 lbs. placed fourth, Cole Guymon 160 lbs. placed sixth, Adam Brinkworth received the Academic All-State award and was the only one from Emery to be given the Academic All-State award."