Black, Carpenter win 1A state wrestling titles to lead Buckaroos to fourth-place team finish

by Anna Fredericks
Contributing Writer
The Monticello High School wrestling team closed out their season at the 1A Utah State Tournament this past Friday and Saturday, January 7-8 in Richfield.
The Buckaroos came home fourth overall among the field of 13 teams with six of their nine wrestlers bringing home medals from the tournament and four wrestling for a championship.
Seniors Tavon Black and Camren Carpenter made their way to the top of the medals podium to be crowned as state champions and earn their spot on the Buckaroo Wall of Fame.
Black earned his way to the final match dominating both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches by first-period falls at 175 pounds.
In his final match Black scored the first takedown of the match at the one-minute mark and battled to keep Wayne’s Crosby Saign down to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.
Black chose to start the second period on the bottom and fought hard to reverse Saign midway through the period to take the 5-0 lead.
Black reversed his opponent immediately to his back, earning an exciting win by fall with 50 seconds left in the period, capturing his first State Championship medal.
Black’s accomplishment came through considerable adversity as the senior broke his hand during practice a little over a week before the tournament. He bandaged the hand and pushed through to win the title.
Carpenter earned second-period wins by fall in each of his first two rounds at 285 pounds. In the finals he faced Rich Rebel and returning state champion Jordan Johnson, who had defeated Carpenter in the Divisional finals two weeks earlier.
Carpenter scored first on a takedown, but Johnson earned a reversal. After an escape by Carpenter and a takedown by Johnson they ended the first period with Carpenter behind 5-4.
Johnson chose to start the second period from the bottom and got to his feet, but Carpenter put in a neck wrench and dropped Johnson to his back to score the win by fall 40 seconds into the round. It was an exciting upset win and the first state championship medal for Carpenter.
Senior Tyson Wheeler and sophomore Arturo Gutierrez also battled their way to their respective championship matches with each bringing home second-place honors.
Gutierrez earned a 27-second win by fall in the 133-pound quarterfinals followed by a 16-6 major decision win in the semifinals to make his way to the championship. He battled Altamont’s Levi Scott in the finals and was defeated by fall in the second period.
At 215 pounds, Wheeler earned the fastest fall in both the 1A and 2A tournaments with a nine-second pin in the opening round.
In the semifinal round he had a tough battle against a Piute opponent but worked hard to claim a 5-2 victory and earn his spot in the championship match.
In the finals he faced Maverick Albrecht of Panguitch and fought hard but was defeated by fall at the end of the second period.
Sophomore John Leber earned a third-place medal for the Buckaroos at 132 pounds. Leber had a fight from the start, facing a tough Milford opponent in the first round. In a match that was a battle to the end, Leber earned a close 13-11 victory.
In the semifinal round he was defeated by Altamont’s Dillon Ivie who earned his third state championship that night.
Leber fought back from the loss, earning a dominating 18-2 technical fall win in the second period of his first consolation match.
In the third place match, Leber faced the same Milford opponent he saw in the first round, and again the two battled through six minutes with Leber finishing on top in the nail-biter with a 9-7 win.
Finishing with a fourth-place medal was freshman Miles Coleman at 126 pounds. Coleman earned a second-period win by fall in the first round, but a loss in the semifinals sent him to the consolation bracket.
Coleman battled back, winning by fall over his Altamont opponent in the second period to earn his spot in the consolation finals. He fought hard but was defeated.
Freshman Diego Cortez and senior Jarum Robison each won matches at the tournament, falling just one win short of a medal.
Cortez, at 120 pounds, earned a first-round win by fall in the first period and Robison earned a first-period win by fall in the first consolation round.
Also wrestling hard for the Buckaroos was freshman Noah Dilts at 190 pounds.