OREM – By Cari Doutre – Feb. 16, 2020
A lot of things happened for the Bear River High wrestling team during the two-day 4A state wrestling championship tournament held Feb. 14-15, at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Let’s get started…
Two freshmen wrestlers made Bear River High history. Three wrestlers earned an individual state title. Nine wrestlers finished the first day of competition undefeated. Twenty-one wrestlers advanced to the second day of the tournament and in the end 10 earned a spot on the podium.
To top it all off, the Bears took third place overall in 4A with a total of 202.5 team points. This year Mountain Crest High took first place with 319.5 points and Uintah High took second place with 274.5 points.
Earning an individual state wrestling title is a feat that deserves a story of their own. Click on those stories below:
Jeshua Koch, a freshman at Bear River Middle School, became the first freshman in the school’s wrestling program history to earn a state title. He wasn’t the only freshman making school history that day.
On Friday, Feb. 14, Max Miller, also a freshman at Bear River Middle School, was only 13 years-old while competing in the 4A state championship tournament in the 106-pound weight-class. If that sounds young for a high school wrestler that’s because it is.
Miller, who turned 14 on Saturday, Feb. 15, is the age that most eighth graders usually are. However, Max’s parents, Todd and Kayla Miller, decided to have their youngest child skip a grade in elementary school. That decision put Max in the 4A state championship tournament this year as the youngest wrestler competing for a state title.
Not that you would know it by watching him wrestle.
Max held his own in the tournament, and although he didn’t make the top six in his division, he did advance to the second day of the tournament making it to the consolation bracket quarterfinals.
Not bad for Bear River High’s youngest wrestler to compete in a state wrestling championship tournament.
The accomplishments for the Bears on the wrestling mat during the state tournament didn’t end there.
Ten Bear River wrestlers made it to the podium placing in the top six in their weight division. They include:
Junior Trenton Ward (106) – 1st place
Senior Maverik Skinner (160) – 1st place
Freshman Jeshua Koch (285) – 1st place
Senior Tyler Howard (182) – 3rd place
Senior Kamryn Rees (132) – 4th place
Junior Cael Wilcox (145) – 5th place
Senior Easton Winward (152) – 5th place
Senior Porter Tackett (170) – 5th place
Senior Logan Fraser (285) – 5th place
Senior Zach Phillips (220) – 6th place
Next year when the Bear River High wrestlers enter the weight room for the first time, they’ll include two-state champs and one team of talented wrestlers ready to take on whatever the 2020-21 wrestling season has in store for them.
