5A wrestling: Box Elder’s Ricks wins 4th state title with a pin; Padilla Zapeda repeats for Northridge
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- Box Elder wrestler Bridger Ricks celebrates after winning a fourth high school wrestling state championship Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022 at Utah Valley University.
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- Northridge’s Karla Padilla Zapeda celebrates after winning her second wrestling state championship Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Utah Valley University.
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- Box Elder High senior Bridger Ricks wrestles during the 5A boys wrestling state tournament Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022 at Utah Valley University.
OREM — Bridger Ricks looked pretty stoic on the wrestling mat — even as the referee was holding up the Box Elder senior wrestler’s right arm in victory, even as Ricks himself was holding up four fingers on both of his hands.
Once Ricks hugged his coach and once his mom and dad came out of the stands to hug him, the tears and emotion flowed.
“It hit me right then that it’s over, yeah,” Ricks said.
With a second-period pin in the 5A boys wrestling 120-pound state championship match, Ricks secured his fourth wrestling state championship on Thursday night at Utah Valley University.
He already led Park City’s Jared Miller 13-5 in the second period when Ricks lifted Miller off the ground and slammed him to the mat.
A couple seconds later, the referee smacked his hand on the mat to signal the pin, which added Ricks’ name to the list of four-time boys wrestling state champions in Utah. Ricks is also the third BEHS wrestler to accomplish the feat.
“It’s awesome. I mean, I don’t really know how to put it into words right now if I’m being completely honest,” Ricks said. “All sorts of emotion running through my body right now.”
Ten minutes after the match ended, after he’d gone through the stands to hug everyone, Ricks was still at a loss for words.
Winning four titles was a lifelong dream of his, Ricks told the Standard-Examiner last week. A loss for words might be expected when one accomplishes a lifelong dream, then.
Ricks scored six takedowns in the first period, not trying to go for the pin because he wanted to soak up every last moment in his prep wrestling career.
In the second period, he went for the pin.
“Kind of how I pictured my last match going, just wrestling hard, wrestling until the whistle blows,” Ricks said.
Years of wrestling and training led to this week’s state tournament, where Ricks spent a total of 7 minutes, 46 seconds on the mat and pinned all four opponents.
Ricks, a team captain, completed his senior season with a record of 47 wins and one loss. College wrestling, either at Utah Valley or perhaps Western Wyoming where his older brother Garrett wrestles, appears to be in the cards.
“He’s everything and more that a coach could ask for,” Box Elder coach Jed Craner said about Ricks. “He’s honest, he’s hard-working — sorry, I’m gonna miss him. I’m getting emotional talking about him.”
Viewmont twins Moses and Marcus Espnioza-Owens won titles at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively.
The unbeaten Woods Cross duo of Colton Erickson (144) and Cash Henderson (215) also won state championships, each capping unbeaten 45-0 seasons and winning both Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament awards.
NORTHRIDGE GIRLS FINISH 3RD
Karla Padilla Zapeda repeated as a state champion for Northridge High’s girls wrestling team, pinning Jordan High’s Arianah Cowgur in the second period of their 235-pound title match.
Her celebration said everything about how much the win meant. Padilla Zapeda raised her arms and screamed after the referee’s hand hit the mat, then hugged her coaches and cried afterward.
“When she was going down and I was looking at my coaches, I was like this is it, this is the moment where I’m gonna win my second title … this is like the biggest thing,” she said.
Padilla Zapeda finished this season with a record of 34-1. That one loss served as a lot of motivation for her, she said.
“I feel like losing my first match of the season was kind of heartbreaking, but it kind of showed me that the life that we have has failures, so I just kind of have to live with that and work off of that. I’ve been working my butt off all season,” Padilla Zapeda said. “I haven’t really had a day off and I think it paid off this year.”
Padilla Zapeda’s state championship win was one highlight for the Knights, who finished third in the team standings with 162 points, three points behind second-place Uintah and 26.5 behind champion Maple Mountain.
Two Northridge wrestlers finished as state runners-up: Cecibeth Santos (110) and Annie Clanton (135). Mikalah Whitehouse finished third in the 120-pound bracket, Hailey Holton (125) was fourth and Riley Winters (190) finished third.
