State boys wrestling: Layton repeats as 6A team champions; Box Elder second in 5A
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- Layton junior Geronimo Rivera celebrates winning the 126-pound championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Box Elder’s Jackson Ricks celebrates winning the 144-pound championship at the 5A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Layton’s Noah Bull (top) competes in the 144-pound championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Syracuse wrestler Mason Carlson (top) competes against Layton’s Lander Bosh in the 120-pound championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Layton junior Geronimo Rivera, right, competes in the 126-pound championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Layton wrestlers pose for a photo after winning the team championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Box Elder wrestlers pose for a photo after finishing second at the 5A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Layton senior Takoa Byrd competes in the 285-pound championship at the 6A boys wrestling finals Saturday Feb. 17, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
OREM — If you just look at how many individual state champions teams had in 6A boys wrestling, you might think Layton wasn’t as strong as Westlake this year.
After all, the Lancers only had two wrestlers finish atop the podium while the Thunder had four who accomplished that feat at Saturday’s state championships at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center in Orem.
But when evaluating a team like Layton, title-winners are only a part of the equation.
“One of our pillars of coaching is value the individual growth over the result,” Layton head coach Adam Fager said. “Another quote that we use a lot is ‘no success is final and no failure is fatal.’ It makes it easy to come back after a big loss and score lots of points for the team and make a big difference.
“Whether or not it’s in the finals earlier, it doesn’t matter. This team worked hard to build a good positive culture.”
Layton proved to be up to the challenge of repeating as state champs, pulling away from Westlake to secure its second straight team title.
“It means everything in the world,” Lancer senior Takoa Byrd said. “My sophomore year we lost by 9.5 points and I wasn’t able to compete that year. Coming back this year like we did last year, and make a statement like we have, it means a lot. This team’s amazing. This team is special.”
Both of Layton’s individual champions had to come from behind to get the job done.
Lancer junior Geronimo Rivera had won titles in each of his first two state tournaments, but he faced a huge test when he went up against Westlake freshman Israel Borge in the 126-pound finals.
“It was a good match,” Rivera said. “He’s a good kid and we are probably about the same technically. He’s quick and he’s fast. Overall, it was a fun match.”
Both athletes had to guard against making a costly mistake since the opponent was quick and strong. Although Borge scored first, Rivera’s aggressiveness paid dividends in the end.
“The one thing that made me stand out compared to him is I kept on shooting and shooting and shooting where it took him some time to get to a shot,” Rivera said. “I ended up getting it and I ended up finishing it. That’s what made the difference between us.”
He ended with a 3-1 decision to become a three-time champ and set himself up for a fourth title, although he has his sights set high.
“That means a lot to me but, at this point, I’m going for a national title,” Rivera said. “Three state titles in three years is pretty cool, but I’m looking at nationals next.”
Layton sophomore Noah Bull found himself facing an even bigger deficit as he battled American Fork junior Tege Kelley in the 144-pound championship.
“I ended up giving a lot of points off at the start, so I had to make a big comeback,” Bull said. “I just kind of get down how to keep my hopes up and just keep on fighting. It took a lot of grit.”
But he kept calm and kept finding ways to score.
“It feels good to fight back,” Bull said. “It means you have that dog in you and you don’t quit.”
He finished off the 8-5 decision to win the title, which he said was a testament to all the preparation he put in.
“I’ve put in a lot of work, with the team especially,” Bull said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with them. I also did a lot outside of the room to be prepared for this and the work is what matters.”
While Bull and Rivera were the headliners, Layton had five other finalists — including Byrd, who finished second in the 285-pound division — and had placers in all but one weight class.
“I’ve had some really great leaders on my team this year,” Fager said. “None of my team captains are even state champions but they lead the team in every day, putting in more effort. Their example has been big for us. For the team as a whole, if we just kept at it and had the love for the group and the passion to put in the work, really good things were going to happen.”
Other area 6A wrestlers who won individual championships included Syracuse’s Mason Carlson (120 pounds) and Fremont’s Logan Hancey (165).
In Class 5A, Box Elder had an excellent showing but couldn’t quite get enough points to take down Spanish Fork. The Bees were 16.5 points behind the Dons (272.5 to 256) but still easily got second place.
Box Elder’s success was highlighted with three wrestlers winning individual titles.
At 106 pounds, Conley Evans defeated Spanish Fork’s Taegan Leavitt in an 8-4 decision, while Jackson Ricks handled Viewmont’s Spencer Rees with a 14-2 major decision at 144 pounds.
Brandon Murray was the other Box Elder champ as he beat Kaden Moore of Salem Hills in a 4-0 decision in the 175-pound finals.