Typically, when Tooele and Grantsville have met on the wrestling mat, it has been the Buffaloes who have had the upper hand, using their depth to fend off the Cowboys.
On Tuesday night at Tooele High School, it was a different story. Fueled by six pins, the Cowboys held off the Buffs 44-33 in the latest showdown between the two county rivals.
Grantsville heavyweight Logan Kuehn had the quickest pin of the evening, taking down Tooele’s Chandler Yeck at the 1:02 mark of the first period. Teammate Austin Wilcox pinned the Buffs’ Dallin Malmgren in 1:19 at 138 pounds, while Trent Johnson beat Cameron Simko in 1:27 in the 195-pound match. Dwayne Perry also needed less than two minutes to finish his match, pinning Wyatt Evans in 1:33 at 145 pounds.
Thomas Coates pinned Tooele’s Ethan Hunter 52 seconds into the second period at 126 pounds, and Colby Johnson overcame a 10-8 deficit to pin Tooele’s Tanner Stringham 44 seconds into the third period at 182 pounds. At 170 pounds, Koby Johnson beat Tooele’s Ryan Hintze by tech fall, outscoring him 23-8 before the match ended with 20 seconds left on the clock.
Kole Johnson picked up Grantsville’s other victory, holding off Parker Hansen for a 6-5 win at 106 pounds.
Tooele also had its fair share of highlights, led by Mason Flygar, who pinned Grantsville’s Lance Pitt at the 1:32 mark of the first period at 113 pounds. Eli Messick pinned Bodey Manzanares 1:21 into the second period at 152 pounds and Adelicio Mascarenas pinned Hunter Johnson with 1:10 left in the 160-pound match. Maison Teeples was also a winner, pinning Colin Nay 1:22 into the second period at 220 pounds, and Cannon Manning beat Nathen Carpenter 9-2 at 132 pounds.
Tooele’s Tyson Tso also picked up a win by forfeit at 120 pounds as Grantsville was unable to fill that spot in its lineup.
Grantsville will travel to St. George this weekend to take part in the annual Desert Storm Classic, hosted by Dixie High School. The tournament will feature teams from all over Utah as well as Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
Tooele will take part in the Jody Warren Duals at Weber High School. Teams scheduled to compete include American Leadership Academy, Bear River, Copper Hills, Fremont, Morgan, Rock Springs (Wyoming), Sky View, Star Valley (Wyoming) and Utah Military Academy along with the host school.