Bucks claim dominating wrestling title, with eight champions and 16 of 18 wrestlers winning medals

by Anna Fredericks
At the first dual match of the season, the Monticello High School wrestling team announced that they would dedicate their season to American hero and Buckaroo champion, Aaron Butler. They pledged to work harder and be better.
On February 10, they proved that they had done what they set out to do.
Buckaroo Head Coach Kent Adair said they worked as hard as any group he has ever coached.  
It was arguably the best final weekend ever for a Monticello Buckaroo wrestling team.  Eighteen team members competed at the 1A State Wrestling Tournament, bringing home 16 medals. Their dominance on the weekend earned them a team championship trophy for the first time in five years.
The team put twelve wrestlers in the finals and walked away with eight state champions, which is believed to be the most ever for any high school team in Utah in any classification.
Add to that a four-time state champion, two academic all-state awards, and an individual MHS record, and you have an amazing finish for the Buckaroo wrestlers after a long season of hard work.
Brayson Wilcox and Thomas Anderson were honored prior to the match for earning Academic All State awards.
The award is given based on their four year high school grade point average. Wilcox has a 4.0 and Anderson a 3.98 GPA.
The family of Aaron Butler was also honored, and a moment of silence taken during a flag presentation by the Utah National Guard.
The Buckaroos left no question as to who the best team was, leading the race from the first round to the last, putting up 252 team points with second place Panguitch a distant 142 points and Wayne at 131 rounding out the top three.
In total, the Buckaroos wrestled 58 matches and only had twelve losses, with three coming to other Buckaroo teammates. The team won 30 matches by fall and two by technical fall, which is 15 points or more.
For the second week in a row, the finals was a parade of orange and black, as Buckaroos competed for championships in eleven of 14 weights, including two Buckaroos competing for the 132 pound title.
Earning state championship medals for the Buckaroos are Brevin Olson, Mark Beh, Steven Robinson, Zac Musselman, Brayson Wilcox, Thomas Anderson, Justin Cecil and Gage Wilcox.
Olson won two matches by fall on his way to the finals where we won 4-2, setting him up as the next potential four-time Buckaroo champion.
Mark Beh had a fall in round one and a 7-0 win in round two before a well-earned 4-2 victory in the finals.
Robinson had wins of 13-0 and 5-3 on his way to meet teammate Zach Cecil for the second week in a row in the finals. This time Robinson earned the tough win, 4-2, in sudden victory.
Musselman earned three wins by fall, to become the third four-time State Champion for Monticello High School. The accomplishment is one very few in the state have ever achieved.
Musselman’s “four timer” status solidifies him as one of Utah High School wrestling’s elite. He joins Aaron Butler and Cole Eldredge who have also earned the honor for MHS, making it one of only three schools in Utah to have three four-time champions.
Brayson Wilcox earned two technical fall wins in the early rounds, 15-0 and 18-1, and a win by fall in the finals.
The tech falls give him 17 on the season and sole possession of the MHS record for technical falls in a season.
Wilcox was the top individual point scorer in the 1A tournament, scoring a whopping 44 points in three matches.
Thomas Anderson earned a win by fall in round one, and had a 4-1 win to get to the finals, where he won an exciting 9-2 match.
Justin Cecil earned two wins by fall before a big 18-6 win in the championship match.
Gage Wilcox wrapped things up for the Buckaroos, earning wins by fall in all three of his matches at the tournament.
Wilcox was dominant on the weekend, earning all three falls in a total time of 1:59.
Working hard throughout the weekend and earning a place in the spotlight match but coming up just short of the gold medal are Matt Beh, Zach Cecil, Kayden Draper, and Tyler Draper.  All four Buckaroos had a great weekend earning first round wins by fall.
In round two, Beh put up a strong 15-4 win, Cecil and Kayden Draper earned wins by fall, and Tyler Draper put a 9-3 win in the books.
In the finals, Beh and Tyler Draper fought hard but were defeated by fall.  Cecil and Kayden Draper were both defeated in tough sudden victory overtime matches. Cecil was defeated 4-2 by teammate Steven Robinson and Draper was defeated 5-3.
Earning third place medals for the Buckaroos are Wyatt Fullmer, Dillan Wheeler and Eldean Lammert.
Fullmer started strong with a 10-1 win in the first round but was defeated by teammate Zac Musselman in the semi-finals. In the consolation bracket he fought hard, earning two wins by fall.
Wheeler had a strong 13-1 win in round one, but was defeated by teammate Mark Beh in the semi-finals. In the consolation bracket he earned two big wins by fall to earn his medal.
Eldean Lammert won his first round match before suffering a loss, but followed with two wins by fall.
Dillon Slack earned a fourth place medal for the Buckaroos, earning two wins by fall after a tough first round loss. He battled in the consolation finals but was defeated by fall.
Freshmen Tuff Adair and Robert Musselman both suffered first round losses against top two placers in their weight classes. They came back strong to each earn a win by fall in the first consolation round, but despite their best efforts, they could not earn a second win and fell one match short of a medal but brought home valuable tournament experience.
Freshman Paxton Christensen was ready to wrestle for the Buckaroos at the tournament but was disqualified at weigh-in for a “possible” skin condition.
Other Buckaroo team members include Joe Morrison and Paul Reay, who did not qualify for the tournament; Drew Westcott, who was not able to wrestle in the post-season as he is the third participant in a weight class for the Buckaroos; and Alan Pettit and Clayton Young, who suffered injuries prior to post-season action.
The Bucks will lose a successful senior class, graduating four state finalists. They have a strong group of juniors to lead the team as they attempt a repeat championship in 2019.