Monticello High wrestlers earn All-State honors

Thirteen wrestlers representing San Juan County finished third or better in their respective state tournaments this season.
The San Juan Record is proud to present profiles of the Monticello High School boys All-State wrestlers this week.
Profiles of additional All-State athletes will appear in upcoming issues as the teams are named by the Deseret News.

Tavon Black
Monticello senior ~ state champion
175 pounds ~ 27 wins - 16 losses

Head Coach Krieg Adair: “Tavon has so much natural talent and ability. He is a special kid. The hard part has always been getting him to realize and believe it for himself.
“Tavon had a terrific football season that really helped him to realize what he was capable of. By the end of the divisional wrestling tournament, he finally believed what he could accomplish.
“That newfound confidence and belief would be tested five short days later when he broke his hand at the end of practice. He came back the next Monday with a determination in his eye that we had never seen before.
“He was determined to finish his wrestling career on top of the podium, even if it meant doing so with a broken hand. Tavon wrestled very smart, and his technique was flawless at both the divisional and state tournaments.
“His reaction after winning his state championship match was priceless – genuine euphoria at its finest!
“Tavon was a great leader and captain for us this year – both on the field and on the mat. His hard work set a great example for his teammates to follow.
“He is a wonderful person, and we will miss him greatly. We are so proud of Tavon and the career that he has had at MHS. We look forward to watching him run down one last goal in track this spring.”

Camren Carpenter
Monticello senior ~ state champion
285 pounds ~ 23 wins - 9 losses

Head Coach Krieg Adair: “Camren had a great season. His growth over the past four years has been nothing short of remarkable. One of his greatest challenges to overcome was to believe in himself. It took a long time for him to climb that mountain, but he eventually conquered the challenge.
“This year he finally started to realize and taste what it felt like to believe in himself and have success, and boy, did the floodgates open!
“With each match, he started to believe more and more in himself, and his confidence continued to grow. He focused really hard on a couple different moves, and he became very effective at them.
“He had some great battles during the season that really taught him what he was capable of doing. He used that knowledge to perfection at the state tournament, especially in the semifinals and state championship match.
“The end result was getting his hand raised on the center mat and climbing to the top of the podium.
“Camren is a great example to all of us that if you believe in yourself, and don’t ever give up, you have the potential to do great things.
“We couldn’t be more proud of Camren and what he was able to accomplish. We will miss him and the gentle giant that he is.”

Tyson Wheeler
Monticello senior ~ runner-up
215 pounds ~ 33 wins - 9 losses

Head Coach Krieg Adair: “Tyson suffered a knee injury last year in football. It ended up costing him his junior year of wrestling, and his senior year of football. We honestly didn’t think we would ever see him wrestle another match.
“Tyson came into the room this winter with a thunder in his belly and a fire in his eye. He decided that even with a bad knee he was going to give it everything he had and more. Did he ever deliver!
“Tyson spent all season figuring out how to wrestle the big boys. He did a phenomenal job learning from each match and altering his wrestling style so that he could compete at a much higher weight class than what he was used to. He beat a returning state finalist in the semifinals at the divisional tournament in one of our biggest matches of the season. He then went on to beat another returning state finalist in the semifinals at the state tournament to give himself the opportunity to wrestle for a state championship.
“Tyson was a terrific leader and captain for us this season. His hard work every night in The Room set a great example and truly paid off for him. We are so proud of Tyson and what he was able to accomplish over his career at MHS. He is a great kid, and we are really going to miss him.”

Head Coach Krieg Adair: “Arturo set some high goals for himself this season. He was very dedicated and stayed focused on the task at hand. You won’t find a lot of flash with Arturo. What you will find is a lot of grit and determination.
“He holds himself to a very high standard, and he truly desires to be as good as he can be. He is now a two-time state runner-up as a sophomore, which is no small feat.
“He was a great example for his teammates to follow this season, and we really look for him to be a powerful leader for us over the next two seasons.
“We are so glad to have Arturo back for two more years, and look forward to accomplishing his ultimate goal of being state champion.”

John Leber
MHS sophomore ~ third place
132 pounds ~ 38-10

Head Coach Krieg Adair: “John is now a two-time state placer as a sophomore. He was the team leader in four categories. John was unbeaten before Christmas. It has been a while since we had someone do that.
“John was in a very deep weight class at the state tournament. He took third place, a hard thing to do – especially after being beaten in the semifinals.
“We look for John to take his wrestling to a whole new level next season. He has the potential and ability to be an elite wrestler. We look forward to seeing him on top of the podium.”