San Juan Broncos finish third in 2A Utah State Wrestling Tournament

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School wrestling team spent the past weekend at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield, closing out the 2023-24 season with a very nice third-place finish with 155.5 points at the 2A Utah State Tournament.
Four Broncos earned the right to wrestle in the center mat for state championships and of the 21 athletes who wrestled for the team nine brought home medals from the tournament.
Chad Yellow (113 pounds), Parker Snyder (157), JD Palmer (165), and Taylor Black (285) all competed in the championship match in their respective weights with all four earning second-place medals.
Yellow defeated fellow Bronco Grady Lacy by third-period fall in a hard-fought quarterfinal matchup, pinned Beaver’s Statlen Hughes in the second period in the semifinals, then suffered a 13-7 loss in the championship match to Michael Williams of Enterprise.
Snyder earned first-period falls in the first round and quarterfinals before winning in an exciting sudden victory over Millard’s Lincoln Fullmer. He was defeated 8-5 by North Summit’s Cutler Blonquist in the finals.
Palmer registered three straight wins by fall to earn a birth in the 165-pound championship match against Morgan Tingey of Millard. He went the distance but suffered a 6-0 loss in the match.
“Yummy” Black won by first-period fall over Dax Bastian of North Sevier in the first round, by 10-6 decision over Duchesne’s Jackson Stansfield in the quarterfinals, and by fall over Millard’s Daniel Gates in the semifinals. He suffered a tough 5-0 defeat to Millard’s Scoot DeHerrera in the championship match.
Trace Bennett brought home a third-place medal at 175 pounds, winning by fall in 23 seconds over Rustyn Mackelprang of Parowan. It was the eighth-fastest pin on the weekend. Bennett also registered the fourth-most pins in the fastest time with four in 7:07.
His other victories came over Jackson Jones of Kanab, Holden Chappell of South Sevier, and Mason Holgreen of Beaver. His only defeat of the tournament came against Kaden Turner of Millard in the semifinals.
At 120 pounds Deklan Helquist rallied from a tough sudden victory loss in the quarterfinals to win three of his next four matches and finish fifth. He collected four pins in 7:22, which was sixth for most pins in the least time in the tournament.
Three Broncos brought home sixth-place medals, rounding out the placing positions for San Juan at the tournament: Grady Lacy (113 pounds), Logan Keith (150), and Porter Keith (285).
Lacy pinned North Summit’s Cody Tippetts in 27 seconds in the first round for the 16th-fastest pin of the tournament before losing to his teammate Chad Yellow in the quarterfinals.
Lacy rallied to win by fall over Millard’s Mason Wardle and Nash Nielsen of North Sevier in the second and third rounds of the consolation bracket. He was defeated in the consolation semis and fifth place match in two major decisions.
Logan Keith picked up wins by fall over Bishop Stout of Millard in the first round and Natsuki Burriola of Grand County in the consolation second round. His other victory was by technical fall over teammate Rigley La Giglia in the third round.
Porter Keith suffered a loss in the first round but rallied to win three straight matches before suffering losses in the consolation semifinals and fifth place match. His wins came by fall over South Sevier’s Jason Dorgan and Enterprise’s Easton Watkins and by 9-4 decision over Beaver’s Caleb Moffett.
Other San Juan wrestlers who picked up wins at the tournament include Staley Dandy (fall, 11-9 decision), Miken Keith (fall, 8-3 dec), Lynnox Benn (two falls), Rigley La Giglia (fall, 8-4 dec), Jared Burke (two falls), Hunter Keith (6-3 dec), and Thomas Hardin (14-12 dec).
Taren Bayles, Kai Fox, Chance Laws, El’Myron Begay, and Trai Bass all wrestled hard for the Broncos. The third-place trophy is a great finish to cap an excellent season for San Juan.
Following the trip home Assistant Coach Shane Musselman said in a Facebook post, “[We are] proud of the entire team. Every boy gave it everything they had. Thanks to the Bronco Nation for all the support!”