San Juan High student athletes wrestlers earn All-State honors

Five wrestlers representing San Juan High finished third or better at the 2A state tournament on February 10.
As part of an effort to honor winter All-State athletes, the San Juan Record is proud to present these outstanding wrestlers in special profiles featuring photos and comments from their coaches.
Profiles of additional All-State athletes will appear in upcoming issues of the Record once the teams are named by the Deseret News.

Taylor Black
2A wrestling ~ runner-up
San Juan Senior | 285 Pounds
27 wins ~ 8 losses

Head Coach Steve Simpson: “‘Yummy’ showed a great deal of character this year. During the middle of the season he had a few setbacks that would have challenged almost any wrestler. Going into State, he was not favored to get into the championship.
“During practice leading up to the tournament however, Taylor set his sights high and went to work. While there may have been a few people surprised when he barreled into the finals, I was not one of them. I was confident he would do just what he said he would do. It was a terrific finish to a difficult season.”

Parker Snyder
2A wrestling ~ runner-up
San Juan Senior | 157 Pounds
28 wins ~ 4 losses

Head Coach Steve Simpson: “Parker is fast as lightning, highly skilled, and as smart as he can be. When he steps out on the mat you can be assured he will always give 100 percent. For me, however, the most important factor is Parker’s character, which is amazing.
“I have seen him hold his head high even when matches that should have gone his way didn’t. He is a true sportsman. One of the season highlights was when a referee took me aside at the Divisional Tournament and said, ‘I just can’t ref Parker’s matches because I love that kid so much.” I think that sums up how we all feel about Parker.”

Chad Yellow
2A wrestling ~ runner-up
San Juan Junior | 113 Pounds
28 wins ~ 4 losses

Head Coach Steve Simpson: “Chad has a unique style that makes coaching him extremely exciting. Since the other coaches and I never know what he is going to do next, we can only sit by and hope for the best.
“Chad is exhilarating to watch because you can never predict where his matches are going to end up. Just when you think he is in trouble, he pins his opponent. Chad will surely be on top of the podium next year.”

JD Palmer
2A wrestling ~ runner-up
San Juan Junior | 165 Pounds
33 wins ~ 3 loss

Head Coach Steve Simpson: “I absolutely loved seeing ‘Gingi’ develop and grow over the course of this year because he went from being uncertain he would accomplish his goals to dominating his opponents. JD is great to have in the room because he is always working to improve his skills and pushing himself to be better. During the North Sevier tournament one of the fans stopped me in the hall to ask if my son was a tall redhead.
“‘Yes,’ I responded. ‘Why?’ ‘Because he is a very classy young man,’ the fan said. I agreed, and expressed some confusion about how she possibly knew my son since he graduated six years ago. It was then I realized she was referring to JD. She was proud of him even though he had just beaten her own son. I feel just the same about JD. I fully expect Gingi to be the State Champion next year and maybe even have an undefeated season.”

Trace Bennett
2A wrestling ~ third place
San Juan Senior | 175 Pounds
23 wins ~ 6 losses

Head Coach Steve Simpson: “It was always interesting and fun watching Trace wrestle, whether in practice or during competitions. Sometimes we worried what would happen if he had to go all three rounds, but we finally convinced him he could handle it and he showed his mettle.
“I was confident Trace would do well at State and was not disappointed. Trace was one of the funniest and most interesting young men on the team.”