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Moody and Christiansen capture state titles for Miner wrestling.

Mar 08, 2018 03:11PM ● By Josh Mc Fadden

Cole Moody wrestles in the state championship match where he emerged victorious. (Photo/Pat McDonald)

Utah Valley University was the site of one of the busiest two days of Utah high school sports, and the Bingham Miners were right in the thick of it. 

On Feb. 7 and 8, the Bingham wrestling team competed in the Class 6A state wrestling tournament against some of the top teams and individuals in the state. After numerous matches and some thrilling moments, the Miners claimed a top-five finish, placing fourth among 22 6A teams. The Miners finished with 166.5 points, seven points more than fifth-place Syracuse. Bingham was a good distance behind third-place Herriman, which ended up with an even 200 points. Pleasant Grove won the 6A crown with 283 points; Layton was second with 202.5 points.

A handful of Miners competed in the two-day event, with Mason Christiansen capturing the title in the 170-pound division. Christiansen won his first-round quickly by fall in less than two minutes. He then won in the quarterfinals by technical fall and advanced from the semifinals to the finals by winning by fall in 2:56. In the championship round, Christiansen defeated Jeff Hardy of Fremont 14-2. 

In the 182-pound division, Cole Moody joined Christiansen as a state title winner. Moody had an excellent regular season, finishing with a record of 40-3. Moody was dominant at state, leaving no doubt he was the best in his weight class in Class 6A. Moody won all four of his state matches by fall, each in less than three minutes. In the finals, he pinned Jayden Burton of Syracuse to secure the victory in just 2:39. 

In addition to Bingham’s two first-place finishers, the Miners had three other wrestlers finish third at the state tournament. In the 106-pound weight class, Marco Herrera got to the semifinals with a pair of victories by fall. He lost in the semifinals to River Wardle of Herriman but then won a pair of consolation matches, including a 3-1 decision in the third-place match. 

Kam Moss also won two matches before a semifinals loss sent him to the consolation bracket. He won 11-5 in the third-place match of the 132-pound division. His teammate Jaxon Wardle, a 145-pounder, also took third place. He had to compete his way through the consolation bracket by winning three matches after losing in the quarterfinals. His third-place match was a 6-1 victory. 

More Bingham wrestlers earned points for their squad. Hadley Young placed fifth in the 120-pound class. He lost his opening match but then reeled off three wins in a row before another loss put him in the fifth-place match. There, he defeated American Fork’s Hayden Wilson by fall in 1:02. In the 138-pound class, Payton Clark finished fourth after getting as far as the semifinals. Brevan Butterfield, at 195 pounds, also took fourth.