Local wrestlers cap off season with championships
Mar 28, 2017 03:34PM ● By Greg James
Dylan Gregerson won the state championship in the 138-pound lb weight classification. H, he is also the first Silverwolves wrestler to win 100 matches in his career. (Dwayne Henry/Riverton wrestling)
By Greg James | [email protected]
The 2017 state wrestling championship for Dylan Gregerson and Logan Jensen will be a tournament they never forget. Each captured his first high school state championship.
“Being a state champ is everything I dreamed it would be,” Gregerson said.
He captured the title in the 138-pound weight class after posting an over 32-3 record this season.
Gregerson, a Riverton High School senior, won his individual title by defeating American Fork’s Tayler Durfey 9-5. He jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and near fall. The match stayed even in the second period with both wrestlers capturing two points. The victory seemed assured when Gregerson got a takedown with 52 seconds remaining.
He started wrestling in seventh grade. He has an overall record of 130-24 in his high school career. He is the first wrestler from Riverton to win 100 matches in his high school career.
“I could not have made it here without my coaches,” Gregerson said. “It has taken a lot of hard work. Dwayne (Henry, a coach) pushed me to my full capabilities.”
Riverton’s Sterling Hansen also qualified to participate in the state tournament. He lost his first-round match and won a match in the consolation bracket before falling out.
Herriman High School’s Logan Jensen brought home an individual state championship in the 145-pound. class. His 44-3 overall record coming into the state meet made him the overall No. 1 seed.
Jensen comes from a strong family background of wrestlers. He started wrestling at age 5. His older brother, Jaron Jensen, was a state champion and still wrestles at the University of Wyoming. He is the son of Blake and Janet Jensen of South Jordan.
“Jaron started wrestling one year, and my Dad thought I was too young, so I started the next year,” Logan Jensen said. “I think it is an obsession to the grind. I am addicted to seeing my work pay off. It is a great feeling.”
He faced the No. 2 seed in the finals of the tournament, Steven Quintana from Layton High School. Logan Jensen scored a takedown in each of the first and second periods that led to a 5-1 advantage headed into the final stanza. he attacked quickly in the third and scored another takedown and a near fall to secure the victory 10-3.
“It was great ,and I loved it, but I felt like I wanted to achieve this in my freshman and sophomore years too,” he said. “It felt good, but it felt like I have more things to accomplish.”
The Mustangs had several wrestlers place in their individual weight classes. Kade Sydall finished fourth; Drake Hale placed fifth; Dylan Chavez was sixth; Carson Bowdren finished fifth; and Cole Clark came in fourth.
“I feel lucky, but I started from a young age and worked hard nearly every day for lots of years,” Logan Jensen said. “It is well-deserved to get here.”
