It was a weekend of hot competition and hard fought matches at the Tournament of Champions at Vernal’s Western Park over the weekend. 31 teams with a total of about 630 wrestlers competed in the tournament coming from around Utah and surrounding states. Uintah walked away with the title securing 248 team points, followed by Juab with 196 points, and Green River, Wyoming with 183 points. Other local teams in the top twenty included Duchesne at 11th place, Rifle, Colorado at 14th place, and Union at 17th place. Uintah’s Brady Merkley took second in the 106 weight class. Duchesne’s Ethan Clayburn took second in the 113 weight class. Uintah’s Randon Deets was champion in the 120 weight class with Duchesne’s Jaxon Morlan taking second. Uintah’s Gavin Ayotte was champion in the 126 weight class. Uintah’s August Harrison was champion in the 132 weight class and Union’s Jate Frost was champion in the 170 weight class. Uintah Assistant Coach Gregg Stensgard said the tournament takes a lot of helping hands and all the hard work paid off with a fantastic event to benefit the wrestling club as well as the community. “It’s a great weekend for the Vernal area,” shares Stensgard. “We had a lot of people come to town, filling up hotels and eating out. We had a full crowd and it was everything you could want in a tournament.” Congratulations Uintah and all the wrestlers on their accomplishments at another Tournament of Champions.
