| Tiger Wrestlers Finish Strong Season |
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 Tigers Put Three Wrestlers in Finals, Exemplify Meaning of Team Work
High school wrestling tryouts roll around each year attracting countless numbers of youth with aspirations of obtaining wrestling glory. Tryouts come and go,and those brave souls that remain are the wrestlers that make up the Hurricane High School wrestling team. “Each year we have around 60 kids who come out to wrestle,”Tigers coach Kerry Prince said. “After two weeks were lucky to have 30 left.” It doesn't take long to realize that wrestling is one of the more physically demanding sports practiced on the high school level. One aspect of wrestling that is commonly unnoticed is that success in competitive wrestling depends greatly upon the mental and emotional strength of its athletes. “Wrestling is the toughest sport in High school. It demands more from the body than most kids are willing to give,”Prince said. “In wrestling more matches are won by heart then talent. It's nice when you have both.” Those wrestlers involved in the 2007 season have proven that they have what it takes to succeed as wrestlers. The Region 9 tournament ended in a close race for the top three spots. Hurricane finished in a strong third place with 247.5 points. Casey Pettus,Josh Bowen and Broc Prince earned championship honors with Pettus being named the tournament's outstanding wrestler award. Having finished region competition the Tigers set their sights on state competition. Pettus,Bowen and Prince weren't the only Tiger wrestlers who faired well in Region 9 and multiple Tiger wrestler appeared at state. Danny Pettus,Cameron Manwaring,Skylar Mills,Tyler Prince and Anthony Reyos all accompanied the team to state competition at UVSC. Placing eight wrestlers in the state tournament gave the Tigers a good chance at a team championship as well as multiple individual titles. The Tigers didn't bring home the championship trophy as a team;however,they were represented by one state champion,two runners-up and a hand full of other wrestlers who fought fiercely against some of Utah's toughest wrestlers. Casey Pettus repeated as Class 3A state champion and received honors as the most outstanding wrestler at the tournament. Casey's younger brother Danny Pettus also had a good showing by finishing third place in the 103 pound division. Cameron Manwaring placed fourth in region this year. He followed up last year's second place finish at state by placing sixth this year in the 112 pound class. Tyler Prince also finished sixth at state to add to his third place finish in Region 9. Wrestling at 119 pounds,Skylar Mills placed second in region and fifth place in stacompetition. Broc Prince and Josh Bowen both captured Region 9 titles earlier this year. They followed each others lead as they ended the 2007 season by both placing second at the state tournament. Under the direction of dedicated coaches and senior leaders,the Tigers wrestling squad showed what it means to work as a team to accomplish goals. Determined senior leaders led the way and younger wrestlers followed as the Tigers finished another successful season in Region 9 and Class 3A wrestling. Although already athletically gifted as wrestlers,the Tigers wrestlers squad,just as other sports,were well supported by the local Hurricane crowd. The energy and excitement that the crowd brings to sporting events is irreplaceable. The Tigers now turn their sights and thoughts to Spring sports coming their way. However,wrestling is put on the back burners as Hurricane High School wrestlers look to follow up next year on the progress they made during this season. They are to be commended for their hard work and determination that led them to the accomplishment of so many team goals. “Our kids have been working hard all year,”Prince said. “These kids that went to state have talent,but more importantly they have the guts to stick it out. Our kids wrestled hard and they did a great job at state.” Bookmark & Share              |