| Tiger Wrestlers Hold Their Own at Juab Tourney |
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 Hurricane High School
Hurricane High School’s wrestling team traveled to the Juab Tournament in Nephi Dec. 8 and 9 to wrap up their last duel before getting ready for their Region 9 opener at Canyon View High School Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. Thirty teams from Utah and Idaho participated in the Juab tournament. In addition to Region 9 teams,other Utah schools that sent quality teams to the mat were: Timp View,Brighton,Manti,North Sevier and North Sanpete. Idaho was represented by high school wrestling teams from Shelly,Blackfoot and Preston. “Pretty much everybody we wrestled was tough,”assistant coach Jack Eves said. The Tigers’lower-weight division wrestlers had a very good tournament while the upper-weight division wrestlers struggled a bit. Danny Pettus (103 pounds),a sophomore,won all of his matches. “Danny took first place in the tournament in his weight category,”Eves said. “He won all nine of his matches. He wrestled smart during the whole tournament.” Cameron Manwaring (112 pounds) went 3-2 in his contests. Casey Pettus (125 pounds) won his first seven matches before hurting his back just prior to his final round. At first it looked serious enough for him to be out for a week or two,but the Tiger coaches now expect there is a reasonable chance he’ll be ready for their Region 9 opener. Tyler Prince (130 pounds) went 6-3,Broc Prince (135 pounds) won his first eight matches only to come up short in his final match and finish the tournament 8-1,and Josh Bowen (140 pounds) went 4-3 in his matches before being taken to the hospital with a knee injury. At press time,the extent of his injury was unknown. After the Juab tournament,Hurricane’s attention turned to the Tigers’region opener against defending wrestling champion Canyon View. “Canyon View is going to be a tough matchup,especially if Casey Pettus and Bowen aren’t able to wrestle because of their injuries,”Eves said. “If they can’t wrestle,that will be really tough on our team.” The high caliber of wrestling in Region 9 makes for an interesting forecast. “Region 9 is going to be a real tough region this year.”Eves said. “I think we have potential.” Hurricane had a third-place finish last year,and took fourth in the 3A state tournament. “Most of our team is sophomores and freshman,”Eves said. But Eves has high expectations for the wrestlers this year. “We have a lot of young guys that if they come along during the year and learn some things they need to learn,when it comes to region competition,we can probably do really well,”he said. “Hurricane has always been a tough wrestling school as long as I’ve been here,”Eves said. He has been involved in the wrestling program since 1987. “If more kids would come out to wrestle,it sure would help teach them how to set and achieve their goals,”Eves said. “Wrestling,number one,teaches a kid discipline. If they can make it through a season and keep their head up,win or lose,they’re going to learn discipline and they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.” Another factor affecting this year’s wrestling season if the new hydration testing. The new testing mandate is an attempt to ensure that young athletes wrestle at a weight that’s healthy for them. Scientific formulas guide each individual’s rate of weight loss to reach their wrestling weight. “We’re all in the same boat with hydration testing,”Eves said. “Some of our little guys can only lose a pound per week at the most. We have a couple of kids that need to put on a few pounds. But those kids can go to their personal doctors and get a doctor’s note that says they are healthy to wrestle because they are just naturally light.” The Tigers expect to have most of their wrestlers ready to go in their weight categories for their Region 9 opener. Bookmark & Share              |