Juan Diego wrestling squad breaks records

Intermountain Catholic

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Jake Doughty gets fifth place in the state tournament held Feb. 12-14 at Utah Valley Unviersity. Juan Diego Catholic High School broke a record on the number of students it qualified for state. Of the eight wrestlers who qualified, all but one earned a medal. Next year will be a challenge as seven wrestlers graduate and the school changes from Region 8 to Region 11. ?There will be more competition and less travel,? said John Gavin, head coach. photo courtesy of Juan Diego Catholic High School.

DRAPER — The Soaring Eagle wrestling squad did reach the higher mountains this year. The Juan Diego Catholic High School wrestling team qualified eight wrestlers for the state tournament held Feb. 12-14 at Utah Valley University. All but one earned medals in the top five positions. The team also finished second in the region.

"This year was great. There’s nothing we changed as coaches, really. The athletes did whatever we said and they believed in themselves," said John Gavin, head coach.

Gavin was back as head coach last year after three years off. He said 2008 was a year of rebuilding and improvement as the team recuperated from 2007.

"Two years ago we won only two matches. Last year we improved a lot but it wasn’t a great year," said Gavin.

The year 2009, however, was one of breaking records and year-round practice for the team.

"The kids trained during the summer and the fall so they’d be ready for winter. We learned that from the Delta team, which has always been in the top positions," said Gavin.

During the fall, the team practiced with wrestlers from Riverton High School. And, during the summer, the team attended two camps.

"We would practice every day after school for two hours. We also had a non-mandatory practice from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.," said Zeke Lamb, who placed second in the region and fourth in state.

"You develop a good work ethic and discipline. It’s hard work. Once you wrestle, everything else is pretty easy," said Taylor Berg. He placed second in region and third in state.

But the team’s accomplishments are not just a result of hard work.

"The wrestlers were great leaders. It was like having extra coaches on the team," said Gavin. "They would find ways to make practice fun."

Gavin said the team usually starts with 30 members and finishes with 25. But this year was different.

"If they noticed somebody was discouraged, they took it upon themselves to make sure nobody quit," he said.

Next year will be a time to rebuild the team since seven wrestlers will be graduating. Among them is Jamie Markosian, who was Juan Diego’s first region champion and voted outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Markosian was also recently honored by the National Football Foundation and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his football skills, academic achievement, and involvement in school and the community. He will be joining fellow wrestler Jake Doughty, who placed fourth in region and fifth in state, at Utah State University, where they will be playing for the football team.

The goal for the new team in the upcoming season is to win at least 50 percent of the matches, said Gavin. "In two years our goal will be to place higher in the state tournament and to break records," he said.

This might be an easier task than anticipated. Juan Diego is changing from Region 8 to Region 11 next year. This means the team will not be competing against Delta, the state champion.

"We will have a regular shot at winning the region championship without the state champion in our region," said Gavin.

"All teams are at about the same level in the new region. There will be more competition and less travel," he said.