Experience, hard work, talent lead to Manti wrestling success
By Alec Barton
1-30-08

MANTI—With just two contests left before region and state, Manti’s wrestling team has capitalized on experience, talent, and effort this year, producing a team that has exceeded expectations.
The Templars have wrestled at six tournaments thus far, along with several duel competitions.
At the Panguitch Invitational, the Templars wrestled hard and came away with a fourth-place finish. Individually, Justin Bradley placed first in his weight division of 119 pounds. Bradley was also named Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. Jake Bleazard, a junior at 285 pounds, took second. Colter Lund and Matt Olson placed fourth in their respective weight divisions.
The Templars pulled off a first place win at the bi-county tournament, which featured schools from Sanpete and Sevier counties. And their winning record does not stop there. They scored 7 wins and just 3 losses at Juab, with 6 wins and 2 losses at the 2A state duels. At the Manti Holiday Classic, the Templars scored 4 wins and 4 losses, placing fourth in the tournament.
The Templars struggled at the competitive North Sanpete Tournament, placing fifth overall. Bradley placed second in his division.
Manti will travel to North Summit before hosting a duel with Gunnison on Jan. 31. Region and state competition will follow, on Feb. 8-9 and 14-16.
Going into region competition, Bradley is ranked first in the state, according to the Utah Wrestling Coaches Association. Lund, Olson, Tanner Denton and Jacob Rasmussen are ranked fifth in their weight divisions, and Bleazard is ranked third.