Pahranagat Valley’s Reece Thornton won the 220-pound A division at the Paul Williamson Memorial tournament in Parowan, Utah last weekend.
Jacob Oldroyd, the defending Utah state champion at 220 pounds, was placed in the B division of the tournament, so the two did not have a chance to meet.
Thornton’s win helped the Panthers score 54 points for 13th place in the 15-team field. His first match was a forfeit from Alan Bulloch of Parowan, and he had a bye in the second round. Moving to the semifinals, he made quick work of Andrew Graham of Canyon View, getting a pin in 23 seconds. He was even faster in the championship, pinning Yarden Nahum of Diamond Ranch High in 17 seconds.
Others on the Panthers’ small traveling squad included William Gutierrez, Shane Twitchell, Hagen Harris, Ben Hagfeldt and Jonathan Dillingham.
In the 120-pound class, Hagfeldt lost two pool matches, both by pin, to McKray Gayler of Piute and Tharon Evans of Panguitch.
In the consolation pool, he had two byes, but did have a pin against D. Ruelas of Milford.
Hagen Harris wrestled in the 126-pound class. He won his first-round match by fall over Bryon Sudweeks of Parowan, but then lost to Tei Hirschi of Cedar City. Finishing second in Pool A, Harris faced the winner of Pool B, Harley Jackson of Parowan, and lost to him by pin. Going for the third-place medal, Harris was beaten by fall by Beau Johnson of Kanab.
At 138 pounds, William Gutierrez lost to Henry Pulica of Canyon View and had a bye his next match. Then he lost by fall in his next two matches to Trevor Evans of Parowan and Cameron Cluff of Kanab.
Shawn Twitchell wrestled in the 170-pound A division for the Panthers. He lost his first two matches to Carter Hewitt of Diamond Ranch and Jace Gil Marshal of Beaver, won his third match by pin over Payton Park of Canyon View and lost in the match for fifth place to Skylar Williams of Milford.
Jonathan Dillingham, in the 170-pound B bracket, won his first three pool matches, all by pins, over Keegan Smith of Beaver, Karver Mock of Canyon View and David Thomas of Piute.
But he lost in the bracket matches to Jacob Dominguez of Virgin Valley, followed by a loss to Luis Duarte of Beaver in a third-place match.
The Panthers were a last-minute entry into a tournament in Ely with White Pine, Battle Mountain, Tonopah, etc. They will compete in the multi-team Desert Storm Classic in St. George, Utah, this Friday and Saturday.
