Senior Benjamin Kohler said he and his teammates — who all sported dyed blond hair for the tournament — erupted into cheers when they realized they had won the 5A state boys team championship Feb. 13 and 14. It was Wasatch High School’s first win since back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020.
“When we found out that we won the state title, it was just in disbelief,” Kohler said. “We were just looking at each other, just with joy in our eyes, just hugging each other out.”
Head Coach Kamron Day said every athlete gave their all to pull off the win. By the end of the first day of the two-day tournament, defending state champion Spanish Fork High School had a narrow lead against Wasatch and Box Elder High School.
But Day said the Wasps kept their cool.
“You can get wrapped up in something pretty quick and wrestle kind of tight if you get worried about the scores and things like that,” he said. “We kind of tried to keep them away from it as much as possible and keep their mind on what the task at hand was, and that was to be the best version of themselves that they could be in the moment.”
It’s advice the team discusses at every practice and something Kohler has taken to heart. Instead of listening to music like many athletes, Kohler just absorbs the atmosphere of the arena to ground himself and get in the right mental space before a match.
The tactic helped him during a crucial match during the tournament, when he was head-to-head with a Spanish Fork wrestler.
“I knew it was a tight race between us and Spanish Fork, but at the end of it, I knew it was just another match, another way in the road to win another state title,” he said. “So just going into that match, wrestling how I wrestle, just not really worried about the end result.”
After one tough match, Day said the team got a much-needed boost from Kohler’s win — his third individual state title. Wasatch Senior Jonah Ware and Junior Wyatt Hanssen also took first place in their weight classes.
Kohler said the one-match-at-a-time mindset was just one tactic that helped the team. Wasatch wrestlers also participated in larger tournaments throughout the year, including in Nashville and Arizona, which bolstered both their confidence and skills.
The team also pushes each other to be better. Kohler said he and the other seniors especially made sure to track the team’s progress and give advice when needed.
“Seeing that improvement between not only the kids that I pushed, but other seniors have pushed, definitely helped us towards that state title,” he said.
Wasatch High’s girls' wrestling team also performed well. The team was ranked No. 1 all year and was defending back-to-back 5A state titles, but finished second behind Salem Hills High School.
