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Maple Mountain’s Brandyn Van Tassell wastes little time in capturing 5A state wrestling title

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oakley Ridge of Pleasant Grove battles Kegan Leatherow of Fremont in the Class 6A 120 state wrestling championship match at the Utah Valley University UCCU Center on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oakley Ridge of Pleasant Grove battles Kegan Leatherow of Fremont in the Class 6A 120 state wrestling championship match at the Utah Valley University UCCU Center on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.

Orem • There weren’t a lot of short matches during the championship round of the Class 5A state wrestling meet Thursday at Utah Valley University.

In fact, 10 of the 14 matches went the full three rounds.

Maple Mountain senior Brandyn Van Tassell’s wasn’t one of those. He made short work of Viewmont’s Tyson Zesinger, pinning him in less than two minutes.

“My mindset going in there was to dominate and have fun,” he said after posting his 57th win of the season. “There’s not much else to do or want to do.”

And to finish off his high school career with his second consecutive state title is very satisfying for Van Tassell, who hasn’t decided where he will wrestle at the next level.

“It’s been something that’s been on my mind since I was little,”’he said. “It’s the end goal for everybody.”

This title definitely means more to Van Tassell.

“It’s my senior year,” he said. “It’s my last year with my best friend and coach and the last year with my dad in my corner.”

His success on the mat and the ease at which he dominates his opponents is pretty simple.

“I do what my coaches tell me and work hard,” he said. “There’s not much else you can do.”

Now that the wrestling season is over, Van Tassell plans to focus his preparation on serving an LDS Church mission. He says a decision where he will wrestle at the collegiate level should come sometime in the next couple of months.

Van Tassell helped Maple Mountain finish third in the team standings with 181 points. Viewmont captured the team title with 310 points, while Wasatch was second with 248.5.

CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONS <br>Team scores • 1. Viewmont 310; 2. Wasatch 248.5; 3. Maple Mountain 181; 4. Box Elder 175; 5. Skyridge 126; 6. Olympus 84; 7. Brighton 77.5; 8. Corner Canyon 70.5; 9. Timpanogos 69; 10. Alta 50.5; t-11. Roy 49.5; t-11. Woods Cross 49.5; 13. Highland 49; 14. Timpview 38; 15. Bountiful 34; 16. Skyline 31.5; 17. Provo 23.5; t-18. Springville 21; t-18. West 21; 20. Jordan 20.5; 21. Cottonwood 19; 22. Murray 18.5; 23. East 3. <br>105 • Parker Frasure, Viewmont, dec. Preston Blotter, Wasatch, 6-0 <br>113 • Mitchel Slack, Wasatch, p. Jayden Adamson, Skyldige, in 5:52 <br>120 • Garrett Ricks, Box Elder, major dec. Karson Rees, Viewmont, 12-2 <br>126 • Sammy Heywood, Wasatch, major dec. Cole Patterson, Maple Mountain, 16-8 <br>132 • Stockton O’Brien, Wasatch, dec. Jeremy Evans, Viewmont, 10-6 <br>138 • Zak Kohler, Wasatch, dec. Shion Abe, Viewmont, 8-7 <br>145 • Brock Hardy, Box Elder, p. Holland Knudsen, Timpanogos, in 3:24 <br>152 • Brayden Stevens, Brighton, p. Brad Findlay, Corner Canyon, in 1:37 <br>160 • Isaac Wilcox, Olympus, tech fall Porter Chamberlain, Wasatch, in 4:31 <br>170 • Collin Smith, Viewmont, dec. Zackary Johnson, Maple Mountain, 11-9 <br>182 • Brandyn Van Tassell, Maple Mountain, p. Tyson Zesiger, Viewmont, in 1:40 <br>195 • DJ Cohen, Wasatch, dec. W. Taylo Money, Viewmont, 7-4 <br>220 • Kade Carlson, Corner Canyon, dec. Ryan Gunn, Box Elder, 5-3 <br>285 • Andrew Bargeron, Viewmont, dec. Jonathan Johnson, Highland, 2-1

By Mark Jones