It was another big week for the Malad Dragon wrestling team, representing the Malad High School on their mats with a week of both dual and tournament matches.  The Dragons continued to have success in front of their hometown fans as they held their annual Cal Willie Dual Night as well as their annual MHS Dragon Wrestling Tournament.

The wrestlers began their matches on Tuesday, December 12 as they hosted teams from Oakley, Raft River and Valley. After a hardfought night, the Dragons came out on top, winning all three duals to put their season dual record at 16-0.  

Tuesday’s duals were more than an ordinary night of wrestling for the MHS wrestlers as they honored a member of the Dragon wrestling family that passed away far too soon.  Cal Willie, son of Tom and Amber Willie and older brother to wrestlers Jack and Sam Willie, loved being a Dragon wrestler and exemplified what it meant to have Dragon pride.  

After graduating from Malad in 2016, Cal served a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where he had the unique opportunity to help coach wrestling.  Each day he helped young athletes put their best efforts on the mat, teaching them they were worth the hard work and sacrifices they were making, a lesson he learned well as a youth in Malad.

 The MHS team began the night suiting up in their memorial uniforms, a singlet with a heart and initials CW on the leg, as well as reading Matt Wray’s original poem titled “A Real Cowboy.” The Dragons also honored the memory of Cal by doing service projects as a team throughout the community during the week.  The Lady Dragon wrestlers spent time with the residents of the long term care facility reading and playing games while the Dragon wrestlers spent an evening after practice deep cleaning and removing snow at the Oneida Crisis Center.  The team shared, “Cal was a great example of giving back and we want to honor that memory as a team.”

Over the weekend, the Dragons hosted their annual two day tournament inviting teams from Idaho and Utah.  Dominating on their home mats, the MHS wrestlers won the 1st place trophy as a team from the efforts of 5 champions and 20 total medalists. The top four team scores of the tournament were: Malad 231.5, West Side 157, North Fremont 147 and Preston 130.  

At the conclusion of the tournament, Coach Morrison shared, “Our wrestlers are looking really good. Our JV wrestlers competed in the varsity tournament against varsity teams and all did really well.  They are learning and getting better each week. Our varsity team has some great wrestlers and leaders who are helping push our team to the next level.”

The individual medalists include in 1st place 113lbs Jace Potter, 126lbs Sam Willie, 138lbs Drake Morrison, 145lbs Oakley Maddox, 170lbs Hunter Wray, and 195lbs Blaiz Wright.

In second place was 98lbs Jack Willie, 170lbs Trevor Allen, 195lbs Mason Brees, and 220lbs Caleb Mathews.

The 3rd place medalists were 113lbs Porter Mills, 120lbs Kimball Carter, 132lbs Alex Marshall, 145lbs Roper Higley, and 152lbs Gabe Hooste.

4th place medalists included 106lbs Ayden Potter, 120lbs Parker Price, 126lbs Jaxsen Purdum, 132lbs Zane Komrofske, and 182lbs Lex Driskel.

Throughout the tournament each team is asked to vote for one wrestler to be chosen as the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.  Malad’s 138lb freshman Drake Morrison was voted as the Tournament Outstanding Wrestler.  Morrison shared,  “The whole team is doing really well and it is great we can work together and push each other to be better. I’m grateful for the team and coaches and think we will do great things as a team this season.” 

While the Dragons were wrestling at home, the Lady Dragon wrestlers traveled to Ririe to compete in the Ririe Rumble wrestling tournament over the weekend.  After two days of matches, the girls tallied up points enough to bring home the 2nd place trophy as a team. 

Taking second place included Bentley Oglesbee, Braylee Price, Cale Carter and Bella Smith.  

Coach Kade Price commented on the weekend, saying, ““The girls did awesome!  We are so proud of them as coaches. They've come a long way from the first of the year. We are excited to see where it goes from here. Great job ladies!”

The Lady Dragons will hit the mats one last time before the Christmas moratorium, traveling to Ridgeline High School in Utah for a night of duals on Tuesday, December 19.  The Dragon wrestling team will travel to Teton Thursday, December 21 to compete in duals against teams from Teton, North Fremont, and Snake River before taking off for the Holiday break.