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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, January 20-23, 2018 The Park Record B-3 Wrestlers celebrate their tight-knit season BEN RAMSEY/PARK RECORD From left, seniors Ethan Maples, Bridger Gull, Cameron Shine and Keifer Maples pose for a photo during the Park City High School wrestling team’s senior night on Thursday. During tough schedule, kinship shines through BEN RAMSEY The Park Record Park City High School wrestling is about to start its final stretch of the season. In a week, the team will go to Sectionals, where its athletes will wrestle for a shot at the Class 4A state competition. But before that, the team held a small celebration during a tri-meet with Ben Lomond and Bonneville on Thursday night to honor its seniors. “It was fun, we’ve had a good time, the kids bonded again,” said Tony Pelegrin, head coach. “We tend to have that with the small group we have.” He said getting wrestlers to have fun is important because, at the end of the day, wrestling is a demanding sport, and camaraderie is crucial. “They work hard, they condition hard, the practices are pretty tough, the schedule is tough because we have to weigh in at 7 a.m., so we have to get up at 5:30 or something like that,” he said. “It’s not a fun sport from that perspective, but the kids have stepped up and done what they are supposed to.” For senior and team co-captain Keifer Maples, the team has bonded because of that hard work, not in spite of it. BEN RAMSEY/PARK RECORD Senior Bridger Gull takes down Jr. Rodriguez of Ben Lomond on Thursday. Gulo is one of 13 wrestlers that make up the tight-knit team. “Although we are probably one of the smallest teams -- we only have about 13 kids this year -- it’s a really tight group; it’s a family,” he said. “We do a lot of things together, we laugh together, we practice together, condition together, so we’re really a knit group.” Maples joined the team as a sophomore after his father suggested he try it. A year later his brother, Ethan, joined, and the two have been on the team since. Both will graduate this year, alongside Cameron Shine and Bridger Gull. But Keifer said Thursday night’s match-up was one he wouldn’t soon forget. “My first match, I wrestled a guy named Garcia, he and I went a full six minutes in the match,” he said. “We had to go into over- time and we were still tired, so we had to go into extra overtime and extra overtime.” Eventually, Maples earned the winning points. “I felt exhausted afterwards -I felt like the world was going to end, my body was so tired,” he said. After he won, the world didn’t end, and Garcia brought him a drink of water and they talked about the match. “I like people like that in wrestling,” he said. “You have a great match then afterward you talk about it.” After recuperating for an hour, he wrestled again and pinned his Ben Lomond opponent. “I just wanted to get (that match) over with,” he recalled Associated Press CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The Wonder Woman suit. The red cape with a big “J” printed on it. The plastic tiara. Julia Mancuso’s outlandish costume for her retirement ski race was a reminder of what made her so great: she was a free-spirited Californian who consistently beat the favorites when the stakes were the highest — just like a superhero. Mancuso, the most successful female American skier at major championships with nine medals spread between Olympics and world championships, bid the sport an emotional goodbye in a World Cup downhill on Friday. “Skiing is fun first and foremost and I hope that my career can inspire others to just have fun, especially as an underdog,” Mancuso said after wiping away tears. “I don’t think that I was ever looked at as the favorite and I always managed to do the best for me and ski the best for me and sometimes that brought gold medals, which was incredible. “When everyone is rooting for someone else, it’s OK to be you and to be free and to have fun and make your own version of success.” Slowed by persistent hip problems, Mancuso did not qualify for next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics but will still go to South Korea as part of NBC’s broadcast team. Mancuso has battled hip issues throughout her career and missed two full seasons of competition following surgery after the 2014-15 season. She returned to competition last month but only completed three races — finishing outside the top 30 on each occasion. “It’s always been something looming in the back of my mind — what would be my cutoff to really decide,” said Mancuso, who limps noticeably because of her hip problem. “It was really emotional after the first training run because it kind of hit me then that this was going to be too hard for my body.” Mancuso won gold in giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games, silver in downhill and combined at the 2010 Vancouver Games and bronze in combined at the 2014 Sochi Games. She also collected five medals at world championships and won seven World Cup races. “In some of those years that was her best result. That’s the amazing thing about the Olympic Games — the unknown outcome — and her ability to cap- Top scorers from the qualifiers will compete in The Park Record Bee on March 6, 2018. Winner of The Park Record Bee will compete in the Scripps National Bee in May 2018. Please see Wrestlers, B-4 Wonder Woman: Mancuso retires from skiing in style Skier takes one last costumed run before retirement FINALS italize on that and turn it on,” said Tiger Shaw, the president of U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “It’s extraordinary. There are not a lot of athletes who can do that — really amp it up that much when it counts.” Mancuso’s care-free approach brought her fan support wherever she went. “That’s why she excelled in the big events with all of the pressure — because she loved the sport,” said Chemmy Alcott, the retired British racer who is Mancuso’s best friend. “And so she wasn’t afraid to have that personality, to bring out the tiara.” For her retirement race, the 33-year-old Mancuso kissed her bib and threw it into the wind in the start house. Then she casually made her way down the Olympia delle Tofane course as the Wonder Woman theme song played on the public address system. “I felt like the crazier I would dress, the less I would be emotional and cry,” Mancuso said. “I had to pull out the super powers for today.” In the finish area, Lindsey Vonn and teammates sprayed Mancuso with champagne and carried her on their shoulders while the crowd cheered “Julia, Julia.” Vonn was also moved to tears Please see Mancuso, B-6 FINALS WILL BE MARCH 6, 2018 AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE. 328 Main St, Park City Join us to support our schools and our students! 2nd and 3rd graders start at 4pm 4th - 8th graders start at 6pm The UPS Store Park City, Utah Don’t get buried in news you don’t need. Call 435–649–9014 to get the news you care about |
