Three Wranglers place at State

On February 12-13, the Wickenburg wrestling team competed in the 3A State tournament at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. Five of the seven team members qualified for State, and those five all made it to the second day. Sophomore Dakota Downing (130-lb) and senior Dalton Hayes (189-lb) were eliminated on the 13th, while sophomore Austin Uecker (119-lb), junior Bobby Campbell (171-lb), and senior Tyler Wickham (160-lb) advanced to the finals. Wickham, who wrestled for 5th or 6th place, lost his match and came in 6th. Campbell was in the championship round, but was defeated by JP Adams of Santan Foothills and placed 2nd. Uecker wrestled a match for 3rd or 4th, which proved victorious and placed him at 3rd in the state, beneath David Shatto from Parker (2nd) and Ryak Finch from Safford (1st).

Finch is currently ranked #1 in the entire nation for the 119 weight class. The last match he lost was in his freshman year against a state champion. Now a senior, he has gone undefeated for the past three years, and no one has even scored a single point on him during a match for the past two years. He will be wrestling for Iowa State University next year, and is a hopeful for the Olympics. In fact, he was wearing socks and shorts with the Olympic logo and writing that said "Future Olympian," which he received from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs last summer. His current record (wins-losses) is 202-2. He was recently featured on the cover of ESPN RISE magazine. Read the article here.

Considering the outstanding position of the first place 119-lb wrestler, Uecker's 3rd-place medal is that much more impressive. Equally impressive is Campbell's 2nd-place medal, since this is his first year ever wrestling. The coaches are hoping for him to take 1st next year and possibly go on to Nationals.

Wickenburg placed 15th overall for team points, with 54.50. See the full list here. To see the entire tournament brackets for every weight class, click here. Watch video coverage of the championship matches here!

Emily Prevost
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.