Emery High School senior Monty Christiansen cemented his legacy as a two-time state champion Saturday afternoon at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
One year after winning the state championship at 106-pounds, Christiansen returned to the final match at 113-pounds. Standing in his way was a familiar opponent; Krew King of North Sanpete, last year’s runner up at 106.
Christiansen and King battled throughout a highly entertaining match. In the end, it was Christiansen who came out on top, earning the title of two-time state champion with a 2-0 decision win, capping off an incredible weekend of wrestling.
Entering with a target on his back, Christiansen won his first match over Canyon View’s Malokai Rodriguez by pinfall. The quarterfinals match against Juab’s Braxten Blackett went to a decision, but ended in Christiansen’s favor, 3-0. The semifinals would be the only match of the weekend where an opposing wrestler would score on Christiansen, but the result was the same; a 6-2 win over Union’s Grady Roybal.
Christiansen was one of five Emery wrestlers to place at the season finale.
Damon Farley earned a third-place finish at 150-pounds after winning his final four matches of the tournament. Topping Manti’s Caleb Maxwell by pinfall in the opening round, Farley suffered his only loss of the weekend in the quarterfinals to Justus Reynolds of Juab. Farley responded with three straight wins and then defeated Canyon View’s Jack Cavalieri by pinfall in the third-place match.
Boden Christman also earned a third-place finish as he too won his final four matches at 157-pounds. Christman started the tournament off with a decision win over Gavin Whiteley of Juab but dropped into the consolation bracket with a loss by decision to Zack Powell of Grantsville. Two wins by pin and another by major decision gave him a rematch with Powell in the third-place match. Christman earned the win by pin, capping off a four-match winning streak.
Dixon Peacock gathered a record of 4-2 to clinch fifth place at 120 pounds. Mason Stewart also placed sixth for the Spartans as he ended the weekend with a 3-3 record.
As a team Emery finished seventh overall in the 3A classification with 96.5 points. The Spartans were represented by 16 wrestlers who qualified for the final competition after a terrific showing at the divisional tournament on Feb. 2 and 3.
Below is the complete results from each Emery High School individual and the final team scores:
| Weight | Name | Record | Place |
| 106 | Ty Christiansen | 0-2 | — |
| 113 | Monty Christiansen | 4-0 | 1st |
| 113 | Corbin Jensen | 1-2 | — |
| 120 | Dixon Peacock | 4-2 | 5th |
| 120 | Rayden Ewell | 0-2 | — |
| 126 | Sam Allen | 1-2 | — |
| 126 | Ryan Collard | 0-2 | — |
| 132 | Derrick Birch | 1-2 | — |
| 132 | Quirt Payne | 0-2 | — |
| 138 | Hazard Perry | 0-2 | — |
| 138 | Mason Stewart | 3-3 | 6th |
| 144 | Tayden Allan | 2-2 | — |
| 144 | Benjamin Farley | 1-2 | — |
| 150 | Damon Farley | 5-1 | 3rd |
| 157 | Boden Christman | 5-1 | 3rd |
| 157 | Mason Thornley | 0-2 | — |
Team Scores:
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Juab | 261.5 |
| 2 | South Summit | 224 |
| 3 | Morgan | 193 |
| 4 | Union | 166.5 |
| 5 | Canyon View | 152 |
| 6 | Delta | 122 |
| 7 | Emery | 96.5 |
| 8 | North Sanpete | 79 |
| 9 | Manti | 72.5 |
| 10 | Richfield | 56 |
| 11 | Carbon | 51.5 |
| 12 | Grantsville | 40 |
| 13 | Ben Lomond | 28.5 |
| 14 | Summit Academy | 19 |
| 15 | Ogden | 16 |
| 16 | Juan Diego | 12 |
| 17 | Providence Hall | 11 |
*Photo Courtesy of Kirk Christiansen