SV wrestlers rally to pull away from Roy

<strong>SMITHFIELD—</strong> After falling behind the Roy Royals early in Thursday’s wrestling action, the Sky View Bobcats rallied for a convincing 48-23 victory.

Quinton Lopez won the opening match, 6-5, for Sky View against Zach Sakurada, giving the Bobcats a 3-0 lead. Lopez trailed 3-2 with 30 seconds left in the third period, but a takedown and a flurry of reversals in the final moments sealed his victory.

Justin Searle won a decision 5-2 over TJ Thacker for Roy, while Tyson Stander won a major decision 12-3 over Sky View’s Hayden Humphreys.

“We knew those kids were really solid through the middle for them,” Sky View head coach Bardett Bagley said. “Those were good matches and they happened to win some of those.”

Leading 7-3, the Royals secured six more points when Chic Hislop pinned Quin Christiansen.

Everything changed for the Bobcats during the following 10 minutes.

“I just went out to work some stuff with my feet and I got that done,” Sky View senior Jacob Hansen said. “I was able to come out with the pin as well so that was good.”

Hansen took control of his match early, leading 13-4 at the end of the first period. Hansen was ahead 18-4 when he managed to pin Robert Nunes.

“I’m not much of a vocal kid. I’m not the one who yells at the guys. I just want to set an example, work hard and push it every day in practice,” Hansen said.

Hansen’s teammates noticed and quickly followed his example.

Joe Humphreys needed just 1:09 to pin Tyler Smilowitz, while fellow Sky View teammate Ross McMullin pinned Cameron Fullmer in the second period of their match.

Following a forfeit by Roy in the 220 pound weight class, Sky View lead 27-13 and never looked back.

Eric Hansen won a 6-1 decision and Israel Hererra won 15-4 for the Bobcats. They finished with a 48-23 advantage.

“Hansen really is doing a great job and wrestling well,” Bagley said. “Our younger kids did a good job coming out on top of a lot of their matches. I think they are doing a good job figuring everything out and getting better.”

Sky View will be in action again Thursday, Jan. 17, when the Bobcats travel to Hyrum to take on valley rival Mountain Crest.

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