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Alta High School's Mark Michels picked up a second consecutive state title at the Class 5A wrestling tournament this month, and did it in dominating fashion.

The Alta senior outscored his four opponents 52-14 including a 16-3 major decision over Bingham's Anthon Martell in the 140-pound final.

"I didn't want to hold back and decided to just go all out," Michels said.

While Michels finished his career with two state championships and a 150-45 career record, his toughest opponent probably came in practice with teammate Carson Kuhn, a three-time state champ.

"Every day, I just got pounded on by Carson and he helped me with so many things," said Michels of Kuhn, who graduated in 2010. "He taught me things most high school wrestlers don't do, so he really helped me take it to the next level."

Alta wrestling Coach Barry Harrington said Michels used the motivation of last year's title for another championship run.

"The biggest thing this year was his attitude in knowing that he was the guy instead of wondering if he had what it took," Harrington said.

Harrington said he noticed a difference in Michels when he came back for his junior year after finishing fourth as a sophomore.

"You could just tell he put in a ton of time in the offseason," Harrington said. "Even during his junior year, he would do two-a-day workouts throughout much of the season."

Michels said the summer of 2009 was when it all started to come into place.

"Carson and I went to a camp in Heber for about a month and it was nothing but two-a-day practices," Michels said. "That whole summer we trained with an Olympic trainer on wrestling and strength and conditioning."

Michels has no weaknesses for other wrestlers to exploit, Harrington said.

"He's good on his feet, a good rider and extremely quick," Harrington said.

Michels used that quickness to demoralize opponents with his strategy.

"Takedowns is what I'm the best at," Michels said. "I take them down and let them back up and eventually that breaks them down mentally."

Although Michels has no plans to continue his wrestling career, the Alta senior finished the year 46-3 and helped the Hawks to a third place finish in the 5A tournament. —

Michels finishes career with title

Alta's Mark Michels finished his career with a 150-45 record, second all time at Alta.

As a freshman, Michels qualified for the state tournament. As a sophomore he finished fourth before capturing back-to-back titles to end his career.

Despite starting the year at 135 pounds, an injury in the Hawks lineup forced Michels to move to 140 where he did not lose a match. Big number

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300The Mountain Crest girls enter the 4A tournament with a 19-1 record. The Mustangs are led by Brianna Jessop and Jordi Willden, both of whom scored 300 points this season.

Big game

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Mountain View vs. Springville at 4:10 p.m., Thursday, at Salt Lake Community College. In a scheduling quirk, two of the top teams in the 4A bracket meet in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A tournament. The winner has a clear path to reaching the tournament final.

Player to watch

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Lexi Eaton's remarkable career at Springville will come to an end this week. Eaton ended the regular season with a 35-point outburst and recently passed the 1,500 career point plateau.