USA Wrestling's Folkstyle Tour of America continued to grow with the successful Salt Lake Slam, held in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 29.

The Salt Lake Slam was the second event in the newly created Folkstyle Tour of America tournament series. The Series was established by USA Wrestling to provide youth wrestlers a chance to compete against the best in the country in America's most popular style of wrestling. The series opened with the Carolina Classic in Concord, N.C. on November 3.

The Salt Lake Slam brought together over 420 young wrestlers from 14 states. The tournament was very competitive, with talented athletes in all five age divisions.

The club with the most champions was the Champions, Springfield from Utah, with seven individual gold medalists. Winning titles for the Champions club were Tysen Clark (Bantam 75), Taylor Lamont (Midget 60), Korbon Tibbals (Midget 112), Caleb Williams (Novice 65), Kimball Bastian (Novice 95) and Brandon George (Middle School 77).

In the Middle School division, the Buckaroos Wrestling Club of Nevada won three straight gold medals, with Jace Billingsley (112), Gus Duncan (120) and Michael Billingsley (128) winning titles back-to-back-to-back.

Among the individual champions was Cole Verner of the Sweetwater Storm from Wyoming, winner at the 60-pound division on the Novice level. Verner was a USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown winner in 2006 at the Midget level, winning USA Wrestling national titles in all three styles of wrestling that year.

The Series will continue with the final two events, the Battle on the Mat in Battle Creek, Mich. (February 2), and the Texas Takedown in Fort Worth, Texas (March 15). For more information on the Folkstyle Tour of America, visit:
http://www.usafolkstyle.com

"The 1st Annual Salt Lake Slam was a great success," said USA Wrestling Events Manager Travis Shives. "USA Wrestling is committed to providing opportunities in all three styles of wrestling and the 2007 Salt Lake Slam was testament to that dedication.  With over 400 participants, unique awards, a professional venue, and an organized tournament schedule, the young athletes that participated in Salt Lake City were treated to an exceptional competition."

"With the first two events of the Folkstyle Tour of America completed, we are looking forward to the Battle on the Mat in Battle Creek, Mich. in early February.  We have put together a strong foundation for this Series and we look forward to building on our success in the New Year," he said.

The Folkstyle Tour of America is part of USA Wrestling's well-known ASICS Ultimate Challenge Series. With the conclusion of the , there are now eight events remaining in the 2007-08 Ultimate Challenge Series. The next Ultimate Challenge Series event is the U.S. Junior Open Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., January 4-5.

For more information on the ASICS Ultimate Challenge Series events and scoring system, visit:
http://themat.com/dominator.php

SALT LAKE SLAM
Folkstyle Tour of America event
at Salt Lake City, Utah, December 29

Individual Champions

Pee Wee Division
36 - Colin Skewes of Duchesne (UT)
38 - Tristan Farnsworth of Altamont (UT)
39 - Cael Skewes of Duchesne (UT)
41 - Wyatt Hone of Payson (UT)
41 - Kobe Greene of Bridger Valley Bruins (WY)
51 - Tyler Scheurn of North Summit (UT)

Bantam Division (7-8 years)
40 - Christian Dean of Sweetwater Storm (WY)
44 - Destin Summers of Shelley Mat Club (ID)
48 - Tayte Staples of North Summit (UT) 
52 - Colten Ellison of Bridger Valley Bruins (WY)
56 - Austin Hone of Payson (UT)
60 - Elijah Fisher of Bullcatcher (ID)
65 - Brock Hardy of Stingers (UT)
70 - Jace Anderson of North Summit (UT)
75 - Tysen Clark of Champions, Springville (UT)
HWT - Carson Kay of Diamond Back (UT)

Midget Division (9-10 years)
50 - Jaxon Cole of North Summit (UT)
55 - Wyatt Hallam of Bridger Valley Bruins (WY)
60 - Taylor Lamont of Champions, Springville (UT)
65 - Kenneth Jones of Lassen Grizzlies Wrestling (CA)
70 - Teno Trujillo Jr. of Sweetwater Storm (WY)
75 - Kolsen Welham of Valley (CO)
80 - Sean Keating of Mountain Top Wrestling (UT)
87 - Wyatt Koelling of Logan Champs (UT)
103 - Tucker Leavitt of Blackfoot Wrestling (ID)
112 - Korbon Tibbals of Champions, Springville (UT)
120 - Isaac Evans of Rocky Mountain Wrestling (UT)

Novice Division (11-12 years)
60 - Cole Verner of Sweetwater Storm (WY)
65 - Caleb Williams of Champions, Springville (UT)
70 - Jarrett Degen of bad boyz wrestling (MT)
75 - Preston Stephenson of Wayne (UT)
80 - Chandler Strand of Vandit (UT)
85 - Joseph Zoller of Maniacs (MD)
90 - Tristian Jarboe of Idaho Gold (ID)
95 - Kimball Bastian of Champions, Springville (UT)
100 - Rylee Foy of Altamont (UT)
105 - Colton Allred of Payson (UT)
112 - Brandon Anderson of Rocky Mountain Wrestling (UT)
120 - Jarom Hendricks of Champions, Springville (UT)
130 - Zak Clark of North Fremont (ID)
HWT - Chazz Haveron of Juab (UT)

Middle School Division
70 - Dusty Hone of Cedar Redmen (UT)
77 - Brandon George of Champions, Springville (UT)
84 - Branson Ashworth of Diamond Back (UT)
91 - Jeff McCormick of South Summit (UT)
98 - Zac Loveless of Payson (UT)
105 - Clay Cathey of Heights Wrestling Club (MT)
112 - Jace Billingsley of Buckaroos Wrestling Club (NV)
120 - Gus Duncan of Buckaroos Wrestling Club (NV)
128 - Michael Billingsley of Buckaroos Wrestling Club (NV)
136 - Brandon McBride of Idaho Boys (ID)
144 - Larry Francis of Kalispell Wrestling Club (MT)
152 - Trevor Hansen of POW - Pioneers of Wrestling (UT)
160 - Weston Rowley of Payson Jr. High (UT)
175 - Dustin Sorenson of Payson (UT)
190 - Justin Kennedy of Poky Grapplers (ID)
210 - Benjamin Peterson of American Fork Team (UT)
HWT - Gaylen V. Edmo of Fort Hall Bucks Wrestling Team (ID)