Maple Mountain’s Brandyn Van Tassell wastes little time in capturing 5A state wrestling title

Orem • There weren’t a lot of short matches during the championship round of the Class 5A state wrestling meet Thursday at Utah Valley University.

In fact, 10 of the 14 matches went the full three rounds.

Maple Mountain senior Brandyn Van Tassell’s wasn’t one of those. He made short work of Viewmont’s Tyson Zesinger, pinning him in less than two minutes.

“My mindset going in there was to dominate and have fun,” he said after posting his 57th win of the season. “There’s not much else to do or want to do.”

And to finish off his high school career with his second consecutive state title is very satisfying for Van Tassell, who hasn’t decided where he will wrestle at the next level.

“It’s been something that’s been on my mind since I was little,”’he said. “It’s the end goal for everybody.”

This title definitely means more to Van Tassell.

“It’s my senior year,” he said. “It’s my last year with my best friend and coach and the last year with my dad in my corner.”

His success on the mat and the ease at which he dominates his opponents is pretty simple.

“I do what my coaches tell me and work hard,” he said. “There’s not much else you can do.”

Now that the wrestling season is over, Van Tassell plans to focus his preparation on serving an LDS Church mission. He says a decision where he will wrestle at the collegiate level should come sometime in the next couple of months.

Van Tassell helped Maple Mountain finish third in the team standings with 181 points. Viewmont captured the team title with 310 points, while Wasatch was second with 248.5.