CEDAR CITY - Hurricane heavyweight Daniel Nielson was happy that he had a relatively quick workday at the 3A South Division wrestling tournament.

Canyon View heavyweight Jake Gibbs proved that working a little longer to get a win can be worth it in the end.
The pair were two of 22 Region 9 wrestlers who swept their way into the championship semifinals after the first day of the two-day event Thursday at the Centrum Arena.
"I wanted to win my last match as fast as I could so I could let my knee recover," said Nielson, who suffered the injury at the Irontown Duals in January. "I should be 100 percent by the time state rolls around."
Nielson punched his ticket to the semifinals with a pin of Cedar's Alex Froerer in 2 minutes, 48 seconds. He will face Delta's Stu Olomaalii.

Gibbs, meanwhile, outlasted Richfield's Rhett Malmgren by an 8-5 count and will take on Kalob Stevenson of Desert Hills in the other semifinal.

"We're planning to place higher at state than any Canyon View team has ever been," Gibbs said confidently.
Through Day 1, the Falcons stand in second place overall in the team standings behind Delta with 313 points.

"We're well-conditioned and work hard to have the opponent tired out by the third round," Canyon View coach Dallas Lowry said. "It was a great day for everyone."

In total, the Falcons lead the way with seven wrestlers in the semifinals. Hurricane and Desert Hills each have five, while Cedar has two - Kolby Lloyd at 112 pounds and Cody Hone at 125.
The top eight finishers in each weight at the completion of today's action advance to the Utah 3A state championships that will be held Feb. 12 and 13 at the UVU Events Center in Orem.

Among the highlights of Thursday's action, Canyon View 145-pounder Dallas Hillstead scored a pair of pins to get to the semis, including one in 1:31 over North Sanpete's Aaron Lee. Michael Reeves (103), Alex Baldwin (125), David Alldredge (130), Andrew Weber (171) and Cameron Causey (189) are the other Falcons sitting two wins away from a 3A South title and No. 1 seed.

Causey will wrestle against Casey Shafer of Desert Hills in his semifinal.
Nielson will be joined by defending state champ Drew Mills, now wrestling at 112 pounds, along with Lynn Manwaring (103), Jordan Prince (119), Zach Prince (140) and Brian Scott (215).
Desert Hills will have Shafer, Devan Webb (103), Kevan Webb (140), Berkley Ward (145), and Stevenson in the semifinals.

The semifinals will start at 11 a.m. today and the championship matches are scheduled for 6 p.m.