All season long, Riverton’s Bella Butterfield has been one of the top wrestlers in her weight division in Class 6A. At the state wrestling tournament, held Feb. 14 and 15 at Utah Valley University, Butterfield proved she was the best. 

Butterfield, a senior in the 110-pound class, took home top honors at the state tournament, winning first place after a dominant showing. Butterfield capped an impressive 46-6 season with three victories in the tournament, all by fall. 

In the first round, Butterfield had a bye. She began her title run by pinning her teammate Jacey Hilton in 1:31. Her next victory came over Copper Hills’ Myah French, whom she pinned in 3:20 in the semifinals. In the championship round, she took down Syracuse wrestler Emily Ball in 2:57. 

It was a sweet victory for Butterfield, who came close to winning titles in the two previous seasons. 

Butterfield advanced to the finals as a sophomore and junior but lost both times. This time around, however, she wasn’t to be denied. 

“She got it done as a senior—third time was the charm for her,” said Joe Gorman, a Riverton wrestling coach. “She wanted to win state so bad and was motivated by taking second the past two seasons. [Butterfield] is the first girls state champ in school history. She is the hardest worker on the girls team and a great leader.”

Butterfield plans on wrestling in college next season. Her 46 wins this season was the most in school history. 

As a team, the Silverwolves were 11th out of 16 teams at the tournament. They picked up 69 points during the two-day event, 18 fewer than 10th-place Weber. Six other Riverton wrestlers qualified for state, with four besides Butterfield picking
up points. 

Mina Trinh, a 105-pound junior, placed fourth at state after entering as the No. 1 seed in Division A. She had a first-round bye and then won in the quarterfinals by fall in 4:40. After a semifinals loss by fall in 3:02, she pinned her opponent in the consolation bracket in 2:36. With third place on the line, Trinh lost by fall in 5:14. 

Another Riverton wrestler, 130-pounder Alexis Pavlides, also got to the third-place match. The junior, who went 32-16 during the regular season, won third place by prevailing by fall in 3:33 in her final match. She won her first match by fall in three minutes before losing in the quarterfinals. In the consolation round, however, Pavlides went on a run of three wins in a row before her third-place-match victory. 

Riverton’s Elena Hoker a 170-pound senior, and senior Avery Larsen, competing in the 235-pound class, also scored points for the Silverwolves. λ