CEDAR CITY — There’s a little bit for everyone at the Utah Summer Games, with sports from archery to wrestling, and Peter Wrigley and Devin Stout laid it all out for their own piece of summer gold Saturday afternoon.
Wrigley, from West Jordan, and Stout, from St. George, dominated their respective pool play groupings, but it was Wrigley who owned the championship match, beating Stout 15-5, 15-3. With the victory, Wrigley won his first gold medal at the Utah Summer Games.
“This is my third time at the Summer Games and I love it,” he said. “I got silver in 2010, then took a couple of years off. But I play four or five times a week and have been working hard to get better. ”
Stout, who plays and practices at the St. George Recreation Center, has to settle for the silver in the singles evcent, but did take gold in the men’s doubles for the second straight year with partner Darren Heinz.
“I love to play, but (Wrigley) pretty much kicked my trash,” Stout said. “He’s an awesome player. This is the only event I play each year. There are a lot more opportunities up in Salt Lake to play in tournaments. I guess I need to play in more.”
Both Wrigley and Stout said they learned to play from their dads and attribute them (fittingly on this Father’s Day weekend) for their love of the fast-paced indoor racquet game.
“My dad used to play,” Stout said. “He’s passed now, but he used to really love racquetball.”
Stout added: “My dad taught when I was about 13. I realized I was pretty decent and had a chance to be good when I was about 16. Racquetball is fun because it is fast-paced and a great workout.”
Pool play and then the championship brackets all took place the Southern Utah University’s Sorensen PE Building from Wednesday of last week until Saturday’s gold medal matches. About 66 competitors vied for gold in 10 age and skill level groupings. The other gold medalists were: Greg Scott of Washington (men’s A division), Guillermo Torres of Washington (men’s B), Richard Stanton of Las Vegas (men’s B, 50-plus), Ken Jensen of Cedar City (men’s C), Roland Whatcott of St. George (men’s C 46-plus), Dustin Loveland of Cedar City (men’s D), Staci Christensen of Lehi (women’s open), Kim Walker of Las Vegas (women’s B), Tara Barker of Ogden (women’s C), Kati Woods of St. George (women’s D), Jordan Palmer of Santa Clara (youth 12 and under).
Just down the hall in the Sorensen PE Building was the women’s volleyball pool and bracket play, with an open and a recreation division. Teams from around the state, including Logan, Provo and St. George competed at a high level for gold.
The Utah Summer Games are held each year in Cedar City and feature 40 events in 30 different sports. This year’s games began with some preliminary events Jun. 6. The bulk of the events take place next week, including big ticket venues like men’s and youth open basketball. The men’s open hoops event features a whole slew of current and past college players that compete for Utah teams. Other big events coming up next week include swimming, baseball and tennis.
There are three hold-over events that take place Jun. 28-29: archery, track and field and wrestling.
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Men's open racquetball gold medalist Peter Wrigley prepares for one of his killer serves at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
Men's open racquetball gold medalist Peter Wrigley (left) battles Devin Stout in the championship match at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
Women's volleyball is one of the popular events at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
Women's volleyball is one of the popular events at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
Women's volleyball is one of the popular events at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
Men's racquetball open division winners (gold medalist Peter Wrigley in the center, second-place winner Devin Stout, left and third place take the podium at the Utah Summer Games Saturday in Cedar City, Jun. 15, 2013. | Photo by Dallas Griffin, for the St. George News
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