It’s been a journey to the podium for three of John and Rowanna Fager’s children but they have all found themselves at the top this season in a sweet moment for the Draper family. 

Corner Canyon High School seniors Leimana and Meleana Fager and junior Clarion Fager – who are all 14 months apart – won the 215, 140 and 170-lb. categories at the 6A boys and girls state wrestling championships Feb. 12-15 at Utah Valley University.

“Leimana’s motto is ‘The path is perfect,’ and despite a love-hate relationship with wrestling in the past, he fully bought in and it showed in his performance,” said his father – and CCHS girls wrestling coach – John Fager. 

“This year, Meleana learned how to get past the pressure and wrestle because she loved it,” John Fager said. “She wanted it so bad and she was finally able to join her siblings in the state finals and on top of the podium.”

A turning point for Clarion Fager to bring the joy back into wrestling was a final conversation with her grandfather – who has now passed – a month before state. “She was able to figure things out and she became a new wrestler,” John Fager said. “She feels him with her every time she wrestles now.”

“These kids have sacrificed through their lives to be part of such a special season,” John Fager said. “Their mother has dedicated her life to give them these opportunities. It is surreal to see them blessed with such a special opportunity and take full advantage of it.”

It was always going to be wrestling for the five Fager children as John was an All-State wrestler at West Jordan High his junior year before a dislocated shoulder his senior season kept him out of the state tournament. From there, he was an NJCAA All-American wrestler at Western Wyoming Community College before getting married and finishing his collegiate eligibility at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. He was also the head wrestling coach at Layton High School for 14 years – taking the Lancers to two state titles and four runner-up finishes – and that’s where the Fager children got their start in the youth wrestling ranks. 

In 2019, the family moved to Evanston and John Fager continued assisting with programs out there and the children developed further in the sport. When Utah sanctioned girls wrestling, the Fager’s came back to Utah and settled in at Corner Canyon where their name has become synonymous with state championships.

When her children first began wrestling, Rowanna Fager began helping with the youth programs to make it a full familial investment. “It’s such a family thing and was really an expectation that our kids were going to wrestle in high school,” John Fager said. “They know they are going to do it so it’s up to them to decide how that looks for them. I knew wrestling would help them learn a lot of important life lessons, so they would wrestle as part of their education. Wrestling teaches them such great lessons in their life like self-control, discipline, self-defense and becoming more athletic, but most of all they would learn how to do hard things.”

Leimana “has wrestled since he could walk,” according to his dad, but football was his first love for many years and despite his love for playing for coach Eric Kjar in the dominating Chargers program, he shifted his focus to wrestling after winning the USA Folkstyle Nationals at 190 lbs. in Iowa last spring. “He just knew he needed more time getting ready for all of the national tournaments he has coming up,” John Fager said. 

“My wrestling journey has been bumpy,” ‘Mana’ said. “I wasn’t the best at wrestling until I got into middle school then I loved it, but then I hated it. Last year, I started loving it again and still do.”

The senior plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following national tournaments in July and then returning to the mat to wrestle in college. “He plans on winning some national titles in college,” said John Fager, who noted that “he owes a lot of his success to coach Eure who was the best coach and workout partner he could hope for and to his mother for always believing in him and giving him the tough love when he needed it.”

“I have learned the amount of hardships I can take on and the amount of pain I can go through without breaking, which is a lot more than I originally thought,” Mana Fager said. “Thanks to my mom, dad, coaches, family, friends and God I am where I am.”

Meleana is considered by her father as “the meanest of the three siblings on the mat.” “Growing up, she always hated to wrestle the boys so if she had to suffer and wrestle with the boys she was going to make them suffer,” said John Fager.

She learned to love the sport after moving to Utah and Corner Canyon where girls wrestling was now sanctioned. “Her attitude about wrestling changed immediately after the move,” John Fager said. “Instantly she loved wrestling on an all-girls team and being a leader on those teams. Her physicality on the mat when she wrestled boys continued when she started wrestling girls.”

The senior was a state placer the last three years of high school, but struggled under the self-imposed pressure, until she rose above it this season at the 6A tournament and defeated Fremont’s Kaitlyn Worthley in the 140-lb. title match.

“Wrestling was rough at the beginning,” Meleana Fager said. “When I was a kid I hated doing it and I hated that my parents wouldn’t let me quit, but after being on the team for the past four years I can see why my parents made me do it – it’s cause it’s fun! It just took me a while to realize that. I learned that I can push myself through a lot of pain and still find happiness with where I am.”

She plans to compete at nationals this summer, help coach at Corner Canyon next season and then leave on an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before competing collegiately upon her return.

Clarion fell in love with wrestling from the get-go, according to her dad. “She didn’t care who she wrestled, boys or girls, she was going to kick butt,” John Fager said. “She knew she was going to have fun and dominate.”

As a freshman, she went 47-4 with her losses to world team members and older All-Americans, including in the state finals. Last year, she only lost twice and prevailed at state this time around. At the 2024 USA Folkstyle Nationals, she placed second at 170 lbs.

“So far, my wrestling journey has been like a very fun challenge,” Clarion Fager said. “I like that I can always learn something new and the sport is always growing. It can be rough sometimes, but I know how to handle the hard parts now. I’ve learned that I can do anything because wrestling is one of the hardest things I can do, and how I can work through things technically.”

She plans to join her siblings at nationals in July and continue on the same trajectory to compete in college. “Clarion has a bright future and has benefited greatly from the examples of her older siblings,” John Fagar said.

Two young Fager children – eighth-grader Eletise and fifth-grader Lailee – are also in the wrestling ranks, having placed at Youth Super State last month, continuing the family tradition on the mat. λ