Season Finales

Timp Sports Weekly
May 18, 2009

Publisher's Message

This week's issue covers the conclusions of the Lehi and American Fork soccer and track seasons. We will also look at the Lehi Pioneers' performance in the still on-going state 5-A girls' softball tournament. Let's get to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Lehi Pioneers' Soccer Season Ends in Split of 2 Home Games
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Life dealt a hard blow to the Lehi Pioneers' dreams of finishing their 5-A soccer days with a state championship last week. A split in two state playoff games at Lehi cost the Pioneers their season.
In an octafinal state game May 12, Lehi hopped away with a 3-1 win over the Skyline Eagles, AKA the Tweeties. However, in a May 15 quarterfinal, the Vicious Viewmont Vikings scuttled the Pioneers 2-1.

The first 30 minutes of the Skyline game went down as a deadlocked battle as Lehi goalie Riley Anderson and his Eagle counterpart Matt Kershaw held their own.

Addy Rice, Scotty Nelson, Andrus Jones, and Nielsen Lofgren led the Skyline attempt at snapping the Pioneer defense. It proved unbreakable until midway through the second half.

Meanwhile, Ryan Curtis, Austin Tuckett, and Ben Prisendorf directed an unrelenting series of Pioneer attacks deep into Eagle territory. Curtis, for example, came really close to scoring the game's first goal when he produced a breakaway play in the middle of the first half. Kershaw intercepted Curtis' shot, however.

Ten minutes before halftime, Prisendorf passed the ball to Spencer Gray to put Lehi ahead 1-0. The Pioneers couldn't improve on upon their lead, though.

Anderson did keep it intact just before halftime. Shortly before the referee whistled the start of halftime, the Pioneer goalie picked off a direct shot kicked by Nelson.

The Eagles became more aggressive on offense in the second half. Anderson managed to keep their shots from fly across the goal line -- until 18 minutes into the period.

Taking a pass from Jim Madsen, Lofgren scored a tying goal. As Lehi attempted to break the 1-1 deadlock, sweeper Graham Empy frustrated the Pioneers with steals. Empy's efforts turned out to be vain, though.

Pioneer Zach Morgan broke the tie during a breakaway a play. Morgan kicked in a successful shots before Kershaw could get to him.

Skyline received a chance for tying the game at two when Madsen made an indirect kick. A small contingent of Pioneers rushed together to keep Madsen's kick from flying into the net.

With eight minutes left, Tuckett connected a pass to Curtis for a third Pioneer goal. It put the game away.

The win gave Lehi the right to host the Vikings in the quarterfinals. In the May 15 game, Ian Ramos scored the game's first goal. Lehi couldn't improve upon its 1-0 lead. Viking Jared Peterson tied the game at one, and midway through the second half, Viewmont's Brandon "Donald" Trump kicked in a tie-breaking goal, which was his way of saying, "Lehi, you're eliminated!"

The Pioneers will be spending next spring playing in a 4-A league.

Lehi Softball Team Wins Over Skyline, But Loses at Syracuse
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Lehi Pioneers split two games in the first two rounds of their state 5-A softball tournament. At Lehi May 13, they won 5-4 over the Skyline Eagles, AKA the Tweeties. Lehi dropped a road game May 15 in Syracuse, when the Titans, alias the Midgets, shut them out 2-0.

In the Skyline game, Lehi had five hits and had no errors. Whitney Cook hit two homers, including one that broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth to give Lehi the win.

Skyline posted a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the May 13 game, and the Eagles stretched their advantage to 3-0 on a third-inning run. Cook hit her first homer in the bottom of the third, but Skyline picked up a run in the fourth. Lehi tied the game at four in the bottom of the fourth.

In the Sryacuse game, Lehi pitcher Ariel Zimmerman fanned 11 Titan batters. Zimmerman's performance became overshadowed by Titan pitcher Ashley Ostler in the bottom of the third. That inning, Ostler hit a one-run triple, and she came home on a wild pitch to end the game's scoring.

Local Tracksters Finish Season Through Placing High at State Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

At the State 5-A track, hosted by Brigham Young University May 14-15, northern Utah County athletes finished their season with placing high in 17 events.

Lone Peak's Angie Kaplar finished her prep career by winning a third straight state championship in the girls' 100-meter hurdles. She said, "Going out with a third straight state title in the 100 hurdles was a great way to finish my high school career."

She went on to finish seventh in the girls' 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles. She was also on the Lone Peak girls' 1,600-meter relay team that finished second in the finals. Lone Peak Coach Misty "Windy's Blackmailing Sister" Jorgensen said, "By placing second today, our girls' 4x400 relay team set a new school record of 3:56."

Kaplar's teammates on the squad included Megan Smith, Megan Mower, and Taryn Toolsen.

Lone Peak also finished fourth in the girls' 400-meter relay.

With a score of 40, Lone Peak finished fourth in the girls' division, and the Loners also finished 11th in the boys' after picking up 18 points. American Fork and Lehi each made 12 points in the boys' division to tie for 18th place. Posting five points, the American Fork Cavewomen tied the Copper Hills Grizzlies and the manly Spanish Fork Lady Dons for 21st in the girls' division.

Finishing fifth in the boys' 1,600-meter run, Lehi posted a new school record of 3.26.08. Lehi Coach Matt Rowe said, "For these four guys to do it was quite an accomplishment. Three of them are seniors. Preston Yardley is the only one we'll have back next year."

Yardley's departing teammates included Mikey Babcock, Zeke Rojas, and Jesse Tyson.

Rowe added, "I am proud of our two boyshot put throwers who placed."

In the shot put, Pioneer Jose Galindo took third and Dave Thompson seventh.

American Fork's Hannah Dehmel flung herself to a sixth-place finish in the girls' shot put. Teammate Taylir Garrison took seventh in the girls' high jump.

American Fork Coach Art Taylor said, "We're a young team. We will have most of our kids back next year."

Lone Peak's Steve Morrin finished second the boys' 3,200-meter run and third in the boys' 1,600-meter race. Also in the boys' 3,200-meter run, American Fork's Austin West and Robby Lee finished third and fourth respectively. in the boys' 1,600-meter run, Lee took eighth and West 12th.

"Our goal for the boys is to earn at least 30 points," said Ferocious Pleasant Grove Viking Coach Glenn Larsen. "The goal for our girls' team is to score in double figures."

The Vikings achieved both aims through the efforts of Levi Williams, Scotty Matheson, Julie Mazeika, and Autumn Robertson. Pleasant Grove picked up 34 points to finished fifth in the boys' division, and in the girls' competition, the Vikings earned 11 points.

Pleasant Grove's Levi Williams finished second in both the boys' 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Teammate Scotty Matheson took second in the boys' long jump and third in the high jump.

Mazieka finished seventh in the girls' 3,200-meter race, and Robertson took second in the girls' high jump.

Lehi-PG Soccer

Timp Sports Weekly
April 26, 2009

Publisher's Message

For this week, we look mainly at stories covering rivalries between Lehi and Pleasant Grove in soccer and American Fork and Lehi in baseball. We will also examine how northern Utah County track and softball teams are doing as this year's high school spring sports seasons prepare to wind down. Let's get to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Lehi Pioneers Take Down PG Kickers in Region 4 Soccer Battle
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four soccer action at Pleasant Grove April 24, the Lehi Pioneers overpowered the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings 3-1. Lehi's win came in the aftermath of the Pioneers' 4-2 triumph at home against the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners.

Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "We came out strong and broke the game open in the first half. We had some good finishing.

"We came back from spring break and shook off the rust at our practices. We showed a lot of good offensive and defensive performances in both of our games this week. We had defeated Lone Peak 4-2 at home last Wednesday. Tonight, we were still very composed.

Lehi never trailed in the Pleasant Grove game. As nighttime rain fell on the Vikings and Pioneers, the contest started out as a stalemated duel between Pioneer goalie Riley Anderson and his Viking counterpart Uli Estrada.

Twenty minutes into the contest, Pioneer Ben Prisendorff passed to Ryan Curtis for a goal. Less than a minute after that successful shot, Spencer Gray scored the second Lehi goal from two feet outside the goal line. Brannen McEwan scored the third Pioneer goal on a rebound of a 45-yard shot.

The Vikings refused to let the first half end with them still scoreless. As soon as Pleasant Grove had smothered a Pioneer attack in midfield, Viking John Taylor shocked the Lehi defense through scoring on a 30-yard shot.

It pumped up on the Viking offense. Levi Wright, Tom Holman, and Nate Fonseca orchestrated a string of Pleasant Grove attacks that strong tested Anderson. He did not fold under the mounting stress that the Vikings put upon him. Pioneers Hensen Keetch and Zach Morgan contributed strong defensive efforts in keeping Wright and Taylor from doing much further damage to Lehi.

In the second half, Pleasant Grove received several good opportunities at slashing the Pioneer lead more. Those chances came through corner kicks. However, Keetch and Morgan joined Anderson keeping those Viking corner kicks from turning into goals.

Unlike in the first half, Estrada didn't let Lehi extend its lead. The Viking goalie frustrated scoring attempts carried out by Gray, Ian Ramos, and Zach Hancock.

Thus neither team scored in the final period.

Meanwhile, the American Fork Cavemen fell onto hard times during last week's soccer action.
Second-half goals scored by Dave Tuttle and Brody Berry lifted the Knights to a 2-0 win on the Cavemen's field April 23. April 25 saw the Spanish Fork Dons having a gay time while winning 2-0 at American Fork. The Cavemen will be playing at Lehi April 29.


AF, Lehi Split Their Region 4 Baseball Series
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The American Fork Cavemen and Lehi Pioneers split their two-game Region Four baseball series last week. At Lehi On April 21, the Pioneers defeated American Fork 7-6 in a nine-inning thriller. American Fork bounced back to win 10-6 at home against Lehi April 23.

Going into the April 21 game, the Pioneers were still on a high after having won 3-2 over the Timpanogos Timberwolves, AKA T-Pups, at home April 20. That game saw T.J. Russon, Ed Day and Palmer Page each hit a double for the Pioneers.

With not having won a Region Four game so far, American Fork needed a win at Lehi to stay in the chase for the league's third state tournament spot. For a while, the Cavemen looked as though they would be able to do that.

Getting on base through an error at the start of the game, Caveman Jake Miller soon came home on a one-out double hit by Josh "Rim Hanger" Mooney. He tried turning his two-bagger into a triple, but third baseman Tanner Martin tagged him. Martin then grounded out Bo Fisher.

Walked by pitcher Mooney in the bottom of the first, Martin soon came home on Day's two-out single, hit into left.

With pitcher Luke Miller not letting the Cavemen put any runners on base during the top of the second, Lehi quickly loaded the bases during the bottom of the inning, courtesy of singles smacked by Page and Bronson Anderson. Mooney walked Luke Miller, drawing Page home. Second baseman Stu Duersch turned up a double play as Dave Morgan scored a third Lehi run. Mooney struck out Russon to retire the Pioneers to the field.

In the third's top half, Evan Wright doubled into right on one out. Lehi kept him stuck at second before he could scored the second American Fork run.

For the bottom of the third, Rem Worthen singled off Mooney on two outs. The Caveman pitcher got even with him by picking him off at first, ending the inning.

Walked by Luke Miller in the top of the fourth, Mooney soon moved to third on a Fisher single. After Ben Beddes had hit into a double play, Mooney scored a run. Kyle Hall doubled in a run to tie the game at three. Despite a double hit by Page in the bottom of the fourth, American Fork held Lehi scoreless that inning.

Swatting a one-out single into right in the top of the fifth, Jake Miller stole home home. While keeping Lehi at bay for a spell, the Cavemen built up a 5-3 lead. It vanished in the bottom of the seventh, though, when the Pioneers score two runs to force the game into extra innings.

Neither team could score in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, American Fork pulled ahead 6-5. However, after Lehi had tied the game at six in the bottom of the ninth, Lehi Coach Pat Gleave said, "Dave Morgan hit a sacrifice fly that scored Ed Day for our winning run. American Fork did have the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, but we didn't let them rally."

The next day in American Fork, the Spanish Fork Dons shut out the Cavemen 9-0. Spanish Fork pitcher Chase Castleberry scattered four hits while teammates Brock Duke hit a home run and Tagg Lanceford produced three RBI for the Dons.

American Fork redeemed itself April 23 when the Cavemen led the Pioneers all through the game. Ryan Evans fanned six Lehi batters while Wright hit a triple. Mooney and Fisher each contributed a double to the Cavemen's cause. Jordy Hart hit a home run for Lehi.

In a makeup game against Lone Peak at American Fork April 24, Fisher hit a home for the Cavemen. That homer was not enough for the Cavemen. Alias the Loners, the Lone Peak Knights defeated the Cavemen 5-4.

Lehi Stays in Softball Contention While AF Gets Ready to Wait for Another Year
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

While the Lehi Pioneers are looking forward to playing at the State 5-A softball tournament next month, the American Fork Cavewomen are going to have to be waiting until next spring for to have the experience of post-season play.

That was beacause in Region Four play action at American Fork April 21, the Pioneers washed the Cavewomen by a score of 15-1. American Fork went on to lose 10-2 at Pleasant Grove on April 23. Lehi, meanwhile, dropped a tight game at home April 23 when the manly Spanish Fork Lady Dons overcame them 5-2.

AF, Lehi Harriers Place at Asics Invitational
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

At the recent Asics Invitational at Orem High, American Fork took eighth in the girls' division and 12th in the boys'. Lehi took ninth in the boys' division and 15th in the girls'.

In the girls' 100-meter hurdles, Lehi's Jessica Vanderhoef took sixth and American Fork's Kristi Warren sixth.

American Fork Cavewoman Alexis Laws took fourth in the girls' 1,600-meter run. Whitney Hunter of Lehi threw her way to a ninth-place finish in the girls' discus.

Stu Stringham of American Fork took fifth in the boys' high jump. Lehi's Jose Galindo took second in the boys' shot put and fifth in the boys discus. American Fork's Willie Cameron took seventh in the boys' discus.