Timp Sports Weekly
March 31, 2009
Publisher's Message
With Region Four games coming this week for northern Utah County teams, this issue will be looking at final non-league baseball and soccer games played by American Fork and Lehi teams. We will also look at a three-way track meet held at Lehi March 24. With that said, let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Lehi Kickers End Preseason Play With Home Win Over Payson
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers finished their preseason soccer schedule by a lopsided win their Astroturf football field March 24. Lehi drenched the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties, in the Saturday afternoon game by a score 5-0.
As former University of Utah Chronicle sportswriter Natalie Dicou would say, Lehi had an easy time wiping their carpet with the Kitties from southern Utah County. Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "Our focus was to concentrate our speed on our attacks. We wanted to be quicker on our attacks. We were that today. We're now going to be preparing PG Tuesday. We'll be playing them in a night game. They're a really good team."
For a little while, Lion goalie Mike Tobler kept Lehi at bay. A successful shot by Spencer Gray sparked the Pioneers' control of the game. The Pioneers didn't rest long on their 1-0. Ryan Curtis kicked in a goal to fuel Lehi's scoring spurt. With Gray putting in another goal shortly before halftime, Payson looked exasperated as not knowing how to keep Lehi from hopping all over it.
Early in the second half, Lehi scored another two goals via shots from Curtis and Ian Ramos. Tobler, aided by sweeper Ben Jones, didn't the Pioneers make any further goals, but the Lions couldn't stage a comeback. Lehi goalie Riley Anderson didn't let a single shot get past him. Payson received its best chance for scoring when the Pioneers drew a foul inside their penalty area late in the second half. Payson's Joe Sosa attempted to score on the ensuing indirect kick, but a wall of Lehi defenders kept the shot from flying over their heads.
Earlier in the week, Lehi suffered a 3-1 loss on the Alta Hawks' home field. McMurdie said, "We had a 1-0 lead until the last 20 minutes of the final half. We then gave up three goals to them. We were pushing for a 2-2 in the last minute when they broke away and scored their final goal."
Two of the goals were made by Alta's Colby Tanner.
AF Cavebatters Win 2 Home Games to Finish Non-Region Baseball Schedule
By Dean Von Memmott
Timps Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen finished their preseason baseball schedule with two straight wins at home last week. They are now going to be doing mainly Region Four games through all of April.
In March 24 action, American Fork defeated the highly ranked Cottonwood Colts 13-5. To defeat those ponies from Salt Lake County, they got Josh "The Hanger" Mooney to hit two doubles and Ben Beddes one double. Through getting those three doubles, the Cavemen never looked back.
For the March 27 game against the Northridge Knights, alias the Iron Studs, American Fork took firm control in the first inning.
On two outs in the top of it, Gavin Farr and Chris Abbot got on base via walks. When Mikey Goodrich hit a center-field single to load the bases, Northridge seemed certain of pulling off a two-out rally. It didn't happen, however, for No. 6 batter Dakota Combe struck out.
In the bottom of the inning, Cavemen Jake Miller and Stu Duersch got on base via a walk and a single respectively. One-run singles from Mooney, Beddes. Bo Fisher sparked a five-run rally for the Cavemen. They picked up a run in the second.
Aided by Dominique Taylor's home run, Northridge attempted a comeback. The Knights score a run in the third, three runs in the fourth, and a fifth run in the fourth. American Fork kept Northridge at a distance through picking up a run in the second, one in the third, one in the fifth, and one in sixth.
During the contest, Mooney hit a double while Ryan Evans devastated Northridge with a triple.
LP KNIGHTS WIN TRI-MEET AT LEHI
By Dean Von Memmott
Sports Correspondent
Often referred by American Fork High students as the Loners, the Lone Peak Knights won both sides of a three-way track meet at Lehi March 24. The meet's boy scores read Lone Peak 73, Lehi 54, and American Fork 39. The girls' team scores read Lone Peak 75, American Fork 55, and Lehi 26.
Angie Kaplar opened Lone Peak's domination of the meet with her winning the girls' 100-meter hurdles in a time of 15.22. Knight Spencer Carter won the boys' 110-meter hurdles in 16.4 and boys' 300-meter hurdles in 44.08.
The Knights swept both divisions of the 100-meter dash. Elana Hanssen won it in 15.12. Knight Quade Chappuis' winning time in the boys' version of that event was 11.20. Defeating American Fork's Clayton Young by four-tenths of a second, Lone Peak's Steve Morrin won the boys' 1,600-meter run title in a time of 4:46, and he finished seventh in the boys' 3,200-meter run. Taryn Toolson won the girls' 400- and 200-meter races.
Megan Smith leaped her way to a first-place finish with a mark of 15'04" in the long jump. Knight Cami Richin flung herself to a high jump championship with a 4'10". Knight Eric Turbiville won the boys' javelin with a throw of 133'8"
The Knights won three of the meet's six relays.
The other two schools produced their share of champions during the cold, windy afternoon.
By winning the girls' 1,600-meter run, Alexis Laws opened the way for an American Fork sweep of that event's first four places. Among the other Awesome Cavewomen to place in the top four of the girls' 1,600-meter race, Jamie Lux took second, Lakin Lux third, and McCall Harward fourth. American Fork also swept the first three places of the girls' 800-meter run. During it, Laws took first, Harward second, and Dani West third. Young won the boys' 800-meter run.
In the boys' 3,200-meter race, American Forkers Caveman Robby Lee finished first and Brian Vawdrey second.
Cavewoman Melissa Roberts won the girls' discus with a toss of 97'1" while teammate Hanna Dehmel posted 85'8" to win first place in the girls' javelin.
Kristy Warren won the girls' 300-meter hurdles after having finished third in the girls' 100-meter hurdles.
Lehi's Amber Rice won the girls' 3,200-meter run. The boys' 200-meter champion turned out to be Pioneer Jake Brydson in a time of 23.22. Lehi won the boys' 1,600-meter relay in a time of 3:43. Though the Knights' dominated the boys' 400-meter run, Pioneer Preston Yardley won it in a time of 54.28.
The Pioneers dominated the boys' field events. Pioneer Jesse Tyson won the boys' high jump, Dave Thompson the boys' discus, and Jose Galindo the shot put.
Lady Cavebatters End Preseason Softball Schedule With Shutout Loss to Brighton's Bad Ol' Puddy Tats
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Brighton Bengals deserve to be called the Bad Ol' Puddy Tats for good reason. In a March 24 game at American Fork, they ripped apart the Awesome Cavewomen 12-0 in five innings.
"We played one of the worst games last Tuesday," confessed American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen. "We made lots of errors, and we couldn't make any good hits. Brighton had an inning where they made lots of hits. That inning did us in."
American Fork led Brighton 6-3 in errors during the March 24 game.
The inning in question was the third one. Spurred on by two Shelbi Everett doubles, the Bengals scored seven runs to put the game away. Until that inning the score read 3-0. After the third inning, Brighton never looked back. Umpires called the game after the fifth inning.
American Fork opens Region Four play at home against Pleasant Grove March 31, then play a make-up game at Lehi April 1.
Lehi Suffers Stinging Loss at Wasatch
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers suffered a stinging loss on the Wasatch Wasps' Heber City diamond March 24. Wasatch's Cody Ramond hit in four runs to enable the Wasps to win 10-8 over Lehi. Ed Day smacked a double and a triple for the Pioneers for the heartbreaking defeat.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
BaseballSoccer
Timp Sports Weekly
March 24, 2008
Publisher's Message
The themes for this week's issue is going to be about cats and no respect. Two of the stories cover northern Utah County teams playing the Payson Lions, Pine View Panthers, and Orem Tigers. I do confess that prefer to call the Lions Kitties, the Panthers Kittens, and the Tigers Tiggers. A third story covers the Lehi Pioneers' heartbreaking loss at home to the Skyline Eagles. A fourth story deals with the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's battle to earn respect as a baseball powerhouse. The fifth story deals with the start of the American Fork track teams opening their season with a quad meet that they had hosted at home. Let's get to those stories right now
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Payson Has Nothing to Meow About in Baseball Loss at Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Payson Lions, alias the Kitties, had nothing to meow about during a non-league baseball game that they played on the Lehi Pioneers' field March 17. Eager to avenge an 8-2 loss that they had suffered on the Provo Bulldogs' home field March 16, the Pioneers silenced Payson 12-4.
The game was the Lions' first loss of the season. Payson's record is now 5-1. The win gave Lehi the momentum it needed to go on to keep the Tigers from bouncing all over them in a non-league game on Pioneer Field March 18. Lehi took down Orem 9-2 in that game.
Now in regards to the March 17 game, the Lions looked as though they would rip Lehi apart during the top of the first inning. With one out and two Lions on base, No. 4 Payson hitter Brady Loveless hit a three-run homer off pitcher Bronson Anderson. Soon, Payson's Stevie Clark and Hadley Spivey each hit a two-out single off the Lehi hurler. The Pioneers kept Payson from building upon its 3-0 lead.
Lehi rallied back in the bottom of the first. Capitalizing on an error, Palmer Page slugged a one-out double which brought leadoff hitter Tanner Martin home. Jordy Hart homered three runs to put Lehi out in front 4-3.
Through the next five innings, Lehi kept the Lions from capitalizing on hits. In the top of the second, for example, Kyler Figgins and Jace Harmon both ended up stranded on base after each of them had slugged a single. Spivey contributed a second single and a sixth-inning double to go 3-3 at the plate, but Lehi kept him from doing any damage. A Harmon double in the fifth couldn't switch things around to Payson's favor either. By the time Lion Spencer Smith had singled Spencer Gabbitas in for the fourth Lion run of the game, Payson had no hope whatsoever for rallying back.
After T.J. Russon had hit a one-run single to open a five-run stampede for the Pioneers in the second, the game became a contest over whether Lehi would be able to 10-run the Lions by the end of the fifth. An Ed Day double sparked a four-run rally for Lehi in the third. The Pioneers received two chances to put the game away by the top of the fifth, but a stubborn Lion defense kept the game going until the top of the seventh.
Lehi Coach Pat Gleave said, "We were happy with Bronson Anderson's pitching. He's just a sophomore, but he's been throwing very well on the varsity level. We had big hits from T.J. Russon and Jordy Hart."
Looking back on the Orem game, Gleave said, "Orem was leading us 2-1 in the sixth when we went on an eight-run rally in the bottom of the inning. We ended up winning the game 9-3."
In the March 21 preseason action at home, Jake Miller emerged as the winning pitcher while he registering a two-run, seventh-inning single that gave Lehi a 3-2 win over the Skyview Bobcats, alias the Bobkittens.
Cavekickers Finish Preseason Play With Unbeaten Record
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen finished their non-league soccer schedule with a record of two wins and one tie.
After having won 2-0 on the Payson Lions' home field March 13, American Fork won 3-0 at home over the Pine View Panthers in a March 20 contest.
American Fork Coach Barkley Chile said, "At Payson, Jordan Jacklin scored our first goal 30 minutes into the game. Trent Burch scored the next goal shortly before halftime. We had our chances to make more goals, but we narrowly missed some good shots. We played really good defense. In the second half, Payson took only one shot on goal."
In the Pine View game, the Panthers had sweepers Danny Garcia and Jordan Mendez perform as the backbone for their defense. Goalie Jose Aguire managed to keep the Cavemen scoreless for much of the first half.
However, the determined efforts of Caveman players, such as Burch, Quinton Hull, and Steve Bean, eventually paid off for the home team. Twenty-five minutes into the contest, Caveman Austin Mansfield broke the scoreless deadlock with a successful shot that he took from inside the Pine View penalty box. American Fork went on to win the game on successful shots from Parker Harrison and Jordan Jacklin.
Pioneer Kickers Lose Close Game at Home to Skyline
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers' home season opened on a disappointing note for them March 18 when the visiting Skyline Eagles came from behind to defeat them 2-1 in a non-league game.
Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "We knew Skyline was on a roll. They had won two of their first three games this year. We weren't attack-minded this year. Our biggest problem was that we weren't mentally tough. We need to change that attitude during our preseason game against Mountain Crest."
The loss game in the aftermath of the Pioneers' 2-0 win on the Northridge Knights' Layton field March 13. In that game, Iam Ramos and Ryan Curtis each scored a goal for Lehi.
In the Skyline game, Lehi led the entire first half. Ten minutes into the contest, Curtis scored the game's first goal. However, Skyline goalie Matt Kershaw smothered the Pioneers' efforts to stretch their 1-0 lead. With his swiftness, the Eagle goalie did not let another Lehi shot sneak past him during the rest of the game.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Skyline's Greg Wight evened the score at one on a breakaway play. Defensive efforts by Lehi's Devin Davis and goalie Riley Anderson kept the Eagles from breaking the tie until the clock read 2:58. At that time, Scottie Nelson scored the goal gave the Eagles the win.
Cavebatters Pick Up 4 Wins in Battle for Earning Statewide Respect This Baseball Season
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The 2009 high school baseball season is now two weeks old in Utah, the Awesome American Fork Cavemen have already become this year's Rodney Dangerfields in 5-A ranks. None of the daily newspapers, such as the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune, have bothered to place them as being among the 25 strongest teams in the state.
This past week, the Cavemen set out to prove why they deserved to be ranked. They knocked two state-ranked teams and swept a doubleheader at home against the Bonneville Bees of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
In a home season opened against the Judge Memorial Bulldogs March 19, American Fork fixed the Salt Lake City team 9-3. In the top of that game's first inning, Cort Zollinger hit a two-single that sent Judge charging out to a 3-0 lead. However, American Fork didn't let the Bulldogs make any more runs in the game. American Fork Coach Jarod Ingersoll said, "Bo Fisher and Josh Mooney each hit a home run for us that lifted us to our 9-3 win over Judge."
After trimming the Bulldog lead to 3-2 in the second inning, American Fork tied the game at three in the third. In the fifth, the Cavemen went on a five-run rally to put the game away.
"For the Jordan game, [Jim] Davis pitched very well for us," Ingersoll said.
Played at Salt Lake Community College March 19, the contest saw two American Fork coaches and two Caveman players get tossed out of the game. The ejections didn't stop American Fork from clobbering the Jordan Beetdiggers 16-6 in the seven-inning affair. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in the first inning. After American Fork took a 5-1 lead in the second, the Cavemen never looked back.
In the first game of the Bonneville doubleheader, the Bees took a 2-0 lead on a Tyson Della Silva single and Porter Clayton's theft of home plate.
Aided by a Jake Miller walk in the bottom of the first, the Cavemen loaded the bases on no outs, and Ben Beddes singled in two runs to open a six-run rally, climaxed with Evan Wright's two-run triple.
In the third's top half, Bees Jordan Rapp singled in a run while Trey Handled doubled in Brandon Craig to cut the lead to 6-4. Though Miller's fourth-inning triple led to American Fork picking up its seventh run, the Cavemen almost got stung in the fifth's top half Della Silva's triple led to Rapp and Dylan Kowitz each slugging a one-run single, pushing Bonneville within 7-6.
Ryan Hall's theft of home plate in the bottom of the fifth, opened a four-run rally that gave American Fork the 12-6 win.
In the bottom of the second game's first inning, Hall singled in two runs, opening a five-run rally for the Cavemen. They picked two runs in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Bonneville got on the board in the top of the fifth, but the Bees became done for when Fisher doubled in Stu Duersch. Beddes knocked in a run to end the game."
Cavetrackster Open Season With Four-Way Meet at Home
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen and Cavewomen opened their 2009 track season with a four-way meet at home March 17. American Fork hosted the Timpanogos Timberwolves, Spanish Fork Dons, and Park City Miners.
"Both Timpanogos and Spanish Fork are among the best teams in 5-A," said American Fork Coach Art Taylor. "The meet gave us a chance to see how we could do against them. We're a young team this year."
Dani West won the girls' 400-meter dash while teammate Taylir Garrison jumped her way to a first-place finish in the girls' high jump. Robby Lee won the boys' 1,600-meter run.
In the girls' discuss, Melissa Roberts took second and Ilo Mansun third. Alexis Laws took fourth in the girls' 1,600-meter run. In the boys' 3,200-meter run, Austin West took third and Jeff Nelson fifth.
March 24, 2008
Publisher's Message
The themes for this week's issue is going to be about cats and no respect. Two of the stories cover northern Utah County teams playing the Payson Lions, Pine View Panthers, and Orem Tigers. I do confess that prefer to call the Lions Kitties, the Panthers Kittens, and the Tigers Tiggers. A third story covers the Lehi Pioneers' heartbreaking loss at home to the Skyline Eagles. A fourth story deals with the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's battle to earn respect as a baseball powerhouse. The fifth story deals with the start of the American Fork track teams opening their season with a quad meet that they had hosted at home. Let's get to those stories right now
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Payson Has Nothing to Meow About in Baseball Loss at Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Payson Lions, alias the Kitties, had nothing to meow about during a non-league baseball game that they played on the Lehi Pioneers' field March 17. Eager to avenge an 8-2 loss that they had suffered on the Provo Bulldogs' home field March 16, the Pioneers silenced Payson 12-4.
The game was the Lions' first loss of the season. Payson's record is now 5-1. The win gave Lehi the momentum it needed to go on to keep the Tigers from bouncing all over them in a non-league game on Pioneer Field March 18. Lehi took down Orem 9-2 in that game.
Now in regards to the March 17 game, the Lions looked as though they would rip Lehi apart during the top of the first inning. With one out and two Lions on base, No. 4 Payson hitter Brady Loveless hit a three-run homer off pitcher Bronson Anderson. Soon, Payson's Stevie Clark and Hadley Spivey each hit a two-out single off the Lehi hurler. The Pioneers kept Payson from building upon its 3-0 lead.
Lehi rallied back in the bottom of the first. Capitalizing on an error, Palmer Page slugged a one-out double which brought leadoff hitter Tanner Martin home. Jordy Hart homered three runs to put Lehi out in front 4-3.
Through the next five innings, Lehi kept the Lions from capitalizing on hits. In the top of the second, for example, Kyler Figgins and Jace Harmon both ended up stranded on base after each of them had slugged a single. Spivey contributed a second single and a sixth-inning double to go 3-3 at the plate, but Lehi kept him from doing any damage. A Harmon double in the fifth couldn't switch things around to Payson's favor either. By the time Lion Spencer Smith had singled Spencer Gabbitas in for the fourth Lion run of the game, Payson had no hope whatsoever for rallying back.
After T.J. Russon had hit a one-run single to open a five-run stampede for the Pioneers in the second, the game became a contest over whether Lehi would be able to 10-run the Lions by the end of the fifth. An Ed Day double sparked a four-run rally for Lehi in the third. The Pioneers received two chances to put the game away by the top of the fifth, but a stubborn Lion defense kept the game going until the top of the seventh.
Lehi Coach Pat Gleave said, "We were happy with Bronson Anderson's pitching. He's just a sophomore, but he's been throwing very well on the varsity level. We had big hits from T.J. Russon and Jordy Hart."
Looking back on the Orem game, Gleave said, "Orem was leading us 2-1 in the sixth when we went on an eight-run rally in the bottom of the inning. We ended up winning the game 9-3."
In the March 21 preseason action at home, Jake Miller emerged as the winning pitcher while he registering a two-run, seventh-inning single that gave Lehi a 3-2 win over the Skyview Bobcats, alias the Bobkittens.
Cavekickers Finish Preseason Play With Unbeaten Record
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen finished their non-league soccer schedule with a record of two wins and one tie.
After having won 2-0 on the Payson Lions' home field March 13, American Fork won 3-0 at home over the Pine View Panthers in a March 20 contest.
American Fork Coach Barkley Chile said, "At Payson, Jordan Jacklin scored our first goal 30 minutes into the game. Trent Burch scored the next goal shortly before halftime. We had our chances to make more goals, but we narrowly missed some good shots. We played really good defense. In the second half, Payson took only one shot on goal."
In the Pine View game, the Panthers had sweepers Danny Garcia and Jordan Mendez perform as the backbone for their defense. Goalie Jose Aguire managed to keep the Cavemen scoreless for much of the first half.
However, the determined efforts of Caveman players, such as Burch, Quinton Hull, and Steve Bean, eventually paid off for the home team. Twenty-five minutes into the contest, Caveman Austin Mansfield broke the scoreless deadlock with a successful shot that he took from inside the Pine View penalty box. American Fork went on to win the game on successful shots from Parker Harrison and Jordan Jacklin.
Pioneer Kickers Lose Close Game at Home to Skyline
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers' home season opened on a disappointing note for them March 18 when the visiting Skyline Eagles came from behind to defeat them 2-1 in a non-league game.
Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "We knew Skyline was on a roll. They had won two of their first three games this year. We weren't attack-minded this year. Our biggest problem was that we weren't mentally tough. We need to change that attitude during our preseason game against Mountain Crest."
The loss game in the aftermath of the Pioneers' 2-0 win on the Northridge Knights' Layton field March 13. In that game, Iam Ramos and Ryan Curtis each scored a goal for Lehi.
In the Skyline game, Lehi led the entire first half. Ten minutes into the contest, Curtis scored the game's first goal. However, Skyline goalie Matt Kershaw smothered the Pioneers' efforts to stretch their 1-0 lead. With his swiftness, the Eagle goalie did not let another Lehi shot sneak past him during the rest of the game.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Skyline's Greg Wight evened the score at one on a breakaway play. Defensive efforts by Lehi's Devin Davis and goalie Riley Anderson kept the Eagles from breaking the tie until the clock read 2:58. At that time, Scottie Nelson scored the goal gave the Eagles the win.
Cavebatters Pick Up 4 Wins in Battle for Earning Statewide Respect This Baseball Season
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The 2009 high school baseball season is now two weeks old in Utah, the Awesome American Fork Cavemen have already become this year's Rodney Dangerfields in 5-A ranks. None of the daily newspapers, such as the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune, have bothered to place them as being among the 25 strongest teams in the state.
This past week, the Cavemen set out to prove why they deserved to be ranked. They knocked two state-ranked teams and swept a doubleheader at home against the Bonneville Bees of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
In a home season opened against the Judge Memorial Bulldogs March 19, American Fork fixed the Salt Lake City team 9-3. In the top of that game's first inning, Cort Zollinger hit a two-single that sent Judge charging out to a 3-0 lead. However, American Fork didn't let the Bulldogs make any more runs in the game. American Fork Coach Jarod Ingersoll said, "Bo Fisher and Josh Mooney each hit a home run for us that lifted us to our 9-3 win over Judge."
After trimming the Bulldog lead to 3-2 in the second inning, American Fork tied the game at three in the third. In the fifth, the Cavemen went on a five-run rally to put the game away.
"For the Jordan game, [Jim] Davis pitched very well for us," Ingersoll said.
Played at Salt Lake Community College March 19, the contest saw two American Fork coaches and two Caveman players get tossed out of the game. The ejections didn't stop American Fork from clobbering the Jordan Beetdiggers 16-6 in the seven-inning affair. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in the first inning. After American Fork took a 5-1 lead in the second, the Cavemen never looked back.
In the first game of the Bonneville doubleheader, the Bees took a 2-0 lead on a Tyson Della Silva single and Porter Clayton's theft of home plate.
Aided by a Jake Miller walk in the bottom of the first, the Cavemen loaded the bases on no outs, and Ben Beddes singled in two runs to open a six-run rally, climaxed with Evan Wright's two-run triple.
In the third's top half, Bees Jordan Rapp singled in a run while Trey Handled doubled in Brandon Craig to cut the lead to 6-4. Though Miller's fourth-inning triple led to American Fork picking up its seventh run, the Cavemen almost got stung in the fifth's top half Della Silva's triple led to Rapp and Dylan Kowitz each slugging a one-run single, pushing Bonneville within 7-6.
Ryan Hall's theft of home plate in the bottom of the fifth, opened a four-run rally that gave American Fork the 12-6 win.
In the bottom of the second game's first inning, Hall singled in two runs, opening a five-run rally for the Cavemen. They picked two runs in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Bonneville got on the board in the top of the fifth, but the Bees became done for when Fisher doubled in Stu Duersch. Beddes knocked in a run to end the game."
Cavetrackster Open Season With Four-Way Meet at Home
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen and Cavewomen opened their 2009 track season with a four-way meet at home March 17. American Fork hosted the Timpanogos Timberwolves, Spanish Fork Dons, and Park City Miners.
"Both Timpanogos and Spanish Fork are among the best teams in 5-A," said American Fork Coach Art Taylor. "The meet gave us a chance to see how we could do against them. We're a young team this year."
Dani West won the girls' 400-meter dash while teammate Taylir Garrison jumped her way to a first-place finish in the girls' high jump. Robby Lee won the boys' 1,600-meter run.
In the girls' discuss, Melissa Roberts took second and Ilo Mansun third. Alexis Laws took fourth in the girls' 1,600-meter run. In the boys' 3,200-meter run, Austin West took third and Jeff Nelson fifth.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Start of Spring Sports
Timp Sports Weekly
March 17, 2009
Publisher's Message
Not much waiting had to be needed for the arrival of this year's high school spring sports seasons. They got underway within days after the state boys' 4-A and 5-A basketball playoffs had ended.
For this issue, we'll be looking at outcomes of Lehi and American Fork games played this week. With that said, let's get to those results.
Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Snow Comes Out on Top in Soccer Game Between AF, Mountain View
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's soccer season opened with a loss to Old Man Winter during a home game against the Mountain View Bruins March 2.
A heavy snowfall prompted the referees to declare the game over after the two teams had played only one period of it. Neither the Cavemen nor the Bruins could score a goal during the snowstorm.
During the one half, the Bruins led American Fork 5-1 in shots on goal. However, Caveman goalie Chris Pineda did not let one Mountain View shot sneak past him. Also, the Caveman defense kept ruining Bruin right wing Sam Hickman's chances of putting indirect shots into the goal net.
Cavemen like Caleb Garlick, Zach Plitt, Quinton Hull, and Jordan Jacklin constantly kept stealing the ball from Bruin Jake Parkinson before he could put it into the net.
While American Fork couldn't post a W in the March 9 game, American Fork Coach Barkley Chile was still pleased with his Cavemen's efforts. He said, "They put a lot of pressure on Mountain View's defense. They were talking a lot more on field, and they stayed well organized on defense."
Springville Red Devils Dry Up Lehi 5-1 in Softball Opener
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Publisher
The hot Springville Red Devils dried up the Lehi Pioneers 5-1 in a softball season opener at Lehi March 11.
In the fifth inning, Whitney Cook doubled in Kellie Jo Jenkins for the only Pioneer run of the game. That RBI went down as one of four hits made by Lehi in the game. While Shelby Lund smacked two singles for the Pioneers, Aly White and Cook contributed a single to the cause.
Springville's Nikki Brailsford shocked Lehi with a sixth-inning home run that ended the afternoon's scoring. It opened with Springville scoring three runs in the first. The Red Devils scored a fourth run in the fifth inning.
Red Devil pitcher Aria Agli struck out 10 Lehi batters during the two-hour contest.
Lehi Coach Leslie Warr said, "I was pleased with how Arial and Ashley Zimmerman pitched. Ashley threw first. She did good in the first inning; however, we made errors that allowed Springville to score their first three runs."
AF Lady Cavebatters Drop 2 Home Games in 1st Week of Softball Play
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen opened their softball season with two straight losses at home last week. On March 11, the Jordan Beetdiggers smothered them 12-1, and on March 12, the Timpview Thunderbirds flew into town and defeated American Fork 10-3.
American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen said, "Jaela Mooney pitched really good as she could for us in the Jordan game, but we made errors let them 10-run us in the fifth. In the Timpview game, we had Annie Christensen throw some innings for us, and then we had to use our third-string pitcher. She wasn't used to throwing against the caliber of players found on Timpview's team. So Timpview ripped us in the sixth inning."
Timpview never trailed once in the game. In the top of the first, an Alisa Talk sacrifice groundout scored Kimmy Brimhall. The Thunderbirds' 1-0 lead didn't survive the first inning.
In the bottom of it, Shelbi Petersen, walked by Talk, scored a tying run through stealing home base.
The next inning, Thunderbird Megan Fillmore hit an infield single, and she soon scored on an overthrow past third. On two outs in the bottom of the second, American Fork managed to move two runners into scoring position. However, Talk struck out Alexis Morris to end the game.
The next inning, Talk hit a two-run single to improve Timpview's lead at 4-1. American Fork managed to slice it to 4-2 when a Hayley Holmstead sacrifice fly scored Annie Christensen. Talk kept American Fork in check through the rest of the game.
March 17, 2009
Publisher's Message
Not much waiting had to be needed for the arrival of this year's high school spring sports seasons. They got underway within days after the state boys' 4-A and 5-A basketball playoffs had ended.
For this issue, we'll be looking at outcomes of Lehi and American Fork games played this week. With that said, let's get to those results.
Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Snow Comes Out on Top in Soccer Game Between AF, Mountain View
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's soccer season opened with a loss to Old Man Winter during a home game against the Mountain View Bruins March 2.
A heavy snowfall prompted the referees to declare the game over after the two teams had played only one period of it. Neither the Cavemen nor the Bruins could score a goal during the snowstorm.
During the one half, the Bruins led American Fork 5-1 in shots on goal. However, Caveman goalie Chris Pineda did not let one Mountain View shot sneak past him. Also, the Caveman defense kept ruining Bruin right wing Sam Hickman's chances of putting indirect shots into the goal net.
Cavemen like Caleb Garlick, Zach Plitt, Quinton Hull, and Jordan Jacklin constantly kept stealing the ball from Bruin Jake Parkinson before he could put it into the net.
While American Fork couldn't post a W in the March 9 game, American Fork Coach Barkley Chile was still pleased with his Cavemen's efforts. He said, "They put a lot of pressure on Mountain View's defense. They were talking a lot more on field, and they stayed well organized on defense."
Springville Red Devils Dry Up Lehi 5-1 in Softball Opener
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Publisher
The hot Springville Red Devils dried up the Lehi Pioneers 5-1 in a softball season opener at Lehi March 11.
In the fifth inning, Whitney Cook doubled in Kellie Jo Jenkins for the only Pioneer run of the game. That RBI went down as one of four hits made by Lehi in the game. While Shelby Lund smacked two singles for the Pioneers, Aly White and Cook contributed a single to the cause.
Springville's Nikki Brailsford shocked Lehi with a sixth-inning home run that ended the afternoon's scoring. It opened with Springville scoring three runs in the first. The Red Devils scored a fourth run in the fifth inning.
Red Devil pitcher Aria Agli struck out 10 Lehi batters during the two-hour contest.
Lehi Coach Leslie Warr said, "I was pleased with how Arial and Ashley Zimmerman pitched. Ashley threw first. She did good in the first inning; however, we made errors that allowed Springville to score their first three runs."
AF Lady Cavebatters Drop 2 Home Games in 1st Week of Softball Play
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen opened their softball season with two straight losses at home last week. On March 11, the Jordan Beetdiggers smothered them 12-1, and on March 12, the Timpview Thunderbirds flew into town and defeated American Fork 10-3.
American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen said, "Jaela Mooney pitched really good as she could for us in the Jordan game, but we made errors let them 10-run us in the fifth. In the Timpview game, we had Annie Christensen throw some innings for us, and then we had to use our third-string pitcher. She wasn't used to throwing against the caliber of players found on Timpview's team. So Timpview ripped us in the sixth inning."
Timpview never trailed once in the game. In the top of the first, an Alisa Talk sacrifice groundout scored Kimmy Brimhall. The Thunderbirds' 1-0 lead didn't survive the first inning.
In the bottom of it, Shelbi Petersen, walked by Talk, scored a tying run through stealing home base.
The next inning, Thunderbird Megan Fillmore hit an infield single, and she soon scored on an overthrow past third. On two outs in the bottom of the second, American Fork managed to move two runners into scoring position. However, Talk struck out Alexis Morris to end the game.
The next inning, Talk hit a two-run single to improve Timpview's lead at 4-1. American Fork managed to slice it to 4-2 when a Hayley Holmstead sacrifice fly scored Annie Christensen. Talk kept American Fork in check through the rest of the game.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Timp Sports Weekly
March 10, 2009
Publisher's Message
This is the first issue of an online magazine intended to cover the sports scene extending north from Lindon, Utah, clear to nearby Lehi. Don't expect Timp Sports Weekly to be Utah County's answer to Sports Illustrated. This magazine's mission is to focus on prep athletics and summer sports leagues.
Because readers of local sports stories tend to prefer reading hard copy versions of those accounts, I intend to create as soon as possible a print edition of this magazine, which will be filled with reports and columns written by various sports journalists hired by me. When the print edition of Timp Sports Weekly finally hits the stands, please don't look upon it as a replacement for the recently defunct, northern county weeklies, which four generations of newspaper readers had had enjoyed for four generations until the last seveal years.
For this edition, we will be looking at previews of Lehi Pioneer soccer and four American Fork High sports teams. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
AF Cavewoman Softball to Open Season With Veteran Players
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavewomen are set to open their season this week with five seniors, who have had three years of softball experience.
Second-year American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen said, "The seniors we have back this year are Haley Holmstead, Kayla Sorensen, Jonna Wright, Annie Christensen, and Shelby Petersen.
"Annie and Shelby will be pitching for us. We expect Haley Holmstead to be one of our top hitters. She was a big hitter for us last year. These girls have picked up a lot of softball experience since the last season."
Last spring, American Fork finished fourth in region, but the Cavewomen ended up finishing higher in the state tournament than any of the other three Region Four schools participating in the playoffs.
The coach said, "We had 43 girls come out for tryouts this year. We kept 33 of them. We're going to have a lot of sophomores on the varsity team this year. We're also going to have a ninth-grader on the varsity squad."
He said that after American Fork has completed preseason play this month, the Cavewomen will be involved in a really tough region. He said he believed the battle for the league's three state playoff spots will be really tough.
Sorensen's assistant varsity coach this year will be Dennis Romboy.
AF Cavebatters to Begin New Season in St. George
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen will be opening their new 2009 baseball season at the Little Caesar's Tournament at St. George's Bruce Hurst Field next week.
"We have three starters back this year," said American Fork Coach Jarod Ingersoll. "They're Josh Mooney, Bo Fisher, and Stu Dirsch. They bring good experience to the team. They'll be a huge key to our season.
"We like playing in St. George at this time of year, because of good weather and a great baseball field. It will give our guys a chance to have great concentration on their playing."
"We have two sophomores who'll be seeing varsity action this season," Ingersoll said. "Ryan Pitcher will be playing second base for us. Caden Worthington will be a pinch runner for us."
American Fork will be playing non-league games throughout this entire month. In April, they will be playing Region Four foes who include the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, the Spanish Fork Dons, Timpanogos Timberwolves, Lone Peak Knights, and the Lehi Pioneers. The league promises to be a tough one.
"Only three teams will be going to state from Region Four this year. It's ridiculous. We should have a fourth team going to state from our region," Ingersoll said. "The fights for the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 spots are all going to be bloodbaths."
Assisting Ingersoll this year are Correy Clayton, Eric Olsen, Jay Holmstead, and Glenn Taylor. The coach said, "Correy and Glenn will coach the sophomores. Eric is going to be our jayvee coach. Jay will be assisting me with the varsity."
Lehi Soccer Team Returns With Experienced Players
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneer soccer team is returning with a load of experienced players this spring.
Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "We have a large portion of our varsity back from last year. We did lose some experienced players last year, but the majority of our veteran players are back. I'm optimistic about our chances for doing really good in region.
"Riley Anderson is returning as a goalie. He did pretty good in that positon his sophomore year. Another two returning players to watch out for are Austin Tucket and Iam Ramos."
Lehi will open its season at Northridge later on this week.
AF Cavekickers to Open Season This Week
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen are opening their 2009 soccer season at home this week. American Fork will be enjoying the services of seven veteran seniors this spring.
"Five of them are returning starters," said American Fork Coach Barkley Chile. "They include Chris Penida, Quinton Holt, Sean Halbleb, Josh Whittaker, and Steven Bean. They're the ones pushing our ninth-graders and sophomores. Our other two seniors will be playing as subs.
"Chris Penida will be a our starting goalie. He played keeper last year. He was on the last American Fork team that went to state.
"Three preseason games we have which promise to be tough are Mountain View, Payson, and Pine View. Every team in our region is going to be tough."
American Fork's Region Four opponents include Lone Peak, Timpanogos, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Spanish Fork.
Cavetracksters Return as a Young Squad This Year
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Caveman and Cavewoman track teams this year promise to be young squads. That is the word, according to head American Fork track coach Art Taylor.
He said, "We lost most of our talent to graduation last year. Most of our kids this year are juniors and sophomores. We do have experienced distant runners on our girls and boys' teams.
"On the girls' side, we have Danielle West and Alexis Laws. We anticipate they will do good things again at Region. At state last year, Danielle took fifth in the mile and Laws ninth in the two-mile.
"On the boys' side, Robby Lee and Ryan Bradshaw are our most experienced distant runners. Robby had to stay home from state last year, but Ryan did get to compete at the state meet.
"We have 90 kids involved in the track program so far. Fifty of them are boys, and the other 40 girls.
"Melissa Roberts is our returning discus thrower. Christy Warren is a senior hurdler for us, and she took fourth at region last year. She went to state, but didn't place there.
"Among the assistants I will have this year are Bruno Hunziker, Timo Mostert, Brad Huff, Kevin Mann, and Lauren Browning."
March 10, 2009
Publisher's Message
This is the first issue of an online magazine intended to cover the sports scene extending north from Lindon, Utah, clear to nearby Lehi. Don't expect Timp Sports Weekly to be Utah County's answer to Sports Illustrated. This magazine's mission is to focus on prep athletics and summer sports leagues.
Because readers of local sports stories tend to prefer reading hard copy versions of those accounts, I intend to create as soon as possible a print edition of this magazine, which will be filled with reports and columns written by various sports journalists hired by me. When the print edition of Timp Sports Weekly finally hits the stands, please don't look upon it as a replacement for the recently defunct, northern county weeklies, which four generations of newspaper readers had had enjoyed for four generations until the last seveal years.
For this edition, we will be looking at previews of Lehi Pioneer soccer and four American Fork High sports teams. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
AF Cavewoman Softball to Open Season With Veteran Players
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavewomen are set to open their season this week with five seniors, who have had three years of softball experience.
Second-year American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen said, "The seniors we have back this year are Haley Holmstead, Kayla Sorensen, Jonna Wright, Annie Christensen, and Shelby Petersen.
"Annie and Shelby will be pitching for us. We expect Haley Holmstead to be one of our top hitters. She was a big hitter for us last year. These girls have picked up a lot of softball experience since the last season."
Last spring, American Fork finished fourth in region, but the Cavewomen ended up finishing higher in the state tournament than any of the other three Region Four schools participating in the playoffs.
The coach said, "We had 43 girls come out for tryouts this year. We kept 33 of them. We're going to have a lot of sophomores on the varsity team this year. We're also going to have a ninth-grader on the varsity squad."
He said that after American Fork has completed preseason play this month, the Cavewomen will be involved in a really tough region. He said he believed the battle for the league's three state playoff spots will be really tough.
Sorensen's assistant varsity coach this year will be Dennis Romboy.
AF Cavebatters to Begin New Season in St. George
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen will be opening their new 2009 baseball season at the Little Caesar's Tournament at St. George's Bruce Hurst Field next week.
"We have three starters back this year," said American Fork Coach Jarod Ingersoll. "They're Josh Mooney, Bo Fisher, and Stu Dirsch. They bring good experience to the team. They'll be a huge key to our season.
"We like playing in St. George at this time of year, because of good weather and a great baseball field. It will give our guys a chance to have great concentration on their playing."
"We have two sophomores who'll be seeing varsity action this season," Ingersoll said. "Ryan Pitcher will be playing second base for us. Caden Worthington will be a pinch runner for us."
American Fork will be playing non-league games throughout this entire month. In April, they will be playing Region Four foes who include the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, the Spanish Fork Dons, Timpanogos Timberwolves, Lone Peak Knights, and the Lehi Pioneers. The league promises to be a tough one.
"Only three teams will be going to state from Region Four this year. It's ridiculous. We should have a fourth team going to state from our region," Ingersoll said. "The fights for the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 spots are all going to be bloodbaths."
Assisting Ingersoll this year are Correy Clayton, Eric Olsen, Jay Holmstead, and Glenn Taylor. The coach said, "Correy and Glenn will coach the sophomores. Eric is going to be our jayvee coach. Jay will be assisting me with the varsity."
Lehi Soccer Team Returns With Experienced Players
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneer soccer team is returning with a load of experienced players this spring.
Lehi Coach Steve McMurdie said, "We have a large portion of our varsity back from last year. We did lose some experienced players last year, but the majority of our veteran players are back. I'm optimistic about our chances for doing really good in region.
"Riley Anderson is returning as a goalie. He did pretty good in that positon his sophomore year. Another two returning players to watch out for are Austin Tucket and Iam Ramos."
Lehi will open its season at Northridge later on this week.
AF Cavekickers to Open Season This Week
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavemen are opening their 2009 soccer season at home this week. American Fork will be enjoying the services of seven veteran seniors this spring.
"Five of them are returning starters," said American Fork Coach Barkley Chile. "They include Chris Penida, Quinton Holt, Sean Halbleb, Josh Whittaker, and Steven Bean. They're the ones pushing our ninth-graders and sophomores. Our other two seniors will be playing as subs.
"Chris Penida will be a our starting goalie. He played keeper last year. He was on the last American Fork team that went to state.
"Three preseason games we have which promise to be tough are Mountain View, Payson, and Pine View. Every team in our region is going to be tough."
American Fork's Region Four opponents include Lone Peak, Timpanogos, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Spanish Fork.
Cavetracksters Return as a Young Squad This Year
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Caveman and Cavewoman track teams this year promise to be young squads. That is the word, according to head American Fork track coach Art Taylor.
He said, "We lost most of our talent to graduation last year. Most of our kids this year are juniors and sophomores. We do have experienced distant runners on our girls and boys' teams.
"On the girls' side, we have Danielle West and Alexis Laws. We anticipate they will do good things again at Region. At state last year, Danielle took fifth in the mile and Laws ninth in the two-mile.
"On the boys' side, Robby Lee and Ryan Bradshaw are our most experienced distant runners. Robby had to stay home from state last year, but Ryan did get to compete at the state meet.
"We have 90 kids involved in the track program so far. Fifty of them are boys, and the other 40 girls.
"Melissa Roberts is our returning discus thrower. Christy Warren is a senior hurdler for us, and she took fourth at region last year. She went to state, but didn't place there.
"Among the assistants I will have this year are Bruno Hunziker, Timo Mostert, Brad Huff, Kevin Mann, and Lauren Browning."
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Lehi Boys Basketball
Timpanogos News Weeklies
February 7, 2009
Letter from Publisher
For this second test issue, we look at an column about the need for community newspapers to stay truly independent publications. We also present an account of a crucial Region Four boys' basketball game in the race for the league's final available state playoff spot. Let's get to those items.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Publisher's Column
Local Weeklies Must Stay Independent Operations
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weeklies Publisher
When I was in the American Fork Kinko's store Feb. 6, a Lehi man told me that the Provo Daily Herald had decided to quit publishing all of the northern Utah County weeklies that its one-time parent company, Pulitzer Newspapers, had purchased in 2000. The news didn't come as a total shock to me. I knew that once the Daily Herald had dropped the weeklies' sports sections, they themselves would soon be put out of existence.
To my knowledge, none of the reporters still at those newspapers will be laid off. Instead, their stories will appear in the Provo newspaper. That is not much consolation to the citizens who had been longtime loyal subscribers to the northern Utah County weeklies. From talking to them, I have picked up a consensus that they still want to have newspapers that cover only their communities. The latest move by the Daily Herald can only serve to make those residents more unwilling to subscribe to the Provo newspaper and prompt them to become more willing to subscribe to the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News.
The discontinuation of the northern Utah County weeklies is the latest reminder why weekly newspapers must remain independent operations. Once a daily newspaper purchases them, it tends to make them carbon copies of it. That was what happened to the northern Utah County weeklies after Pulitzer bought them.
At first, the Daily Herald let New Utah publisher Brett Bezzant and his Orem-Geneva counterpart Brent Sumner continue running their newspapers the way they had done before the buyouts. However, the Provo newspaper eventually converted both Brett and Brent's newspapers into carbon copies of itself. The Herald also fired both men and went on to make further changes that eventually killed reader interest in northern Utah County's weekly newspapers.
For a weekly newspaper to continue reflecting the personality of the community it serves, it must stay locally owned. As soon as it becomes the property of a nationwide newspaper chain, you can forget about it continuing to reflect the spirit of the community it serves and staying in existence.
This week is not the first time in Utah that weekly newspapers got shut down by daily newspapers that publish them. A longtime ago, a company that owned the St. George Spectrum purchased the Iron County Record and closed it down within a short time.
My advice to publishers of locally owned weeklies is never to sell their publications to owners of daily newspapers. Sell the weeklies instead to other local people experienced in running community newspapers.
Lehi Boys Basketball Team Hammers Spanish Fork
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weeklies Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers improved their chances for a state playoff spot when they won 59-42 over the Spanish Fork Dons in Region Four action at Lehi Feb. 6.
Even though Spanish Fork did get close a few times in the contest, the Pioneers never trailed once in it. It opened with Pioneer Kyle Hinton taking the opening tipoff. He passed to Mua Faleao for an inside shot. Two straight Jacob Obioma buckets gave Lehi a 6-0 lead. Travis Still and Breck Lewis trimmed the lead to 6-3, but Obioma produced a three-point play that sent Lehi on a 12-2 scoring run, which ended in the early second period.
Even though the Dons shot better in the second quarter, they could not reduce the point spread to single digits during that period. Obioma dominated inside the key and scored on offensive rebounds. Teammate Willie Walker became hot in the last four minutes of the first half. Walker's scoring gave Lehi leads as wide as 27-13.
Two straight Taylor Jones treys prodded Spanish Fork into marching back within 37-31 in third quarter. Ren Williamsen guided the Don comeback through his foul pitches and inside shots.
As soon as the Dons had charged within 37-31, Walker undermined Spanish Fork's effort by hitting an inside shot. Corey Smith hit a layup, then a foul shot a couple of minutes later to tip the momentum back into Lehi's hands.
Walker became more hot in shooting in the fourth quarter, enabling the Pioneers to maintain a double-digit lead for the rest of the night. Walker became Lehi's top scorer with 19 points while Obioma chipped in another 17. Williamsen led Lehi with 15 points while Jones and Still each contributed seven points.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "We did a better job on running our fastbreaks tonight than we did at their place. We took them out of their game early. We had only one bad possession in the second half. Our guys really stepped it up tonight."
February 7, 2009
Letter from Publisher
For this second test issue, we look at an column about the need for community newspapers to stay truly independent publications. We also present an account of a crucial Region Four boys' basketball game in the race for the league's final available state playoff spot. Let's get to those items.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Publisher's Column
Local Weeklies Must Stay Independent Operations
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weeklies Publisher
When I was in the American Fork Kinko's store Feb. 6, a Lehi man told me that the Provo Daily Herald had decided to quit publishing all of the northern Utah County weeklies that its one-time parent company, Pulitzer Newspapers, had purchased in 2000. The news didn't come as a total shock to me. I knew that once the Daily Herald had dropped the weeklies' sports sections, they themselves would soon be put out of existence.
To my knowledge, none of the reporters still at those newspapers will be laid off. Instead, their stories will appear in the Provo newspaper. That is not much consolation to the citizens who had been longtime loyal subscribers to the northern Utah County weeklies. From talking to them, I have picked up a consensus that they still want to have newspapers that cover only their communities. The latest move by the Daily Herald can only serve to make those residents more unwilling to subscribe to the Provo newspaper and prompt them to become more willing to subscribe to the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News.
The discontinuation of the northern Utah County weeklies is the latest reminder why weekly newspapers must remain independent operations. Once a daily newspaper purchases them, it tends to make them carbon copies of it. That was what happened to the northern Utah County weeklies after Pulitzer bought them.
At first, the Daily Herald let New Utah publisher Brett Bezzant and his Orem-Geneva counterpart Brent Sumner continue running their newspapers the way they had done before the buyouts. However, the Provo newspaper eventually converted both Brett and Brent's newspapers into carbon copies of itself. The Herald also fired both men and went on to make further changes that eventually killed reader interest in northern Utah County's weekly newspapers.
For a weekly newspaper to continue reflecting the personality of the community it serves, it must stay locally owned. As soon as it becomes the property of a nationwide newspaper chain, you can forget about it continuing to reflect the spirit of the community it serves and staying in existence.
This week is not the first time in Utah that weekly newspapers got shut down by daily newspapers that publish them. A longtime ago, a company that owned the St. George Spectrum purchased the Iron County Record and closed it down within a short time.
My advice to publishers of locally owned weeklies is never to sell their publications to owners of daily newspapers. Sell the weeklies instead to other local people experienced in running community newspapers.
Lehi Boys Basketball Team Hammers Spanish Fork
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weeklies Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers improved their chances for a state playoff spot when they won 59-42 over the Spanish Fork Dons in Region Four action at Lehi Feb. 6.
Even though Spanish Fork did get close a few times in the contest, the Pioneers never trailed once in it. It opened with Pioneer Kyle Hinton taking the opening tipoff. He passed to Mua Faleao for an inside shot. Two straight Jacob Obioma buckets gave Lehi a 6-0 lead. Travis Still and Breck Lewis trimmed the lead to 6-3, but Obioma produced a three-point play that sent Lehi on a 12-2 scoring run, which ended in the early second period.
Even though the Dons shot better in the second quarter, they could not reduce the point spread to single digits during that period. Obioma dominated inside the key and scored on offensive rebounds. Teammate Willie Walker became hot in the last four minutes of the first half. Walker's scoring gave Lehi leads as wide as 27-13.
Two straight Taylor Jones treys prodded Spanish Fork into marching back within 37-31 in third quarter. Ren Williamsen guided the Don comeback through his foul pitches and inside shots.
As soon as the Dons had charged within 37-31, Walker undermined Spanish Fork's effort by hitting an inside shot. Corey Smith hit a layup, then a foul shot a couple of minutes later to tip the momentum back into Lehi's hands.
Walker became more hot in shooting in the fourth quarter, enabling the Pioneers to maintain a double-digit lead for the rest of the night. Walker became Lehi's top scorer with 19 points while Obioma chipped in another 17. Williamsen led Lehi with 15 points while Jones and Still each contributed seven points.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "We did a better job on running our fastbreaks tonight than we did at their place. We took them out of their game early. We had only one bad possession in the second half. Our guys really stepped it up tonight."
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Region 4 Championships
Timpanogos News Weekly
Publisher's Letter
This is a test issue of a three weekly newspapers that I plan to set up in northern Utah County. For this issue, stories about local high school swimmers and the Region Four Swim meet at Lehi, Utah, will be published.
I hope you enjoy these stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Contents
1. Editorial
2. Lone Peak Wins Swim Championship
3. Kramer Dahl Profile
4. AF Swimmers Take 2nd at Region 4 Meet
5. Chanel Noot Profile
6. Lehi Swimmers Finish 3rd at Final Region Meet As a 5-A Program
7. Greg Fugal Profile
8. PG Swimmers Finish 4th, 5th at Region 4 Swim Meet
9. Curtis Clayson Profile
1. Editorial
Sports Play Importance in Newspaper Business
At the end of October 2008, the Provo Daily Herald decided to cut the sports sections from its northern Utah County weeklies. In the three months since the implementation of that decision, longtime subscribers of those weekly newspapers have elected not to take them anymore. Lehi High volleyball coach Jamie Ingersoll, for one, said, "I quit my subscription to the Free Press when they did away with the sports section. I'm never going to take that paper again."
It is hard to know how many other northern Utah County residents have been following Mrs. Ingersoll's example. The number of them has been growing since last October, though.
Cancellation of subscriptions has to be expected when a sports section is dropped from a newspaper. Sports news is a big reason many people subscribe to newspapers. When a newspaper publisher cancels a sports section for the sake of saving money, he will quickly lose his base of subscribers. Once the subscriptions start falling, advertisers will take their business to other media businesses like radio and the Internet.
For community newspapers to continue thriving in this currently rough economic time, they must cling to their sports sections. Otherwise, their longtime loyal readers will desert them in droves.
2. Lone Peak Knights Retain Region 4 Swim Crowns
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
The Lone Peak Knights are still the kings and queens of Region Four swimming. At the Region 4 swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, Lone Peak won both the girls and boys championships.
Girls' team scores read Lone Peak 520, American Fork 450, Lehi 284, Spanish Fork 251, and Pleasant Grove 211. On the boys' side, team scores read Lone Peak 503, American Fork 445, Lehi 325, Pleasant Grove 255, and Spanish Fork 204.
"We had a lot of new kids on the team this year, and they did really well," said Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos. "We're going to have a lot more kids going to state this year than we did last year. We're going to have two weeks to prepare for the state meet. The other regions have yet to hold their championship meets."
Lone Peak produced one double winner at the meet. Junior Kim Welch, for example, took first in the girls' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. She said, "Winning the 200 free at this meet qualified me for sectionals six weeks from now. I hope do well enough my500 freestyle, so I can qualify for sectionals in it also."
Welch's qualifying time in the for the USA sectionals in the girls' 200-yard freestyle turned out to be 1:56.08. Welch dropped 13 seconds from her time in the girls' 500-yard freestyle. Her new personal best for that event turned out to be 5:10.05, a new Region Four girls' record.
Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. The Knights also had ffive swimmers each win an event. Hannah Siebach won the girls' 200-yard individual medley, Taryn Toolson the girls' 50-yard freestyle, Catherine Woolston the girls' 100-yard backstroke, and Landon Laycock the boys' 100-yard freestyle.
Woolston said, "This is my first-ever region championship. I was more excited about my time than about winning the championship. I hope to cut my times down in the 1:03's at state."
For Laycock, the win was an awesome way to make up for the last time that he swam in a 100-yard freestyle race at the Legacy Center. A sophomore, he said, "I came in today's race never having won a region championship before. This is really exciting for me. When I was here at a meet on Jan. 21, I took third in the 100 free in a time of 53.73. Today, I won it in a time of 51.42. This is my fastest time in the 100 free so far."
The Knights will be spending the next two weeks getting ready for the state 5-A meet, scheduled to be held at BYU's Richards Building.
3. Dahl Shows Endurance in the Pool
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A Lone Peak senior has demonstrated the importance of enduring during this past swimming season. Kramer Dahl said, "Doing the 200 IM has been a great test for endurance whenever I'm racing it. When I first did it, I usually gave out. With help from teammates, I continued to improve in it. I dropped it by three seconds when I was at a swimming invitational in Bountiful last November."
Asked what other sports he has done for Lone Peak, Dahl said, "Swimming is the only one I have done. I knew it would be harder than other sports. That was why I decided to give it a try. It's not individual sport. It's a team sport. I have no regrets about doing only swimming."
Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos said, "He works really hard at practices and meets. He's always looking for new ways to improve. He always asks questions on how he can do better. Coaches like that kind of swimmer."
"I'm also the editor for The Epic, Lone Peak's yearbook," Dahl said. "I spend at least five hours a week working on it outside the classroom. My work on the yearbook is going to help me when I start studying art design at Utah State. I was accepted there recently by the way. My work on the yearbook has also taught me how to use design programs."
While Dahl waits for his chance to endure the rigors of college life, he will be hoping for a final chance to compete at the state 5-A meet.
4. AF Girls, Boys Finish 2nd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavewomen and Cavemen both finished second at the Region Four swim meet, Jan. 30-31 at Lehi's Legacy Center. The two teams won a total of 10 events to secure the No. 2 spots in both divisions.
American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with the kids showing that they could compete at this meet. They all cut down their times a lot."
Jamie Nebeker, McKay King, and Matt Okleberry emerged as American Fork's three double winner at the meet. Nebeker won the girls' 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle. A sophomore, Nebeker said, "I just relaxed and had fun. I won the 200 IM as a freshman last year."
King won the boys' 50-yard freestyle (21.60) and 100-yard backstroke (53.02). The winning time posted by King for the backstroke snapped now former Lone Peak Knight Chris Eppich's 2006 region record of 56.06.
Okleberry won the boys' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. Okleberry said, "I am now looking at wanting to place in the top three in both the 200 and 500 free races. I'm going to get real good competition from Robby Miner and Cody Reed of Brighton. I have raced against them before, and they're really tough. This will be the third time that I'll be at the state meet."
American Fork won four of the meet's six relays. Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. Acting as a spokesman for the Cavemen's 200-yard freestyle relay team, Kyle Smith said, "This was our best time today. We set a new region record in a time of 1:43.83. We're proud that we all stepped it up today to swim our best."
Caveman T.J. Murphy took first in the boys' 100-yard butterfly, Jamie Nebeker the girls' 100-yard freestyle.
American Fork will be spending the next two weeks preparing for the state 5-A meet at BYU.
5. Chanel Noot Shows Leadership for AF Swimmers
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
Although American Fork senior Chanel Noot did not win any events at the recent Region Four swim meet at Lehi's Legacy Center, her teammates still look up to her.
American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with her leadership in and out of the water. She leads by example."
Noot competes in the individual meets of the girls' 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. At the recent region championships, she took fourth in the butterfly and second in the 200 individual medley. However, she was on the girls' 200-yard medley relay team that won region Jan. 30.
"I've been doing the butterfly for the past two years," Noot said. "Doing it can be quite challenging at Lehi's Legacy Center. The far end of the pool is real slippery. The Jan. 21 meet at here was my most frustrating experience with doing the butterfly. I learned from it, though, how to do better and leave the worst performance behind in the pool."
With her high school swimming career winding down, Noot said, "I'm going to be looking at attending either BYU or Utah."
6. Lehi Girls, Boys Both Finish 3rd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
Although the Lehi Pioneers didn't produce any champions at the Region Four swim meet at their city's Legacy Center's main pool, they still took third in both the girls and boys' divisions.
Junior Dani Vaughn took second in the girls' 100-yard butterfly and ninth in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Madison White took ninth in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Madi Parker finished fourth in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the girls' 100-yard freestyle. In the girls' 100-yard backstroke, McKell Peterson took third, Kelsey Petersen fourth, and Lindsay Smith fifth.
Ryan Doel took fourth in the boys' 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races. Mark Shepherdson took seventh in the boys' 100-yard butterfly. Braedon Hegemann took fifth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle. Greg Fugal took third in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.
Sam Blackburn finished seventh in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. The team of Hegemann, Doel, Blackburn, and Garrett Light took third in the boys' 400-yard freestyle.
Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "All of our kids dropped their times. Since the time they've been 3-A, our kids have been of the mindset to battle, no matter what the classification of their opponents are. They come ready to race."
7. Move-In from Uintah County Proves to Be Valuable to Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A move-in from Uintah County, Greg Fugal has proved to be a valuable asset to the Lehi Pioneers' swim team. Fugal recently took third at the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center.
Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "He moved in here from Uintah. He's a good breaststroker. He won third at last year's state 3-A swim meet."
Fugal said, "Besides the breaststroke, I am on the medley relay team, and I also race the 200 IM. When I'm doing medley relay, I'm either the first or second guy who goes into the water.
"Doing the medley relay gets your heart flowing. The lowest time I have posted in the breaststroke portion of the medley relay has been 30.77 seconds.
"I have learned a lot from the techniques that Coach Meyering has taught me. He is wise."
Fugal said he had recently qualified for the state 5-A meet. He added, "While I have been gaining time this year, swimming has taught me about learning from mistakes."
8. PG Boys Take 4th, PG Girls 5th at Region Four Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
At the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, the Pleasant Grove Vikings took fourth in the boys' division and fifth in the girls'.
Christie Bunnell took second in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Sara Gagon took third in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Sara Dickerson took 10th in the girls' 100-yard backstroke and 12th in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Haley Stewart took ninth in the girls' 100-yard breaststroke.
Nate Fonseca took second in the boys' 100-yard freestyle. Scotty Adams took ninth in the boys' 200-yard freestyle. Kevin Fonseca took eighth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle and 12th in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. Curtis Clayson took 10th in the boys' 50-yard freestyle. Nate Greenwood took seventh in the boys' 100-yard backstroke. Hayden Anderson finished eighth in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.
The team of Adamson, Clayson, Nate Fonseca, and Chris Noot took fourth in the boys' 200-yard medley relay.
Viking Coach Lisa Harris said, "Both the girls and boys' freestyle relay teams have cut their times down much. Sara Gagon posted her best time ever in the 50 free.
"The kids have sacrificed a lot this season by swimming from 8:30 to 9:30 every night this season. We hope their doing that will pay off when we find out which of them have qualified for the state meet."
It will be held at BYU on the second weekend of this February.
9. Clayson Won't Let Anything Intimidate Him in the Swim Race
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A junior on the Pleasant Grove Viking boys' swim team, Curtis Clayson said he has been showing a willingness to learn from his experiences from competing in his heats.
"I never let anything intimidate me," Clayson said. "I want to swim faster and cut down my speed. My fastest time in the 100 free was 54.87 during a dual meet at Lehi last November."
Clayson said he started his swimming career with a Pleasant Grove swim club. "I started competing for them when I was seven. I did all three styles of swimming: breast, butterfly, and freestyle.
"I DQ'd at a meet once when I was a little boy. It was heartbreaking, but I learned a lot from it."
Clayson also swims the 50-yard freestyle, and he is a member of the Viking boys' 200-yard medley relay team.
"All the kids on the team love him," said Viking Coach Lisa Harris. "He has a lot of potential."
Publisher's Letter
This is a test issue of a three weekly newspapers that I plan to set up in northern Utah County. For this issue, stories about local high school swimmers and the Region Four Swim meet at Lehi, Utah, will be published.
I hope you enjoy these stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Contents
1. Editorial
2. Lone Peak Wins Swim Championship
3. Kramer Dahl Profile
4. AF Swimmers Take 2nd at Region 4 Meet
5. Chanel Noot Profile
6. Lehi Swimmers Finish 3rd at Final Region Meet As a 5-A Program
7. Greg Fugal Profile
8. PG Swimmers Finish 4th, 5th at Region 4 Swim Meet
9. Curtis Clayson Profile
1. Editorial
Sports Play Importance in Newspaper Business
At the end of October 2008, the Provo Daily Herald decided to cut the sports sections from its northern Utah County weeklies. In the three months since the implementation of that decision, longtime subscribers of those weekly newspapers have elected not to take them anymore. Lehi High volleyball coach Jamie Ingersoll, for one, said, "I quit my subscription to the Free Press when they did away with the sports section. I'm never going to take that paper again."
It is hard to know how many other northern Utah County residents have been following Mrs. Ingersoll's example. The number of them has been growing since last October, though.
Cancellation of subscriptions has to be expected when a sports section is dropped from a newspaper. Sports news is a big reason many people subscribe to newspapers. When a newspaper publisher cancels a sports section for the sake of saving money, he will quickly lose his base of subscribers. Once the subscriptions start falling, advertisers will take their business to other media businesses like radio and the Internet.
For community newspapers to continue thriving in this currently rough economic time, they must cling to their sports sections. Otherwise, their longtime loyal readers will desert them in droves.
2. Lone Peak Knights Retain Region 4 Swim Crowns
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
The Lone Peak Knights are still the kings and queens of Region Four swimming. At the Region 4 swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, Lone Peak won both the girls and boys championships.
Girls' team scores read Lone Peak 520, American Fork 450, Lehi 284, Spanish Fork 251, and Pleasant Grove 211. On the boys' side, team scores read Lone Peak 503, American Fork 445, Lehi 325, Pleasant Grove 255, and Spanish Fork 204.
"We had a lot of new kids on the team this year, and they did really well," said Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos. "We're going to have a lot more kids going to state this year than we did last year. We're going to have two weeks to prepare for the state meet. The other regions have yet to hold their championship meets."
Lone Peak produced one double winner at the meet. Junior Kim Welch, for example, took first in the girls' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. She said, "Winning the 200 free at this meet qualified me for sectionals six weeks from now. I hope do well enough my500 freestyle, so I can qualify for sectionals in it also."
Welch's qualifying time in the for the USA sectionals in the girls' 200-yard freestyle turned out to be 1:56.08. Welch dropped 13 seconds from her time in the girls' 500-yard freestyle. Her new personal best for that event turned out to be 5:10.05, a new Region Four girls' record.
Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. The Knights also had ffive swimmers each win an event. Hannah Siebach won the girls' 200-yard individual medley, Taryn Toolson the girls' 50-yard freestyle, Catherine Woolston the girls' 100-yard backstroke, and Landon Laycock the boys' 100-yard freestyle.
Woolston said, "This is my first-ever region championship. I was more excited about my time than about winning the championship. I hope to cut my times down in the 1:03's at state."
For Laycock, the win was an awesome way to make up for the last time that he swam in a 100-yard freestyle race at the Legacy Center. A sophomore, he said, "I came in today's race never having won a region championship before. This is really exciting for me. When I was here at a meet on Jan. 21, I took third in the 100 free in a time of 53.73. Today, I won it in a time of 51.42. This is my fastest time in the 100 free so far."
The Knights will be spending the next two weeks getting ready for the state 5-A meet, scheduled to be held at BYU's Richards Building.
3. Dahl Shows Endurance in the Pool
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A Lone Peak senior has demonstrated the importance of enduring during this past swimming season. Kramer Dahl said, "Doing the 200 IM has been a great test for endurance whenever I'm racing it. When I first did it, I usually gave out. With help from teammates, I continued to improve in it. I dropped it by three seconds when I was at a swimming invitational in Bountiful last November."
Asked what other sports he has done for Lone Peak, Dahl said, "Swimming is the only one I have done. I knew it would be harder than other sports. That was why I decided to give it a try. It's not individual sport. It's a team sport. I have no regrets about doing only swimming."
Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos said, "He works really hard at practices and meets. He's always looking for new ways to improve. He always asks questions on how he can do better. Coaches like that kind of swimmer."
"I'm also the editor for The Epic, Lone Peak's yearbook," Dahl said. "I spend at least five hours a week working on it outside the classroom. My work on the yearbook is going to help me when I start studying art design at Utah State. I was accepted there recently by the way. My work on the yearbook has also taught me how to use design programs."
While Dahl waits for his chance to endure the rigors of college life, he will be hoping for a final chance to compete at the state 5-A meet.
4. AF Girls, Boys Finish 2nd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
The American Fork Cavewomen and Cavemen both finished second at the Region Four swim meet, Jan. 30-31 at Lehi's Legacy Center. The two teams won a total of 10 events to secure the No. 2 spots in both divisions.
American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with the kids showing that they could compete at this meet. They all cut down their times a lot."
Jamie Nebeker, McKay King, and Matt Okleberry emerged as American Fork's three double winner at the meet. Nebeker won the girls' 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle. A sophomore, Nebeker said, "I just relaxed and had fun. I won the 200 IM as a freshman last year."
King won the boys' 50-yard freestyle (21.60) and 100-yard backstroke (53.02). The winning time posted by King for the backstroke snapped now former Lone Peak Knight Chris Eppich's 2006 region record of 56.06.
Okleberry won the boys' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. Okleberry said, "I am now looking at wanting to place in the top three in both the 200 and 500 free races. I'm going to get real good competition from Robby Miner and Cody Reed of Brighton. I have raced against them before, and they're really tough. This will be the third time that I'll be at the state meet."
American Fork won four of the meet's six relays. Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. Acting as a spokesman for the Cavemen's 200-yard freestyle relay team, Kyle Smith said, "This was our best time today. We set a new region record in a time of 1:43.83. We're proud that we all stepped it up today to swim our best."
Caveman T.J. Murphy took first in the boys' 100-yard butterfly, Jamie Nebeker the girls' 100-yard freestyle.
American Fork will be spending the next two weeks preparing for the state 5-A meet at BYU.
5. Chanel Noot Shows Leadership for AF Swimmers
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
Although American Fork senior Chanel Noot did not win any events at the recent Region Four swim meet at Lehi's Legacy Center, her teammates still look up to her.
American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with her leadership in and out of the water. She leads by example."
Noot competes in the individual meets of the girls' 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. At the recent region championships, she took fourth in the butterfly and second in the 200 individual medley. However, she was on the girls' 200-yard medley relay team that won region Jan. 30.
"I've been doing the butterfly for the past two years," Noot said. "Doing it can be quite challenging at Lehi's Legacy Center. The far end of the pool is real slippery. The Jan. 21 meet at here was my most frustrating experience with doing the butterfly. I learned from it, though, how to do better and leave the worst performance behind in the pool."
With her high school swimming career winding down, Noot said, "I'm going to be looking at attending either BYU or Utah."
6. Lehi Girls, Boys Both Finish 3rd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
Although the Lehi Pioneers didn't produce any champions at the Region Four swim meet at their city's Legacy Center's main pool, they still took third in both the girls and boys' divisions.
Junior Dani Vaughn took second in the girls' 100-yard butterfly and ninth in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Madison White took ninth in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Madi Parker finished fourth in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the girls' 100-yard freestyle. In the girls' 100-yard backstroke, McKell Peterson took third, Kelsey Petersen fourth, and Lindsay Smith fifth.
Ryan Doel took fourth in the boys' 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races. Mark Shepherdson took seventh in the boys' 100-yard butterfly. Braedon Hegemann took fifth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle. Greg Fugal took third in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.
Sam Blackburn finished seventh in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. The team of Hegemann, Doel, Blackburn, and Garrett Light took third in the boys' 400-yard freestyle.
Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "All of our kids dropped their times. Since the time they've been 3-A, our kids have been of the mindset to battle, no matter what the classification of their opponents are. They come ready to race."
7. Move-In from Uintah County Proves to Be Valuable to Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A move-in from Uintah County, Greg Fugal has proved to be a valuable asset to the Lehi Pioneers' swim team. Fugal recently took third at the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center.
Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "He moved in here from Uintah. He's a good breaststroker. He won third at last year's state 3-A swim meet."
Fugal said, "Besides the breaststroke, I am on the medley relay team, and I also race the 200 IM. When I'm doing medley relay, I'm either the first or second guy who goes into the water.
"Doing the medley relay gets your heart flowing. The lowest time I have posted in the breaststroke portion of the medley relay has been 30.77 seconds.
"I have learned a lot from the techniques that Coach Meyering has taught me. He is wise."
Fugal said he had recently qualified for the state 5-A meet. He added, "While I have been gaining time this year, swimming has taught me about learning from mistakes."
8. PG Boys Take 4th, PG Girls 5th at Region Four Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
At the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, the Pleasant Grove Vikings took fourth in the boys' division and fifth in the girls'.
Christie Bunnell took second in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Sara Gagon took third in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Sara Dickerson took 10th in the girls' 100-yard backstroke and 12th in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Haley Stewart took ninth in the girls' 100-yard breaststroke.
Nate Fonseca took second in the boys' 100-yard freestyle. Scotty Adams took ninth in the boys' 200-yard freestyle. Kevin Fonseca took eighth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle and 12th in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. Curtis Clayson took 10th in the boys' 50-yard freestyle. Nate Greenwood took seventh in the boys' 100-yard backstroke. Hayden Anderson finished eighth in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.
The team of Adamson, Clayson, Nate Fonseca, and Chris Noot took fourth in the boys' 200-yard medley relay.
Viking Coach Lisa Harris said, "Both the girls and boys' freestyle relay teams have cut their times down much. Sara Gagon posted her best time ever in the 50 free.
"The kids have sacrificed a lot this season by swimming from 8:30 to 9:30 every night this season. We hope their doing that will pay off when we find out which of them have qualified for the state meet."
It will be held at BYU on the second weekend of this February.
9. Clayson Won't Let Anything Intimidate Him in the Swim Race
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher
A junior on the Pleasant Grove Viking boys' swim team, Curtis Clayson said he has been showing a willingness to learn from his experiences from competing in his heats.
"I never let anything intimidate me," Clayson said. "I want to swim faster and cut down my speed. My fastest time in the 100 free was 54.87 during a dual meet at Lehi last November."
Clayson said he started his swimming career with a Pleasant Grove swim club. "I started competing for them when I was seven. I did all three styles of swimming: breast, butterfly, and freestyle.
"I DQ'd at a meet once when I was a little boy. It was heartbreaking, but I learned a lot from it."
Clayson also swims the 50-yard freestyle, and he is a member of the Viking boys' 200-yard medley relay team.
"All the kids on the team love him," said Viking Coach Lisa Harris. "He has a lot of potential."
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