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Show 8 &&JIMPA'NOGO.S TIMES November 10,2010 - 1 PG Lady Spikers Finish Second at State 5A Championships ' r 'j A . ' ill i I' ; ... .... , ; The Lady Vikings Volleyball Team defended their state title well, only drop-ping the final match against rival Lone Peak High, to finish second at the UHSAA State 5A Tournament at UVU. Photo courtesy or PicMyKid.com by Dean Von Memmott The Pleasant Grove Vikings finished their volleyball season with a second place finish at the State 5A tournament, held at Utah Valley University's McKay Events Center Nov. 5 and 6. That was not bad, considering that Pleasant Grove had sent to this year's tournament a really young team. Nevertheless, it still did well in defending its crown clear to the championship match against arch rival Lone Peak. The match up between the . Lone Peak Knights and Pleasant Grove was a continuation of a tradition that had started shortly after 2000. That tradition was that of the Knights and Vikings facing off for the state championship practically every year. The two schools had begun that tradition back in their 4A days. In their battle for the state 2009 title, Pleasant Grove defeated the Knights. This year, Pleasant Grove was not even expected to reach the championship final because so many souls were counting on Bingham to contest the Knights for the championship trophy. After the Vikings had brushed aside the Miners in last Saturday afternoon's semifinals in five games, Pleasant Grove Vikings shouted, "We want Lone Peak!" Having bested the Davis Darts in a three-gam- e semifinal, the Knights were itching for their fourth meeting with Pleasant Grove this season. The championship match opened with Viking Anna Jenkinson delivering a kill. Pleasant Grove's control of Game 1 didn't last long. The combined hitting of Whitney Johnson, Anna Hubert and Ashlan Rogers enabled Lone Peak to build up a 15-- 5 lead in a hurry. Kim Dahl led a Viking effort at wiping away the Knights' double-dig- it lead. However, Pleasant Grove couldn't get any closer than 24-1- 5, because of Whitney Johnson's blocking and hitting. The Vikings served Lone Peak a reminder in the second game that they weren't going to be toast in three games like Davis turned out to be in the semifinals. Even though the game opened with Lone Peak's Kix Adolfo registering a kill, Dahl, Audrey Biggs, and Sydney Johnson orchestrated an effort that gave Pleasant Grove a 4--1 lead. With Dahl as their main muscle, the Vikings stayed ahead all throughout the second game. Lone Peak Coach Deanna Meyer admitted, "We have a lot of respect for Kim Dahl. It was hard for us to guard against her." Another thing that hurt Lone Peak in the second was serving. Meyer said, "We couldn't get our serves in." A string of missed Lone Peak serves gave the Vikings the momentum to win the second game 25-1- 6. Its outcome left fans wondering whether it would take four or five games to decide which school, would take home the 2010 state championship trophy. Through Hubert's serving, a Whitney Johnson kill sent the Knights charging out to a 5-- 1 lead. At the net, Whitney Johnson and Hayley Huntsman held their own against Dahl and teammate, Delay ne Daniel, at the net, permitting the Knights to build up an 8-- 3 advantage. Pleasant Grove refused to let Lone Peak pull away easily this time. Through MaKall Hymas' serving, the Vikings battled back within 17-1- 5 on hits from Biggs, Daniel, and Dahl. A Viking hitting error permitted the Knights to keep Pleasant Grove from catching up with them. A Viking service error gave Lone Peak 25-1- 9 win. The fourth game unfolded as a seesaw battle. The two teams battled to a 15-1- 5 draw. Lone Peak broke that tie on a Rogers kill, and the Knights fought tenaciously to stay narrowly ahead throughout the rest of the game. With assistance from Sydney Johnson and Le'o Fotu, Dahl kept Pleasant Grove's championship hopes alive. However, after a Dahl kill had disabled one Knight block, Lone Peak put up another block that ended the match. Asked what she appreciated about this past season, Dahl answered, "My team. They were absolutely awesome." She led Pleasant Grove with 22 kills while Daniel added nine and Jenkinson eight. Pleasant Grove had opened the state tournament through defeating the Fremont Silver Wolves by scores of 22-2- 5 , 15-1- 0. Fremont's answer to Dahl, Bailey Bateman proved to be an equal match to her and Daniel in all five games of the match. Bateman's hitting enabled the Silverwolves to give Pleasant Grove its closest contest in two weeks. After Pleasant Grove had secured a 2-- 0 lead on a Dahl kill and a Hymas ace in the first game, Bateman's hitting gave the Silverwolves the momentum to take an 8-- 6 lead. The game turned into a seesaw fight. A Bateman block of a Dahl kill gave the Silverwolves a 25-2- 2 win. Paced by Jenkinson 's hitting, the Vikings wiped away an early 2-- 0 lead posted by Fremont in the second game. Through Karen Lloyd's serving, Pleasant Grove secured an 11-- 3 lead. Even though Bateman and Stephanie Harris led a strong Fremont comeback, the Vikings still triumphed 25-1- 8. The Vikings also took the third game by a score of 25-1- 8 despite Harris' serving giving Fremont a 3-- 1 lead. The fourth game was a seesaw fight clear to the final serve when the Silverwolves won on a Viking hitting error. In the fifth game, the two teams battled to an 8-- 8 draw. A Jenkinson kill tipped the Vikings ahead, and a Lloyd ace gave Pleasant Grove a 15-1- 0 win. After defeating Cottonwood in three games by scores of 25-1- 1, 25-2- 3, 25-1- 4 during action in the quarterfinals, the Vikings collided with the Bingham Miners in a five-gam- e match during last Saturday afternoon's semifinals. Led by Danika Youngblood and Jessica Thompson, the Miners made short work of the Vikings in the first game by a score of 25-1- 3. In the second game, Jenkinson, Dahl, Fotu, and Daniel combined their hitting together to give Pleasant Grove a 25-2- 0 win. When Bingham won the third game 25-2- 0, the Miners appeared destined to appear in the championship match. However, in the fourth game, Dahl held her own against Thompson and Youngblood, enabling Pleasant Grove to win 25-1- 9. In the fifth game, Pleasant Grove took control early, and a Dahl kill gave the Vikings a match point. Of how Pleasant Grove did in the Fremont and Bingham ' matches, Viking Coach Jamie Schapper said, "My girls are fighters. After they lose a first game, they come back strong in the second game. Our girls relied on a lot of heart to get past the schools that they had played so far in the tournament." Austin Heder Racks Up Over 100 Tackles This Year ; yiir-T- EWS ;. s .i i h . , -- i4'i'i,'v Austin Heder will continue his education and football career at Brigham Young University next year. Photo courtesy ofPicMyKid.com by Danica Baird While the high school football season has drawn to a close, it is just the beginning for BYU-boun- d Austin Heder. Next year Heder will play middle linebacker dressed in Cougar blue. For Austin, this excitement started the summer prior to his junior year. While Austin was attending a BYU sports camp, a coach approached him and said Coach Mendenhall wanted to meet with him and his parents in an hour. Since Austin's dad was out of town on a Boy Scout camp, Austin and his mother met with Coach Mendenhall. At that time Austin was offered a full scholarship to play for the BYU Cougars. Austin said, "1 was shocked. I was only a junior and I was coming off a broken arm with four plates and twelve screws. I couldn't believe it." Austin wanted his dad to be with him when he committed, and so he waited until his dad had returned before verbally committing to play for BYU. Austin and his dad had always dreamed of him playing for BYU, and on that day their dream became one step closer to reality. A year and a half later, Austin's high school football career at Pleasant Grove has come to an end. This past season Heder served as captain of the team and played both middle linebacker and running back. During this past season, Austin has been a defensive force providing over 100 tackles. Austin said, "It's always been a goal set at the beginning of the season. It's a fun number to look at, but I'm just happy to help the team." His highlight of the season was beating Alta. Growing up, he watched Alta dominate in sports. They always seemed more than high school athletes to him. Actually beating them during this season was an incredible experience for Heder. For Austin, serving as captain was both an honor and a humbling responsibility. He said, "It was great to be in a position to be a positive influence for the younger classmen. It's important that a captain be able to interact with the players, befriend them on and off the field, and be an example of a good student and a good person. I've tried to live up to that image." in Jason West said, "He's a great leader on and off the field. He leads by example and knows how to get the team motivated." Austin has always been a studious student and planned on getting an academic scholarship all of his life. He said, "Maintaining straight A's has been tough and it definitely required a lot of hard work, balancing of my time, and prioritizing my life. It can be busy, but is can and has been very fulfilling." Austin has received offers from other colleges, but has his heart set on playing for BYU. He looks forward to signing day where he can officially commit to play for the Cougars. Austin plans on finishing his pre-me-at BYU before going on to medical school. Austin's high school career has finished and he looks forward to starting the next phase in his life as a BYU Cougar dressed in blue. Cedar Hills Offers Ski Bus Skiers from neighboring cities are welcome to join at no additional cost. Due to a waiver that must be signed by a parent or guardian, registration is available at the Cedar Hills main office only. v J Cedar Hills City is ex-cited to offer a chartered ski bus to Snowbird again this year for kids ages 7 to 17. The program includes three sessions January 8, 15 and 22, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., including travel, adult-supervis-transportation to and from the resort, and skill ap-propriate ski or board lessons each week with free ski time, all for only $179 per child. Children already regis-tered in Jr. Jazz will be given a discount voucher for the ski bus, if the ski dates conflict with their basketball games. On Wednesday, November 17, at 4 p.m., parents and ski-ers are invited to attend an information meeting at the city offices with the head of the ski school to answer questions and receive more information. 77!is year Cedar Hills City will offer a chartered ski bus to Snowbird for kids ages 7 to 17. StudiO LUSh &etmt cmuwe 25 W. Center St. 2 l i Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 I 801.717.8687 www.studiolush.com '. " -- - .... - M '.'- - ' j:--i-'- ?',' i , ' ' , V ' ' ' .' 10 off Any Sitting We are located in Beautilil Historic DownTown Pleasant Grove i . 3 V L ' ' . . i '" V: .V - ... r-- x ' ' : 'N. ' ' Y3 v -- il:- ' r ? T - - r Y. -- - i ; . - ; ; r' , ..... .4- . iki - ' - &-s- in i. .in m. |