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Show S ports ^presentedby Covering what matters most BARBER WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008 • B l Lady Dons dominate at BYU Namon Bills EDITOR Spanish Fork's boys and girls track teams traveled to Provo for the BYU Invitational Saturday, May 3. The girls team won handily with 89 points, almost doubling second-place Riverton's score of 48. The boys finished a respectable ninth in a field of 41 teams in the 3A-5A invitational. Headlining the event were Spanish Fork's Natalie and Nachelle Stewart. There were high expectations for the twins coming into the meet, and they did not disappoint. Natalie won the 100m in a time of 12 seconds flat and set an invitational record in the 200m with a time of 24.61. Nachelle was right on her tail in the 200m finishing at 25.22. Natalie's dramatic 400m run ended with her collapsing at the finish line. Her allout effort of 53.39 seconds earned her a new state record, and was the best time in the nation for the girls 400m so far this year. Nachelle finished second at 55.06. Nachelle left the pack far behind in the 800m, coming in with the second-fastest time in the nation this year and a new state record at 2:08.48. Kelli Roach placed second in the javelin with a throw of 118'6'\ Distance specialist Kirsten Sly finished fourth in the 3200m and sixth in the 1600m and Mallory Denning took seventh in the high jump with 5?02*\ Liz Meinharl leaped 16*7.25" to finish seventh in the long jump. Sonja Ponis, Natasha Sanborn and Leah Walters also turned in solid performances for Spanish Fork. On the boys' end. Spencer Fausett led the Dons with a first-place throw of 185'05" in the javelin. Mitch McMullin came in 11 th in the javelin with 151' 10". The boys' 1600m sprint medley team — composed of ••«•••• Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News See TRACK • B2 STRIVING: Natalie Stewart pushes toward the finish line as the anchor in the 3A-5A girls 4xl00m relay event. Dons can still win region after split with Lone Peak John Jackson STAFF WRITER The Dons are still in control of their own destiny after splitting a two game series with the Lone Peak Knights. If the Dons can sweep their final region opponent they can finish no worse than in a tie for the region title. If the Dons can win at least one game, they will clinch the second seed in region four. By clinching the number two seed it would ensure that they Dons would open the state tournament on their home field. The Dons wrap up region play with a two game series against a very good Timpanogos team. Mean- while, Lone Peak, the team the Dons are tied with atop the region standings, play a series against a scrappy Pleasant Grove team, after these two series wrap up the state tournament picture will begin to take form. Lone Peak 9 SF 1 (at SF) It was cold and windy, but that is not what cost the Dons this game. Somehow Lone Peak pitcher Daniel Sechrest got most of the Dons hitters to hit it right at his fielders. The Dons could muster only three hits off of the tall lanky pitcher, but it was not like he was throwing it by them either. Only four Dons struck out, but it seemed like each time they made contact it was right at a Lone Peak fielder. The struggles for the Dons came from an unlikely source - on the pitchers mound. "We Hat just didn't play well," said Coach Shoe. "Our pitching really struggled, giving up 15 hits, and we complimented that with 4-5 errors." Shoe went on to say. "We hit the ball hard, and in fairness to our pitchers many o\' their hits were just out oi the reach of our fielders." Sophomore Adam Duke got the start and went 3.2 innings giving up 10 hits and See BASEBALL • B12 Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News USING YOUR HEAD: Lindsey Healey slides into second against AF. Her head knocked the ball out of the second baseman's mitt, and she was called safe. SF defeats Lady Cavemen Brent Thurgood STAFF WRITER The Lady Dons softball team looked to guarantee themselves at least a share of the Region 4 title with a win over American Fork Tuesday at the Sports Park. On paper it looked obvious that Spanish Fork would come away with a win as they two teams were on opposite ends of the region standings. American Fork came out ready to play as they picked up two hits in the top of the first. The Cavemen threat ended however as both runners failed to score due to poor base running and good Spanish Fork defense. The Dons picked both runners off base on subsequent plays as second basemen Ashley Chappel threw out a runner attempting to advance to third, and another runner i - was thrown out attempting to steal second. The Dons picked up two runs in the bottom of the first to grab a 2-0 lead on doubles by Tina Ferguson and Katelyn Elliot. Spanish Fork held the Cavemen scoreless in the top of the second despite allowing two more runners to reach base. American Fork held the Dons scoreless in the bottom of the second, something they had not been able to do in any other inning against the Dons this season. Heading into the bottom of the third the score remained 2-0 and American Fork seemed to be gaining momentum and confidence. Whitney Holm changed both in the Dons favor with a single swing as she launched three home runs to push the Dons lead to five. Spanish Fork scored two more runs in the inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead. The Dons picked up six more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a double by Katlclyn Elliot, her second of the game, and a two RBI single by senior Lindsee Thurgood. Spanish Fork picked up 11 hits in the game, only four more than the Cavemen. Strong Spanish Fork defense and timely pitching however kept the Cavemen off the score board. Cami Robinson pitched three scoreless innings to pick up the win before giving way to Holm who pitched the final two innings. The "mercy-rule" shortened game was the Dons' tenth of the season. Spanish Fork needs only one win in their next two games to bring home the region title and secure a top seat in the state tournament. 0 Andrew Wilson / Spanish Fork News BASE HIT: Taggart Lunceford reacts after getting a hit against Lone Peak. |