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Show SPANISH FORK WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009 • A l l Covering what matters most Salem's Brockbank signs with NMHU Alexa Johnson STAFF W R I T E R Barry Dalton / Spanish Fork News JUMP SHOT: Spanish Fork's Breck Lewis goes for two over a Timpanogos opponent. Dons lose heartbreaker Chad Vest STAFF WRITER The Mighty Dons battled Timpanogos last Wednesday night inside the Don Dome. After the first two minutes of play, it appeared that SF would be in control all throughout as they jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. But the T-Wolves coach used a timeout which inspired his squad to match the home team's intensity. A 15-2 run by the visitors stole the momentum back and from there, the Dons were in catch-up mode for the rest of the night. Spanish relied on junior wingman Gavin Hales who kept his team in the contest with 17 first half points but each time the red and gray got close, their opponent made big shots to maintain the lead. In the final minutes, junior Adam Duke nailed two huge freebies to knot the score at 59, but the TWolves answered with a 7-2 run to distance itself for the win by the score of 66-61. Spanish came out firing on all cylinders to start the game. Good Defense: check. Nice ball movement: check. Good shot selection: check. The Dons were swarming to the ball and crashing the boards with authority. But a T-Wolves timeout was taken with six minutes left in the first and their team responded. They forced a few turnovers and went on a 15-2 run which resulted from a couple of long balls and efficient post play by their big man to go up 19-10 to end the first. In the second, both teams traded baskets and the Dons came back re-focused. A monster first half by sharp shooter Gavin Hales allowed SF to remain within striking distance. Hales had a career first half accounting for 17 of his team's 29 points. He was money in the bank as almost every shot found the bottom of the net. But Timpanogos still led 34-29 at the break. Breck Lewis played like his fiery competitive self as did Taylor Jones. The Dons had climbed to within four at the end of the third with great hustle play from each player. Chase Loftin and Travis Still used good strength to battle Andrew Eide and Joe Kruger who were three and five inches taller than both respectively. But those two Dons still combined for 12 boards. Jones pulled down some big boards in the early going and hit some nice set shots inside the arc to keep it competitive. Unfortunately, his aggressiveness forced him to foul out and the deadly three-point shooter had to watch most of the fourth quarter from the bench. Timpanogos hoped to run away with this one but the never-say-die Dons kept fighting. Trailing 59-57, Coach Bailey called timeout to help his squad find a high percentage shot. Duke was then fouled and sunk both charities which gave SF new life. However, the T-Wolves went on a 5-0 run with quick lay-ups to silence the home crowd. With under a minute to play, Ren Williamsen drove the lane for an impressive lay-in to get within three but Timpanogos knocked down some big charities to seal the deal. SF had two players in double figures. Hales led the way with 23, Williamsen finished with 11 while Lewis (6 boards) and Jones (4 boards) had eight a piece. SFHS, SHHS wrestlers compete at state tourney Namon Bills EDITOR State wrestling tournaments for 1A-5A were held at UVU Feb. 11-14. Spanish Fork and Salem Hills both had nine wrestlers in state competition, but the quarterfinals proved to be the stopping point this year for both teams. Salem advanced three wrestlers to the quarters and SF advanced four. At 152 lbs., Spanish Fork's Hadley Thorpe was the top finisher for the Dons, coming in at third. Thorpe lost 16-11 in the quarterfinals to Viewmont's Mitch Rasmussen, but came back to pin Bingham's Travis McRae in 3:46 to win the consolation round. Region champs Kaleb Ash worth, Tom Clark and Eric Kitchen also lost in the quarterfinals. Ashworth was pinned by the eventual state champ and finished fourth after a 5-4 loss to Weber's Cody Van Buren. Clark lost to Viewmont's Dceru Abe in the quarterfinals and finished fifth. Kitchen scored falls in the first two rounds — the first one in just 48 seconds — but was defeated by eventual state champ Thomas Bryson of Layton in the quarterfinals. Kitchen also finished fourth. y Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News TOP DON: Hadley Thorpe was Spanish Fork's top finisher. He placed third at 152 lbs. At 103 lbs. Mitch Kay lost in the first round, but fought his way back through the consolation bracket to take sixth. In 3A competition, Salem Hills' Phillip Sorensen was the top Skyhawk finisher, at fourth place at 189 lbs, losing 5-3 to Cedar's Kevin King at the top of the consolation bracket. Spencer Davis at 103 lbs. finished fourth in region, but made his way to the quarterfinals, where he lost a close match to Logan's Flynt Keckler, 2 - 1 . Alex Gibb at 140 lbs. also advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Delta's Jusin Penn 18-3. Both Davis and Gibb finished fifth. While the 4A team finals came down to a nail-biter, with Payson taking the upset victory over defending champ Mountain Crest by a mere 1.5 points, the 3A and 5A winners were a foregone conclusion heading into the championship round. Powerhouses Viewmont (5A) and Delta (3A) walked away with undisputed victories. Spanish Fork finished ninth overall in 5A team standings, and in 3A Salem Hills finished 11th. Salem Hills senior Storie Brockbank has been playing soccer since she was six years old, and on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009 her years of hard work paid off. After being offered a full-ride scholarship, she signed a contract to play soccer for the New Mexico Highlands University. Coach Justin Wagner made the offer after having seen Storie at his soccer camps for the past five years, and after hearing of her achievements. Storie has been a varsity starter since her freshman year of high school, and has lettered in soccer every one of those years. During her sophomore year she was voted, "Most Intense Player." During her junior year she was voted, "Most Aggressive," and her team had an undefeated season taking first place. She was named the MVP with 10 goals and 13 assists. Her senior year she became varsity team captain, was awarded the "Spirit of the Skyhawk" award, the "Pursuing Victory with Honor" award and the "Varsity Golden Boot" award for a game of 9 goals and 3 assists. She was voted, "The Intimidator" by her fellow teammates, and she had the first hat-trick in Salem Hills History, which means she scored 3 consecutive goals in one game. She Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News COLLEGE-BOUND: Salem Hills' Storie Brockbank recently signed with New Mexico Highlands University. also cracked her shin, but kept playing on it anyway. Of course, wanting to originally attend BYU, this was a tough decision for Storie to make. She had to choose between going to BYU and not starting soccer, or going to New Mexico, where she had not originally planned and starting soccer. The plan she ended up deciding on is one that will hopefully benefit her in both ways. She wants to attend the New Mexico Highlands University for one year, and then she hopes to go to BYU-Hawaii. "Soccer is like my passion. I've played since I was little. It's just what I like to do," she said. Although Storie plans to go quite far in soccer, she also has other plans. She wants to become a nurse or a marine biologist and is, right now, attending MATC and interning in the ER at Mountain View Hospital in Payson. "I love the ER!" she said, "It's exciting." At Salem Hills she is H.O.S A Vice President, and is part of the National Honors Society. She loves to sing, play the violin and piano, and loves to do anything outdoors. Storie leaves for Las Vegas, N.M. on Aug.7 and is nervous, but looking forward to playing soccer for NMHU. SF swimmer honored Jesse Galovich received the UHSAA Academic All-State Swimming Team award at the state swimming competition held at BYU Feb. 14. He is the son of Tom and Jan Galovich of Spanish Fork. Galovich wishes he could have been born in a place where there was better access to the water. "I am at home in the water; that is where I belong," he wrote. Galovich has been swimming ever since he could walk. He has swam with the community swimming program, the UV Rays, and is currently swimming with the Spanish High School swim team. This is his third year swimming for SFHS. He has excelled over the years, receiving many awards for his accomplishments. He has also taught swim lessons for two years and will be at the pool this summer teaching again. Galovich's favorite stroke is the backstroke. Mike Olsen / Spanish Fork News EXTRA MILE: Jesse Galovich receives the Academic AllState award for going the extra mile in the pool and in class. He was part of the medley relay team that took third this year in region. He swam the 100 backstroke and the 200 medley relay at the state competition. Galovich is a senior this year and has kept his 4.0 GPA all through his school years. He enjoys science, math and music. After he graduates and serves a mission, he hopes to continue with swimming as he furthers his education. He wants to thank all of his coaches for all there time and effort in his behalf. SAM'S PREP OF THE WEEK Jesse Roberts * Sophomore • Swimming Jesse Roberts is the son of Rick and Teresa Roberts of Spanish Fork. The young swimmer gained attention last year as a freshman and has continued to make is presence known as a sophomore. Roberts swims the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 breast stroke. At the Region 4 meet, he shattered the old region record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.06. Roberts took sixth in both events at state, Feb. 13-14 at BYU. the Oil Change 552 N. Main • 798-7877 \ |