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Show I 8m 6A Thursday December 19, 2002 East Carbon girls split games to open regular season The East Carbon Lady Viking basketball team is off and running for the Region 18 regular season schedule with a win over one opponent and a loss to an21-1- 3 Dim By KAREN BASSO Sports writer After watching most of the National Finals Rodeo last week, I came to the conclusion that this is the best championshqreventinallof ' sports. For those who do not follow rodeo, let me fill you in ui how the finals won. punts. The team now has a game After nearly a year of competing in rodeos across the nation, cowboys and cowgirls are invited to participate in the grand daddy1 of rodeos, the National Fi- against Meridian tonight (Thursday) at home. The Lady Mongooses have had a bad reputation over the past three seasons only winning one game and setting a state record for the number of consecutive losses by a girls basketball team. But this season is different. While not big winners they are 2-- nals. Only the top athletes in the sport are invited to participate in the event This is determined by their total payoff from the year. It boils down to the best riders and ropers in each event compete. The select few. The 3, beating Christian Heritage School a couple of weeks ago 4 1 -- 31, their first win since the middle of last season and then just a few days ago beating Wasatch Academy 36-2Then the team takes some time off for the holidays before traveling to Thbiona on January 7 for a rematch with a team they lost to at home earlier this season in a nonleague game. who had the majority of the 13. ' Tuesday's game was a much higher scoring affair. It started out with both teams playing fairly even for the whole quarter with Tintic able to etch out a two point lead at the end of the pe- riod Spiris 41-2- 1. other. With a low scoring 9 win over Wcndover last Friday night they finally got themselves into the winning column, and having it happen on their first game past the preseason was a good sign. However, then they went to Eureka to face the Lady Miners score Tintic and fell by a 57-4on Tuesday evening. The girls from ECH overwhelmed the Lady Wildcats in the first quarter of the game in the border town, and really just coasted the rest of the way. At the end of the period they had 'scored nine points while the opposition had only recorded two. The team held a lead all through 'the game, but Wendover was able to come back at the end and piake it game, although it was one they would ultimately lose. The leading scorer for East ; Carbon was Brittnie Leonard teams points with He However, it seems when disaster hits, it hits big. The Eureka kids jumped all over it in the second period, with Emily Carter leading the way and they went into the locker room with a 20 point lead, East Carbon was able to come back in a fashion in the third quarter, holding the Lady Wildcats to only eight points while scoring 14 themselves, but they couldnt continue the domination or increase it in the fourth period as both teams struggled from the field scoring only 15 points between them. East Carbon was led in scoring by Chelsey Timothy with 18 points. Misty Vfeldez had eight By RICHARD SHAW Sports writer elite. 4. 15-1- 3. JIM East Carbon's Brittnie Leonard works for a shot at a recent game against labiona's Amber Pippy (20) and lasha It is a great honor for any rodeo athlete to compete in the event It is also a challenge however, because foe best livestock is also part of the final rodeo of foe year. Now Im sure that most Carbon County residents havewatchedarodeoortwo in their days, but the finals is a whole different event In fact, each night isabatde for the championship buckle. The best rides are made and the best times are broken during the 10 day competi- -' tioa In fact only hundredths of a second separate the top five places m the timed events each night It is truly an exciting event But what makes me think of foe finals as the best Giles (14). Leonard was the leading scorer for the Lady Vikings in the game against Wendover. Viking boys fall to Escalante brothers of Escalante (Shane, RICHARD SHAW Sports writer By David and Dell) all scored and by half time East Carbon trailed 8. 41-1- Last Friday afternoon the East Carbon boys basketball team had to travel a very long way south to meet the Moquis of Escalante. That evening their game went even farther south. The Moquis, who have only faced 2A teams this year, except for East Carbon, dominated the s C' k - . -- t K 'S" . court and 11 of their players scored as they downed the East Carbon kids . 91-3- 7. . 4 . Itwasoneofthosenightswhen one team seems to do everything right and another cant seem to get a break. It started auspiciously for the boys from eastern Utah as the team from Garfield County jumped all over them from the beginning. At the end of the first quarter the score was 14 to seven. The second period brought only worse things. The Skakespear After half time, the Moquis kept up the onslaught In both quarters they scored 25 points per period and the Vikings were only able to manage 19 points total for the half. The high scorer for the Vikings was Austin Preston with nine points. Tony McFarland and Josh Griffiths each scored eight a piece. Escalante was lead in scoring by Shane Shakespear with 17. Brothers Del and David scored 12 and 7 Cham-pionsh- ip tournament in sports is the fact that for 10 straight days, rodeo athletes compete at their best to win the world title. This is not your ardinaiy run of the mill game after'alL It is a sport punts respectively. East Carbon is 0-- 5 in the preseason, but still has time to put it all toge ther since they dont start league play undlJaa 10 when they travel to West Desert Their final game of the preseason was played Wednesday which requires extreme dedication. . It amazesme that anyone . can strap themselves to a raging bull or a bucking brooc for any given amount of time. It amazes me even more so that these athletes come back each night to en- -' dure the same punishment, let alone 10 nights in a row. What is even more impressive is the fact that these athletes do not get paid to compete. The only way that ; a rodeo athlete receives a : paycheck is if he or she places in the top 10 each evening. And foe chances of a cow- -; . night after press time against Vhteribrd. iW: , the Vikings Tony McFarland fights for the ball during a recent game with the Carbon High sophomore team in Price. ..' II I V". ) boy or cowgirl dung so each night during tjie finals is JL ' M squoas JPA noanced- - Even thougli the , rnzed by the University of Utah - Union anefa fifth plafini&?4 played strong for (he Dmo ; Dyios ftnishedfoeyear with a for his outstanding athle&tg teed Jfoeleanjnearly ev overaQ reqord; tbtftpam? Jorgensen sienedorinr m?;RumblemOreir hist v yartl he fall leaves Have found its roster fined withpp-thseason with the univenhThe athlete loqksjLn the secqrid game of thi 5 aredand the winter. - notch .athlete vA1100 these to c began td fall, the, , 4 ' :'-- - e nd weeltielnfiiiiiring u npfpighsdfoolfoot- - , tatotWfcftHigh athletes?' EcfciftiSfthe annual . r JJinos allrllWbSnemt v W;TK,(Vftpveir1iich he hijb rmm mid suffering. tthesctahthfi hji m 1 enhghLuarferi&ks;Ju s&feinybtotl teqdtoget foe taosUttt&tion --ifheM T?us a team mmhlyfojto foe ftef Jbr;tte;but fo&focy, jreia foeipqtlight: tbateducptipn i thifi Jitocffityof til tim tt-ii- f focnball, I qiarSink thdt Ittostukedu-- ? wV? dis- - iat ion pf mention in both thq 'porabteams aQ-tat- from the JHfnme n football qyvthe.fiil asonisovefarid thiwihtef started, Lewis fimU ilmself competing.forthq basketball far, Lewis has Cbmpet&q quke well and is a strong afbl . OTts have v h naf beotae a y tmunM Lews it seems mat tneve r e - - ., i. f- - . n- - 'T x j! jj' fa:l . r t.. first f r iar; :c inltheV- '.:2nzzn. . f-3- umahyjhighVvii. fans and nil ol 3..f H ; On the flip side of the ', scun however, are athletes leteavd rnjiaewilL irr)ri'3expj sinifd IhatqithOuglf 1 mJ quite rare. . One prime example of: coming up short in the sport of rodeo was displayed dur- - i ing the finals this year by bun.1; rider, Justin Andrade who suffered a herniated disc in . his neck' and spinal cord compression and bruising after landing on his head foe ' openmg night of the finals. Not only cud Andrade not vwnjvti th iwnainmt nmy ; nights, he also went Home , without a paycheck in his ? , pocket and a whole lot, of staying active in as he competes s ; with Cc Dio are np boundaries which he is afrtdd to cross when it come who receivediiuiy, but continued to ride in foe hopes ?of capturing a world title.. .? ?; Several rodeo cowboys? .were listed by. the Justin Sports Medkane Tbam as ? : suffering coocussionst broken bones, pulled and ;, strained muscles and still continued to compete each ; night For these athletes, j. there is no setond string; team and bench time is not auction. Pretty impressive to such a physical xnt V I just have a hard time? pinpointing what ottergport hosts tournament of thk magnitude. One which? places ao.much pressure and strainon its athletes and that is uhique and fun to watdL Whatanevend H h? v Ita always exciting to watdi a rodeo event, how-- ? ever nothing tops foe Ns-- ,' tional Finals. v. ! ; if i . ':,f |