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Show - COURIER PORTS Wasatch ashen PAGE 16 County's > TUESDAY Source for News dll all wa di Olympic id ba Spirit is Alive “get By LUKE BODENSTEINER CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST | rhen Marcus Nash rolled up to the “new-cut trails of Soldier Hollow last week, the first words out of his mouth weren’t about the valley fields or Deer Creek or Timp, or any of the hallmarks a newcomer might want to make note of. And even though he was there to inspect it, and devour it, and learn to know it better than anyone else in the world, he didn’t talk about the valley’s newest gem, its Olympic venue, either. What the nation’s best cross-country skier for four years _ running did mention was nothing remarkable. | are High SSchool All-Star | . 7 by “ By KARI GIBB = SPORTS EDITOR | a way up from nearly the last seed at the tourney to claim — | fifth place at the competition despite being« out-sized, -out-gunned and out-manned.. : “COLUMBUS (OH)- Last week local basketball * The trip started out with an invitation to tryoutsat Weber State University last spring, ended up as a shot players Sam Haas and Steve Whitney made the trek east to play hard-court hoops with the best, of the best, of Pe 7 Se e | <a the best in the U.S at the High School All-Star _ : Tournament held in Columbus, Ohio. The competition yielded 40 teams with players from. every state in the union. Each team reported and was assigned a coach and given a seeding to start the tour: | ok ney. James Walden, a college coach from Georgia was. given a team comprised of talent from Utah, Idaho and Mississippi. This group of small town kids fought their for Haas and Whitney to play with four other Utah prep © standouts, four Idaho preps players and a yet one other , player from Mississippi. | Haas and Whitney were thrilled just to have been invited to the tryouts. culminate up on the hill in the park that we all step that he runs takes on a special significance. Marcus is one of the top skiers in the world, but he’s never been the best. In fact, the best see OLYMPICS page 19 New National Champ: MASK Produces Another EKL Standout * pissin anabai heb 2 GIBB in both the 35 and-over Sparring and | | * * Featherweight Sparring at the Blackbelt level. oe a | OUDEN =ohinetins Ga ea aene . : ) American Sports Karate team, Chisum Gardner ; 3 broke through the barrier at this year’s Excell ; Karate League’s (EKL) National Championships. ; ; , The nine-year old wonder from Wallsburg claimed ak : a National Title in Forms and a third place in . thi oe iy d pane = = Pe Se ee oo ae ps, Gardner faced 15 other students at his level in | ional the forms and more than that number in the spar- We Team leader and head instructor Marcia Mason fom ee Oe (he Aeonals eee with ee eee elac oe Ayla Mason finished the season off with a fifth | place finish in both th Sparring and d ForForms at t thi this year’s EKL Nationals. Assistant Instructor, and son to Marcia, Travis Mason would have fared well at this year’s but ; had an accident at work and was unable to com| : pete at all in the Blackbelt Forms or Sparring. Peas Team MASK studies out of the Masons American Sports Karate school of martial arts. The students study Tae-Kwon-Do and the students ; gain sparring experience with current NBL World | | Champion Alex Armitage from Ogden, Utah. Each of the competitors who placed in the top ranks have qualified to compete at the Super Grands for a World Champion Title later this year. Chisum Gardner won the EKL National Title in forms last week in Ogden. Here he demonstrates his winning technique in a demonstra- as ye By KARI . Pe was especially important, because for them, the thousands of miles and years of dreaming will day he thinks about it, all that he does and every _ ‘ | see HOOPSTERS on page.18 get closer to their ultimate goal. But this day. - wants to be there, and be anointed. And every — day, Wednesday, to meet the rest of the team, havea : that every day for them during training, twice a _ day, as they get deeper into their session, they look out at every day, watching the sun set over 3 ee - unremarkable everyday life peeled away from them, and slid behind them on sweat. It does _ Timpanogos. The best in the world will be anointed Olympic Champion there, and Marcus Imagine their thrill to have made the team. | | The dynamic duo made the trip east and had one : “ee for thousands of miles before. And.as they ran, os \ _- “mates eased into an easy: stroll like they’ve done 5) ‘Stepping onto the trails, he and. his team- = Ni at front with ball, were team MEuEDETS on the sie Haas, last on. right- back row, and Steve Whitney, team that took fifth place in a national tournament a week ago. i Sam , . too we -| f is a it was _ ee He might have talked about how warm to sleep the night before, or about how the. _ 7-11 was out of lime Gatorade. But Soldier Hollow is something special, and slowly, everyone begins to realize that. Marcus did. |