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Show 18 Vernal Express Wednesday, April 3, 1996 Baseball team drops two out of three the 'hard way' by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer The good news for the Uintah High School baseball team is; they are getting consistently good pitching pitch-ing from three different players. The bad news is, the team is struggling strug-gling defensively behind them. Uintah's last three games are a perfect per-fect case-in-point. Sandwiching two losses to Grand 1 Junction, Colo, last Thursday and to Union yesterday around a region opening victory over Park City Saturday, the team knows exactly what formula to use to win and lose. "If we hit the ball the way we are capable of hitting, we get three wins period," head coach Brent Labrum fumed after dropping a 9-8 decision to Union. "We lost the Men's Election Tournament This Saturday, April 6 the annual Men's Election Golf Tournament will be held. Anyone interested in golfing should consider this tournament. tourna-ment. The cost of the tournament is just $25 and this covers the dues for being be-ing in the Men's Golf Association. The tournament will begin at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start. If you have any questions please cal the golf course at 781-1428. PDQ stages 'classy' team penning event by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Hosting the first competition of the Utah penning season The Uintah Basin Shootout the local PDQ Penning Club received rave reviews both from the multitude of out of (own competitors and from its own members on the job it did preparing and running a competition of this magnitude. How big was the event held last Friday and Saturday at the Western Park Indoor Arena? As big or bigger than the state championship held lost year, according ac-cording to many of the participants. Team penning, the fastest growing equestrian sport, has developed a faithful following of competitors throughout the United States as well as Utah. Last weekend's competition competi-tion featured 320 teams competing in eight different competitive divisions divi-sions over the two days. Of the over $13,000 in pric money awarded, (he majority went to local riders who have established a growing reputation as a very competitive com-petitive group of penncrs. From PDQ's standpoint, the competition com-petition was a success because of the willingness and cooperation member had to make it a quality event. "Everyone ha worked together to-gether so well to make this one of (he premier penning event in the Male." coordinator Kathryn Sahcy Said, "slotkhand, timer, judges, everyone really pulled together, and tl sbnutd" Noting (he growth of (be local tlub, la year's rtttMdcni Gteg Wtthetk Mated, "We have alt learned a lot about preparing for a penning event and what it lakes 10 be one of the best not jul in (he Mate, but any here" Witbcck point lo the club's yearly purchase : t Oidy Young and partner try a hokJ main group back to avoid a no Urns during cpefl cornpel'i'On-Mo no avail! Grand Junction game and the Union game exactly the same way. We start out the games going to the plate with an aggressive attitude and hitting the ball well. Then for some reason the kids let up in the middle innings and after we fall behind, be-hind, they start hitting again towards to-wards the end of the game, but it's too little too late." Soccer team pulls out overtime thriller by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Coaches often 'pad' their schedules sched-ules early in the season with games they hope will test their players, but have no significance towards a region re-gion or state title. Unfortunately for head soccer coach Ed Browning and the Uintah High School soccer team, they had no say in setting up the region schedule and the early region re-gion showdown of two teams ranked in the top five in 3A last Saturday at Wasatch. With Uintah ranked third, Wasatch fifth, and both teams undefeated at 2-0 in region, sparks promised to fly during the contest. Adding pressure to the game was the fact two time defending state champion Park City is also undefeated in the region and is again the top ranked team in 3A. "Our region is definitely the toughest in state. Three of the top five are from region 10 and I'm not so sure Morgan and Lehi don't belong be-long up there too," Coach Browning said. of penning stock as an example of their increased awareness and growth. "You don't really make any money with it, but by buying a large number of animals, we always have fresh stock to work with without any of them becoming too stale or easy to pen from continually being penned," The club's effort has not gone unnoticed. PDQ will host this year's state championship event August 30-31. As in most competitive sports, team penning uses a handicap system sys-tem with riders rated between one and four, with four being the best. Riders numbers are then added together to-gether to establish a team total. Most penning events run divisions of open (three 4's could ride together), togeth-er), 7, where the (hrcc riders numbers num-bers cannot equal more than seven, and 4, usually reserved for beginning begin-ning penncrs. In addition to the handicap, there are different types of penning riders may compete in. In normal team penning, three riders have a minute-and-a-half lo separate (hrcc animals with the same numbers on their backs from a group of 30 of which each animal has a number from I to 10 move them from one end of (he arena to (he other and pen them in a holding pen. Mid-wny across (he arena is an imaginary line manned by a judge. If more than five animals cross over the line (including (in-cluding the three the (cam is trying lo gel penned) (he (cam is disqualified. disquali-fied. The major variation of (his lypc of learn penning is (he sort-in-order penning. Instead of penning (hrcc animals with the same numbers, a number between I and 10 is called as (he riders move toward (he herd. See Pennere pagt 20 n In both losses, Uintah led heading into the fifth inning, with solid pitching on the mound. In both losses, loss-es, the Utes fell apart defensively to allow their opponents back into the contests. Grand Junction scored five runs on just two hits in their fifth See Baseball page 19 True to pre-game expectations, the two teams staged a slugfest, neither giving an inch nor establishing any kind of control. Wasatch had the upper hand early, but Uintah turned the game around in the later stages, finally pulling out a 4-2 overtime decision. "This was a great game for us to get. You want to win them all, but Wasatch is a very good team and to beat them at their place is really going go-ing to help us later in the season," Browning said. As has been the case so far this season, Uintah started the game in slow motion, struggling with their ball control offense and picking up their defensive assignments late. The result was a 1-0 Wasatch lead halfway through the first half stanza. stan-za. "We were out-shot, out-hustled and out-played in that first half. We couldn't generate any offense and were playing uninspired defense," Browning said. Uintah took just seven shots on goal in the first half compared to the Wasps 12. The Wasatch keeper only had to make two keeper saves in the first half while Uintah's keeper Jared See Soccer page 21 Jr. Golf The Uintah Recreation Association announces the dates for this years Jr. Golf program. This program is open for all boys and girls. This is a wonderful alternative for some of the high cost youth team sports. Golf is a lifetime sport that your children will be able to enjoy for the rest of their lives. The cost of the program is $2 and is payable at the first clinic. If you do not have clubs, clubs will be provided. pro-vided. For specific information please call the golf course at 78 1-1428. 1-1428. Registration and clinic times: 15 and up boys April 9 at 3:30 p.m. I and up girls April 9 at 5 p.m. 13-14 boys April 30 at 4 p.m. 11-13 11-13 girls April 30 at 5:30 p.m. 11-12 11-12 boys May 6 at 4 p.m. 8-10 boys May 21 at 4 p.m. 8-10 girls May 21 at 6 p.m. Summer Softball Leagues The Uintah Recreation Association is now accepting team registrations for their Men's and Women's Summer Softball leagues. The leagues will begin play the week of April 29 with the women's games played on Monday night and men's league on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Cost for (he league is $380 per (earn which includes ASA registration. registra-tion. Registration deadline for (cams is Friday, April 18, 1996 at 5 p.m. There will be a coachesplayer meeting for (he league on Monday, April 13 at 7 p.m Commission Chambers located (he second floor of (he SiateCoumy building. In order (o avoid congestion the Softball fields during practice limes the Recreation Association encourages teams lo call the office and reserve an hour for your team. There is a S 10 fee for the lights if teams want to reserve the fields after af-ter dark. To reserve a softball field for (cam practice please call the recreation office at 781-5486. Registrations will be taken at (he Uintah Recreation Association office of-fice located on (he third Door of the StateCounty building or call 78 1 5486 for more information. tR V r:,;: h$3 1 rp Catcher Charlie Pederson lays off the outside, slow breaking curve to earn a trip to first base. Lady Utes solidify top rank with victory over Lady Coug's by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Coming off a disappointing 9-5 loss to Emery last week, in which the team gave up five unearned runs and facing top three ranked Union yesterday (Tuesday) at Union, head coach Shuryce Prestwich knew how important this first region contest was. "We were definitely teetering right on the brink. The team morale was in a state of confusion. We were banged up and coming off a poor performance against Emery. Our star pitcher had been out for four weeks and our All-State shortstop short-stop was nursing a few nagging injuries in-juries and sickness," Prestwich related, re-lated, "so we really needed a' good performance to get us going in the right direction again." How does 16-5 sound for a team turnaround? The number one ranked (in 3A) Lady Utes didn't just beat Union, they dominated the contest. In a clash of two top 3A teams, Uintah definitely established themselves as the front runner, and in doing so, sent a message to the respof 3A. You might be wondering how the team turned their plummeting for Spring swimming lessons The Uintah Recreation Association will be holding another session of spring swimming lessons beginning Monday, April 15 and running through Friday, April 26 and Monday, April 29 through Friday, May 10. The classes will be held weekday evenings from 4 to 5 p.m. American Red Cross certified instructors will teach levels one, two, and three which arc the beginning levels of. swim lessons. Cost for lessons is $20 per child and $15 for additional children in (he same family. A minimum number num-ber of students arc needed lo carry each class. To rfegister or for more information please stop by (he Indoor Pool located at 170 South 600 West (cast of the Vernal Middle School) or call the pool at 789-5775. 789-5775. With over 100 fcpectator and LiNMswaMKawHnmsM tunes around so convincingly . . . The return of pitching ace Janell Jensen might have had something to do with it. "We found out last week she was way ahead of schedule and s - ,v Pitcher Sami Chivers looks on as Lifters finish third at state championship by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Coach Steve Scott and his Colossus Weightlifting Club comprised com-prised of high school aged athletes recently competed in the 17th. Annual Utah Weightlifting Championships held at Clearfield High School March 23, 1996. Of the numerous high schools competing, Uintah High School competitors finished third overall with a total of 46 points. Clearfield placed second with SI and a group of high school lifters from the Sandy area won the competition with a 52 total. "I was pleased with our effort and performance," Scott said, "I think we set four or five new state records and just about all of our athletes placed in the top (hrcc. It was a good ending for (hrce months of hard work." Actually, Scott's team set six new state records lo add lo the 12 existing exist-ing state records Scott's athletes had set in previous competitions over r 1 r - competitor, etWeleS focus was tested as el as their strength! then the doctor released her to play yesterday," Prestwich said, "you could almost see the load being lift-See lift-See Lady Utes page 19 . t .a - x- g ..f .. 5V 'A ... " - .ii. .1. .'- v- -V-i I '!'"" Express photo by joAnn Cowan Cheridan Horrocks fires to first. the past few years. Of course, the performance of the Uintah competitors came as no surprise sur-prise to parents, athletes or other coaches. That's because everyone is well aware of Coach Scott's qualifications. qual-ifications. Carrying the only CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association) recognition recogni-tion and being a United States Weightlifting assistant coach at (he Atlanta Summer Olympics this year, achievements such as his wards have accomplished have come (o be expected. The most ama.ing part of all is; Coach Scott docs all his work with the athletes as a volunteer. He receives re-ceives absolutely no compensation from (Ik school district. Scott and (earn members paid (heir own entry fees and hotel accomodations, even though Coach Scott doesn't (each at the high school (he is currently the middle school physical education Set Lifters page 20 |
