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Show SPORTS The Park Record. Editor: Ben Ramsey sports@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.104 Twitter: @ParkRecSports SILVER SKI NORDIC EXTRAVAGANZA Basin Recreation is hosting a morning of free Nordic skiing. The event is open to all ranges of abilities, and instructors will be on trail to assist. The Silver Ski Nordic Extravaganza will be held at Willow Creek Park on Saturday, Feb. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon. Demo skis will be available in limited supply for $5. For more information, visit basinrecreation.org. ADULT WINTER VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE The PC MARC will host a six-versussix coed adult volleyball league on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 10 p.m. between Feb. 7 and April 11. Recreation and competitive divisions will be available. The team registration deadline is Feb. 3. Visit parkcityrecreation.org or call 435-615-5401 for more information. PARK CITY WRESTLING Park City High School senior Cameron Shine will compete at the 120-pound weight class in the upcoming Class 4A wrestling state championship meet at Utah Valley University on Friday and Saturday. Shine (20-11) will face junior Avery Dustin of Bear River (14-2) at the UCCU Center. LACROSSE COACH WANTED The Park City High School girls lacrosse team is looking for an assistant JV coach. The position is available immediately for the spring season and potentially beyond. This position is part time but requires attendance at practices in the evening approximately four days a week and games, which are sometimes on the weekend. For more information contact Simone Nixon at 801-554-2805. LOCAL SOCCER CLUB JANS MASTERS CUP LEADER RECOGNIZED, B-2 RESULTS, B-4 www.parkrecord.com WED/THURS/FRI, FEBRUARY 7-9, 2018 Park City Zamboni driver will shine ice for the Olympics and Paralympics Mike Diersen says he stumbled upon a back door to a dream BEN RAMSEY The Park Record It’s hard to tell where life will take you. Just ask Mike Diersen. For years he was a carpenter, following work around the country, but through an improbable turn of events, he has been hired by South Korea to drive the ice resurfacer, better known as a Zamboni, for the hockey games at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He said it was a dream he never thought he would experience. “You want to go to the Olympics, but I never knew how to get there,” he said. “I mean, hockey was an avenue, but I’m only 5-foot-8. I’m good but not that good. And then skiing and all that stuff, but I’m not that good at that either. Then this door opened and it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m not in it, but I’m in it.’ That’s the way I’m looking at it. It’s the back door.” Diersen was born in Illinois and grew up in several places around the U.S. Until about a decade ago, he made his living working as a carpenter in Califor- TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD As a hockey player and fan, Mike Diersen says he didn’t think he would ever be part of the Olympic Games. But this year, he will maintain the ice at the Olympic and Paralympic hockey games during the 2018 Winter Games. nia. Then his uncle introduced him to a friend who was building houses in Park City, and recommended Diersen come see what was going on. The day he arrived in Park City, it was dumping snow. “That pretty much sucked me in,” he said. He worked as a framer and carpenter and played pickup hockey at the Park Please see Park City, B-3 Miners swimming crests above Region 11 Team will be tested on Friday at the Class 4A state championships BEN RAMSEY The Park Record ADULT FLAG FOOTBALL Basin Recreation is offering a six versus six adult flag football league each Sunday from Feb. 11-April 29, between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. The league is coed for people aged 18 and up. Teams are $550 each. Free agents can sign up for $55 each. Visit www.basinrecreation.org to register. SKI WITH BASIN NORDIC SKI PROGRAM Basin Recreation is offering Nordic ski clinics in February for adults who are just learning to skate ski, to the intermediate skier. Sessions began on Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at various Basin parks and trails. The cost is $50 for the fourweek session or $15 for drop-ins each week. Each session is limited to 20 participants, and skis are not provided. To register, visit basinrecreation.org or call 655-0999. PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Please see Sports briefs, B-4 B-1 Park City’s Murphy Georger takes a breath during her 100-yard freestyle heat at the Park City Aquatic Center during the Miners’ meet in November. The Miners swept their region on Jan. 27, defeating Juan Diego and Tooele for the title. Grant Applications Are Currently Being Accepted for the Grant applications from certified tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations are now being accepted for the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation. The Foundation accepts grants for programs that emphasize literacy, reading and writing, languages, science and interdisciplinary areas. Applications ranging from $500 to $3,000 will be considered. Since 2008, the Foundation has awarded more than $450,000 to nonprofit groups including schools, libraries, community colleges and small local organizations. DEADLINES: Grant Application Deadline Thursday, February 15, 2018 Grant Awards Announcement Tuesday, May 1, 2018 ParkRecord.com To apply, please visit the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation website at: BessieMinorSwift.org Swimming season is drawing to a close, but Park City High School is continuing to dominate the sport, even as they face a larger, stronger state classification. On Jan. 27, the team took first in both boys and girls swimming at the Region 11 meet in Tooele, setting two records in the process. The Miners boys team finished with 452 points, besting Juan Diego Catholic High School with 423, followed by Tooele High School with 294. On the girls side, the Miners finished with 591 points, followed by Tooele with 364 and Juan Diego with 235. The Miners wasted no time in setting a Class 4A record, as Jessi Beyer, Katie Hale, Elise Beller and Helena Djunic swam the first event of the day, the 200yard medley relay, in 1:50.11. The girls then finished the meet with a record, as Djunic, Hale, Emma Strong-Conklin and Beller finished the 400-freestyle relay in 3:40.57 for a new pool record. “They put together a really nice swim,” coach Mike Werner said. “We had struggled in that event all season and finally threw down pretty good against Wasatch, then in region put down a really, really, nice swim.” Records aside, the Miners dominat- ed across the board, taking first in the boys and girls 200 individual relay, the boys and girls 200 freestyle, the boys 50 freestyle, the girls 100 butterfly, the girls 100 freestyle, the boys and girls 500 freestyle, the girls 200 freestyle relay, the boys and girls 100 backstroke and the girls 100 breaststroke. “Going into the meet, we knew we had to put together some big swims for the kids that were on the bubble of going to state,” Werner said. “Those kids stepped up and did well. The boys meet came down to the last two events, so it was really tight the whole meet. Juan Diego gave us every bit of competition we could handle.” Like the girls, the boys finished their meet with a win, taking the 400 freestyle relay in 3:22.73 with Dennis Djunic, Jack Troxel, Trevor Malpede and Cole Peterson contributing to the final push. Werner said this was one of the toughest region meets he has been involved in. “The region as a whole really improved this year,” he said. “I had kids that swam last year and did really well and didn’t make the (state) meet this year, so the competition is really open. It’s just going to be who wants it and who performs.” Looking toward state, which starts Friday at 2 p.m. at the South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful, Utah, Werner said Desert Hills will likely be a contender in both genders, while Sky View will be a contender in the girls competition. Please see Miners, B-2 |