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Show - N E W S Spanish Fork B12 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008 Dodgeball TRY TRY AGAIN: Thirteen teams came out for Spanish Fork Recreation's annual Thanksgiving Dodgeball Tournament Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 at Spanish Fork Jr. High. Games took place in the north and south gyms, with spectators filling the stands in both arenas. Pictured, here, a player manages to save himself and eliminate his opponent by catching the ball — on his second try. The teams that played for the championship were Creative Signs and Smegatrons. Creative Signs defended their title, winning for the fourth consecutive year. Covering what matters most Don grapplers: From DONS • B l ing class or in the halls of the school to join him on the mats and take up wrestling. His positive, upbeat attitude made a difference in the lives of those young men in more ways than one, and SF wrestling has been better off ever since. Spanish Fork wrestling has a great tradition of winning. Region titles and SF wrestling have been mentioned in the same sentence for a while now. The Dons may have a bulls-eye on their back, but they're determined to do whatever it takes to remain at the top. "We've just got to do what we've done in the past," said Coach Dave Clark. "We've been young in years past, but this year we have a lot of seniororiented kids like Hadley Thorpe, Tom Clark, Nolan Haycock and Dan Gillie. We have a bunch of kids who have had the experience. We've just got to get those kids to step up and do the job. We've always put a lot of emphasis in the past on not trying to win the tournaments early in the season but to improve, and our kids have responded." Coach Clark has high expectations for all of his wrestlers this season. One of his talented young men is junior Caleb Ashworth. Ashworth has been a stand-out wrestler since his freshman season, and has qualified for state in back-to-back years. "Caleb is a heck of a wrestler," said Coach Clark. "I would hope that he could end up being in the state finals this year. Last year he beat all of the kids who were in the finals and all that placed, but he had a bad state tournament. During the year, he beat every kid 1-4 who placed at state. You have to have "Our seniors are our strengths this year. ... We expect a lot from them." - Coach Dave Clark your game all together in the state tournament, but I think it will work out better for him this year." As usual, Clark and his staff want to qualify as many grapplers as possible when it comes time for region and state. A team can take as many as 28 young men to the state finals. In fact, the red and gray won their last_state title with a team record of 22 SF wrestlers who qualified for the big dance, which played out to be a huge advantage. In this year's group, there are a lot of seasoned veterans to anchor a powerful wrestling squad. "Our seniors are our strengths this year," said Clark. "They will be our leadership this year and we'll depend heavily on those guys. We expect a lot from them." Wrestling definitely builds physical stamina, coordination and quickness which come in handy in other sports throughout the year. "Coach Jackson [line coach for the varsity football team], told his sophomore and junior football players that they've got to wrestle or they won't play next year," said Clark. "So we have a half room full of heavyweights this year and that's good." In Region 4, SF is obviously the team to beat as they're the returning region champs, but look for Lehi to challenge as well as PG who both have excellent traditions of their own. Fans are already geared up and can expect to see some great things from this year's group. "We hope they'll be able to see an exciting brand of wrestling," said Coach Clark. "We're trying to coach a brand of wrestling in SF ... of hardnosed, tough kids. They'll go out and grind, and they may get beat but they don't give up. Over the years, it's paid off. We're going to try and continue that reputation this year." The Dons will travel to Delta on Dec. 3 for their first dual match with the Rabbits. SF vs. Orem: From BASKETBALL • B l the first part of the game, thanks primarily to two three-pointers by Taylor Jones. Then Orem broke away, scoring at least 13 unanswered points to lead 21-8 at the end of the first quarter, and later outscored the Dons 21-10 in the third after leading 34-22 at the half. By the end of the third quarter, Orem had more points than Spanish Fork scored in the entire game. The Dons nearly matched the Tigers in scoring in the fourth quarter, 23-25, before conceding the victory to Orem. Orem's Jordan Egbert was named player of the game. He scored 20 points in the match. Ren Williamsen led the Dons with 15 points, and Gavin Hales had 10. SHHS vs. Wasatch: From SALEM • B l merous times on defense and executing well on offense. Trevor Bangartner, who led all scorers with 24 points, drove effectively to the basket all game, and on multiple occasions his teammates set up screens to give him a clear lane. Despite their pesky opponent, Salem kept it close in the first half, even lead- ing 16-13 early in the second quarter. But Wasatch tied the game on a steal and a Skyhawk foul on a shot that went in, beginning a 16-2 run that put them up by 11 before Salem cut the lead to six by halftime, 3024. Then came the second half. Wasatch broke the game open in the third quarter, scoring 11 unanswered points and jumping out to a 17-point lead early on. Salem finally answered with a 6-0 run of their own that included a fast break layup by Seth Muhlstein, but the Skyhawks never were able to catch up, and Wasatch led by at least 11 the rest of the game. The leading scorer for Salem Hills was Riley Hanks, who finished the game with 10 points, all of which came in the first half. Salem wrestling: From B R I N D L E Y - B l Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News competing for spots in the state tournament. For the wrestlers that place high enough, the state competition will be held Feb. 1214,2009. Coach Brindley believes his team will be able to make a lot of progress throughout the season, especially if they can avoid becoming too frustrated with potential early-season defeats. "If they can stick with it and learn from their mistakes, they will be tough by the end of the year," said Brindley. "If they can stick with it and learn from their mistakes, they will be tough by the end of the year." - Coach TJ Brindley The Skyhawks should be in good hands with Brindley at the helm. Brindley was hired by athletic director Steve Downey, who came to Salem Hills with nearly 30 years of experience with the Orem High School sports program. If Downey believes in Brindley, then Skyhawk fans should have confidence that he knows what he is doing. This is the first season of competition for the Skyhawks, and with the up-and-coming talent they have, combined with a coach like Brindley, and an athletic director like Downey, it is safe to say that it won't take long for the Skyhawks to be a real force in Region 8 wrestling. |