“Big things happen in a small town,” said Kenna Aagard, principal. On May 11, for the first time in school history, two different teams won a state title on the same day. Softball won state for the second year in a row and sixth time ever and boys volleyball won their first state title for the school and are Utah’s first ever state champions for boys volleyball.
Both teams have had successful seasons. Softball had a record of 18-10 and volleyball had a record of 18-8. Both teams were also the region champions for this year.
Softball had their first round of state on May 4. The team had very few practices to prepare due to a delayed region closing game, but it didn’t stop them from performing well. The girls were able to take down Union high school 11-1. Sending them to the state tournament.
The team spent the following week practicing so that on May 9 they would be ready. The girls practiced everything. They even spent time conditioning everyday so they would be in the best shape possible.
Thursday came and the girls were ready. They got on the bus and started heading to Spanish Fork.The team was having fun until the ride suddenly took a turn. Brooklyn Olson, junior outfielder, said, ”On our way up there this morning we witnessed a car accident and almost were a part of it. Thankfully we were not due to the skills of our bus driver. It was a traumatic experience and finding out later that someone had passed away due to the accident. We stayed strong and focused and made it our goal to win it all for that man that had his life taken.”
The team decided before their first game that they were going to play for something bigger than themselves. The girls wanted to honor the man who passed away by dedicating their games to them. They wanted to win state for him.
The team, sixth seed, played south summit, second seed, in the second round. The pitchers made it difficult for South Summit to get runs. The girls won 15-0 which advanced them to the quarter finals.
The quarter finals was a battle. The girls played North Sanpete high school and were down 1-4. During the seventh inning the girls were able to come back and score five runs leading them to victory 6-4.
During the semi finals the girls played Emery, the number one seed. It was a high scoring game. The team was down by one in the sixth inning. The girls weren’t going to give up. At the top of the seventh the team scored eight runs, winning the game 17-11. Sending the girls to the championship.
The team played Emery again in the championship game. Both teams wanted to win. The cowboys were down until the fifth inning where they were able to tie the game. The game went into a ninth inning where the girls were able to score four runs to win it all. The team won their state title for the second year in a row.
The volleyball team had a bye in the first round of state due to being the number one seed. They played Carbon in the quarter finals as their first game. The boys dominated against the Dinos winning the first set 25-15, the second set 25-13, and the third set 25-17. Decker Dzierzon played well on the net getting kills and blocks.
The team played Ogden next in the semi finals. The boys had played the Tigers two times previous so they knew what they had to do if they wanted to win. The sets were close, both teams struggled to get momentum but the Cowboys were able to pull through and win three sets to zero. Sending them to the championship.
The boys were nervous going into the game. They played North Sanpete, who they had lost to three times before. Each time playing them had been close this time the boys knew everything they needed to do if they wanted to pull out a win. Each set was close. The Cowboys did a good job shutting down the Hawks hitters, holding them to only two kills. Ethan Powell had 19 kills which led the boys to victory.
The boys felt great to be the first ever boys volleyball state champions in the history of Utah. Keltin Byrd, junior right side, said, “Winning state was a great feeling, coming into the game we knew that it was going to be a challenge especially after losing to North Sanpete three times in a row, but we knew how great it would feel to win the game and bring home the first ever boys volleyball championship trophy.”
The boys had gone to the semi-finals of softball to show their support to them. The girls returned the favor by cheering loud in the student section at the finals for volleyball. Both teams celebrated together. The town had a parade to congratulate the teams on all of their hard work and their new victory.
Once the parade was over both teams returned to the high school to celebrate with the community. Coaches and captains gave speeches thanking everyone for their support. The teams didn’t want their season to end any other way. Max Critchlow, senior middle and captain of the volleyball team, said, “How bout them Cowboys?”
