Spartans give their all at region

Tamra Luke

The Emery Spartans traveled to Carbon High for the Region VIII wrestling tournament held FEb. 8-9. At the tournament, eight of fifteen wrestlers from Emery qualified for state. These eight are Clay Collard- 2nd place, Mckay Allred- 2nd place, Hadan Hatch- 3rd place, Mike Jones- 3rd place, Wade Bohn- 3rd place, Kenny Baker- 3rd place, Caleb Jones- 5th place, and Cyal Christmas- 3rd place. Cade Whittle took 5th as well, but because his weight class is only allowed to take four wrestlers, he won’t be able to go.

The Spartans wrestled two rounds on Friday night and five rounds on Saturday. Friday went well for Emery, but midway through the tournament on Saturday the Spartans lost Jake Gardner , whop broke his elbow. Two wrestlers made it to the championship round: Clay Collard and Mckay Allred. Mckay Allred was also awarded Academic All-Region. This award is for senior wrestlers who maintain at least a 3.75 GPA throughout high school.
After the tournament Coach Buck Taylor was pleased with the team and their improvement over the last few weeks. He was optimistic about taking eight wrestlers to state this year as opposed to last year’s four. “I proved my theory tonight,” he said, “Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Everyone on my team has wrestled their guts out, and I’m very proud of them.”

The state tournament is scheduled for Feb. 14-16. “We’ve still got a long way to go,” said Coach Taylor, “We’ve got a week until state; it’s been a rough game.” The Spartans have several talented wrestlers who have the potential to do very well at state. “The kids are going to have to step it up,” said Coach Taylor, “It comes down to who wants it most.”

The Emery High wrestling team suffered a hard loss at Carbon on Feb. 5. The Spartans had four wins in the match: Clay Collard (119) won by points, Mike Jones (171) won by points, Wade Bohn (189) won by forfeit, and Kenny Baker (215) won by fall.

The junior varsity did very well, winning four of the six matches. Wrestling J.V. were Zac Walls (119), Cort Jensen (140), Drew Bohn (189), and Cyal Christmas (285). Each of these wrestlers pinned his opponent.

In coming seasons Coach Taylor would like to see more fan support. “We need to get more people out,” he said. Coach Taylor also said that if anyone would like to help with next year’s wrestling team they should contact him.

Lady Spartans end region play with perfect record

Vallyn Bernard

The Lady Spartans ended region play with a perfect 8-0 record after defeating the Lady Hawks of North Sanpete Feb. 5 with a final score of 64-42.

Ten Lady Spartans scored against the Hawks with ShiAnne Allred leading the charge with a game high 17 points. Also in double figures were Michonne Robertson with 12 points and Jodi Robertson with 11 points. The other seven Lady Spartans with their names on the score sheet were Meagan Pearson, 7; Abbie Kay, 6; Frankie Komar, 4; Lacey Montgomery, 3; Courtney Tuttle, 2; and Jenni Stinson and Adriane Weihing each with 1 point.

The long ball was alive and well with the Lady Spartans draining five from downtown. ShiAnne made two while Lacey, Jodi and Meagan each dropped in one.

This Tuesday night is senior night and should prove to be a very interesting basketball game as the Wasatch Wasps come to the Spartan Center. You see the Wasps have a perfect 18-0 season going for them, and are ranked number one in the state. You’ll never guess who’s ranked number two... That’s right, the Lady Spartans. The number one team against the number two team and it’s not even the playoffs. The Lady Spartans are 9-0 since the Christmas break. If the Spartan Center isn’t standing room only for this game, then shame on Emery County.

The Lady Spartans first playoff game will be at home Feb. 16 against Ogden from region 11. Ogden has a 2-8 region record, and are 4-17 overall for the season.

Saturday a whole new season begins for the Lady Spartans. Everything that has happened up until the playoffs was a warm-up for this go round.

Lady Pirates crush Jaguars in final region game

Brennan Bigelow

The lady Pirates finished out their region play with a monstrous win on Feb. 8.

The Pirates beat the Jaguars by a score of 75-12. High scorer was Brandi Webster with 25. Also contributing to the win were Bailie Packer and Crosby Hatt with 10, Jill Vetere with 7, and Leah Swalberg, Cady Mecham and Tracy Engelman each scored 6. Adding 2 for the Pirates was Sarah Swalberg.

Now the Pirates will face Christian Heritage or Valley in the first round of state playoffs. The Pirates will take the number one seed into state after they won the coin flip and finished co-champions of Region 19. During half time the lady Pirates honored their only senior on the team, Leah Swalberg. The cheerleaders also honored their senior Brittney Royse. Both seniors will be missed.