Monday, September 29, 2008

Busy week!

Well, it's been a while since we last updated our race results. I was waiting for the results from the Doug Owen Invitational...still nothing. When I get them, I'll attach them HERE.

After Doug Owen, we went to Payson last Tuesday for a dual meet. We rested several of our varsity runners in an attempt to allow our JV kids to earn some letter points against Payson. We accomplished this goal, as we had several runners step up and run well. The girls were paced by newcomer Megan Curtis who ran the course in a solid 19:41. Well done! For complete results, click right HERE.

This past Friday, we co-hosted the Nebo Invitational with Spanish Fork High School. We had about 15 teams show up to Spanish Fork Jr. High for the invitational. Despite being shorthanded, our girls finished in a solid 8th place, and the boys finished in seventh place. Complete results are HERE. Well done to all of you. We're making progress and our improving each race. It seems we are peaking at just the right time!

This week we will be traveling first to North Sanpete High's Mt. Pleasant Invitational on Wednesday afternoon, then to Cedar City on Friday and Saturday. The Mt. Pleasant Invitational has been moved from its original location. Instead of being at N.Sanpete High, it is now at Skyline Mountain Resort in Fairview. I'll attach driving directions HERE. The Boys' JV race will be at 4:00, the Girls (JV and Varsity combined) will race at 4:30, and the Varsity Boys will race at 5:00.

For Cedar City, we will be leaving the high school at about 10:00 am on Friday. We will stop at a park on the way for lunch--EACH STUDENT NEEDS TO BRING THEIR OWN LUNCH! We will race Friday afternoon--4:00 Girls JV; 4:30 Boys JV; 5:00 Girls Varsity; 5:30 Boys Varsity. After the races, we will go over to Coach Esplin's parents' house for dinner (THANKS Esplins!) We wil have the evening free to swim at the hotel, watch the BYU-USU game, or just hang out. We'll hit the road Saturday at about 8:00 am, and be home by about 11-11:30. This is always a great time, and we as coaches are excited to head down! If you'd like a copy of our itinerary, click HERE.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

California Trip Information

We just received information regarding the Footlocker Western Regional Championships in Walnut, CA. The dates of the trip will be December 4-7, 2008. This trip is optional, and will not impact a student's status on the team. However, it is a GREAT time, and we want everyone to consider coming! It is always the highlight of the Cross country season. In preparation for our departure, there are a few things to be aware of:
1- The cost will be $280.00. It's $15.00 to register for the meet (www.footlockerwest.com), $230.00 for the transportation and hotel (3 nights), and $35.00 for an optional Disneyland trip (you definitely want to go to Disneyland).
2- We need $100.00 down payment turned in to the SHHS Finance office by September 30th. We have to turn in this down payment to hold our spots on the bus. This date is FIRM.
3- Register online at www.footlockerwest.com by September 30th.
4- Sign and return the parent permission slip attached here.

Our basic itinerary is as follows:
Thursday--Leave at approximately 7:00 am. We'll stop in St. George for a workout, then drive on to California.
Friday--Friday morning we'll go to Mt. SACC to register and jog the course. After that, we'll head to Huntington Beach for the afternoon--swimming, volleyball, frisbee, and of course, dinner at RUBY'S DINER at the end of the pier...mmm, I can taste it now!
Saturday--We'll race Saturday morning at Mt. SACC. That afternoon, we'll head to Disneyland for the evening. Disneyland will be all decked out in Christmas decorations...it is SUCH a great time!
Sunday--We'll get up early Sunday morning and drive straight home. We should be back by about 9:00 pm, exhausted but with memories that will last a lifetime! We hope you can be with us.

I'm attaching the information we are sending home with the athletes, in case you lose the originals. Click Here.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Salem Hills at Spanish Fork Results


Salem Hills went over to Spanish Fork on Tuesday, September 16th to compete against the Dons, along with Payson, Juab and Emery High Schools. It was a great day for a cross-country meet, although the weather was a little warm...

Our girls' team was once again able to come away victorious, despite being without a couple of our varsity members. Cosette Stone stepped forward to win the girls' race in a time of 19:56, followed close behind by her teammates--Kaetlin Bracken (4th), Jessica Hoffman (6th), Karlee Loss (8th), Mickenna Belliston (10th), Becca Jones (11th) and Mindy Stone (20th). Nice Job ladies!

Here's the link to the full results. We're thrilled by how many of our runners are improving each and every race! Keep up the hard work!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Bulldog Invitational Results

Yet another week has come and gone, and we have more meet results. This past Saturday we went to Provo's Bulldog Invitational held at the Kiwanis Park. The course is a nice spectator-friendly course around the park a few times, and it appeared our team enjoyed the race.

The highlight of the meet had to be the girls' varsity race, where our girls finished 2nd OVERALL!!! What an awesome performance by the girls, top to bottom. The girls were led by Cosette Stone (6th overall) and Cassidy Dascomb (11th overall). Close behind was Kaetlin Bracken (16th), Karlee Loss (20th) and Jessica Hoffman (24th). Congratulations GIRLS!!!

On the boys' side, Justin Sly again led the way for the Skyhawks, finishing 21st overall. He was followed by Tucker Pinder (33rd), Tyler Gebert (36th), Tannen Fawcett (67th) and Jordan Daniels (71st). The boys finished in 9th place, not a bad finish.

Click HERE for the complete results.

Next up for the Skyhawks is another Tri-meet with Spanish Fork and Juab at Spanish Fork Junior High on Tuesday, September 16th. Girls will race around 3:30, and the boys at about 4:00.

On Saturday, September 20th we will travel to Pleasant Grove's Doug Owen Invitational. There are only two races--Girls at 9:00 am and Boys at 9:45. The bus will leave the SHHS parking lot at 7:15 am. DON'T BE LATE!

Also, just a reminder that our Cedar City trip is fast approaching. Don't forget to pay your $45.00 to the finance office this week. This will cover your transportation, hotel, race entry and food for the trip. Get that money in ASAP, so we can get a final head count!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Our First Home Meet

Tuesday, September 9th, we hosted our first home meet at Salem Hills High School. Spanish Fork, Payson and Juab all joined us for a great day of cross country racing. The weather was great for racing--overcast with a light rain off and on. It made for some great competition.

In the girls' race, Salem Hills exceeded all expectations with their great performance, led by freshman newcomer Margo Brockbank, who finished the 3.0 mile course in 19:53, outdistancing Spanish Fork's Bethany Carson over the last 400 meters to finish 22 seconds ahead. After Margo came a wave of Salem Hills' girls including: Cassidy Dascomb (3rd), Cosette Stone(4th), Kaetlin Bracken(5th), Karlee Loss(8th) and Jessica Hoffman(9th) all in the top 10. Nice job girls.

In the boys' race, Salem Hills got into a dogfight with Spanish Fork that ended in a 3 point loss. The boys did a great job fighting and clawing back into the race after a slow start, but came up just short this time. Congratulations boys on a great race! The Skyhawks were led by senior Justin Sly, who out-sprinted two Dons to finish 1st overall with a time of 16:56. He was joined by Tucker Pinder (4th) and Tyler Gebert (5th) in the top five. Tannen Fawcett (11th) and Jordan Daniels (12th) rounded out our scoring Varsity. Great job 'Hawks!

Click here for the complete results

Monday, September 8, 2008

Wasatch Invitational Results

WOW!!! What an incredibly challenging course we saw on Saturday! We won't see a tougher course anywhere the rest of the season, of that I am quite certain. We, as coaches, could not be MORE pleased with the way the Skyhawks raced! Before the race began, we challenged the team to start the tradition of Salem Hills being a "Hill-loving" team. Boy, did we EVER start that tradition. Our boy's and girl's teams both raced VERY well and finished 6th and 4th overall, respectively. We definitely sent a message to the rest of the schools in our region that we are here, and we are ready to compete!

If you want to check out the complete results from this weekend, click here.

For this week's schedule, we will be hosting Payson, Spanish Fork and Juab here at SHHS on Tuesday afternoon. The first race will be the girls' race at about 3:30, followed by the boys at about 4:00. This should be a great chance for us to show off our new course! Come ready to race!

On Saturday morning we will be racing in the Provo Bulldog Invitational at the Provo Kiwanis Park. The first race is the Girls' VARSITY race at 10:00 am, followed by Boys' Varsity at 10:30, the JV Girls' at 11:00 and JV Boys' at 11:30. The bus will leave the high school at 8:15 am. DON'T BE LATE!!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Grass Relays Results and Wasatch Invitational Information

Salem Hills Cross-country team made its first appearance this past weekend at the American Fork Grass Relays. It was a beautiful day for a race, and our athletes came ready to race! Coach Esplin and I are excited about our potential this season, and see some great opportunities for improvement. Our boys' varsity team finished 19th out of 30 teams. Not bad considering we were 7th out of all non-5A schools, and 2nd out of all 3A schools. The girls' varsity team finished 9th out of 25 teams, 4th out of all non-5A schools, and 2nd among the 3A schools. We have a great deal to build on in the coming weeks as we continue to improve our conditioning and develop our racing skills. If you'd like to find the complete results, including your own time, go to this link.

Also, this coming Saturday we will be traveling to Soldier Hollow for the Wasatch Invitational. It should be a great course (on the Winter cross-country skiing course), and good competition. The bus will leave the North parking lot at 7:15 am on Saturday morning. DON'T BE LATE!!!! The schedule goes as follows: Girls JV @ 9:30, Boys JV @ 10:00, Girls Varsity @ 10:30, and Boys Varsity @ 11:00. We should be home by 1:00, just in time for the BYU FOOTBALL GAME!!!

If you need directions to Soldier Hollow, simply go up Provo Canyon, and make the first left immediately North of Deer Creek Reservoir (onto Route 113), and follow the signs to Soldier Hollow. Very simple, I've been told...