The girls’ golf team had been gearing up for the Sate Tournament, on May 14, since their first practice in late February. The team has done well in their tournaments. As of April 22, they have come in at fourth place twice, third place twice and second place once.
While Ogden won the points to enter state in first place, far ahead of the other teams, the competition for second, third and fourth was very stiff. Morgan, Ben Lomond and Logan competed for these titles.
This is the first year that Utah high schools have had girls’ golf teams. Most involved with Logan’s team are happy with the progress they made this season.
Coach Nancy Krogh expressed her satisfaction saying, “The season’s going great, the girls are enthusiastic– they’re improving steadily and getting along well.”
Sophomore Katie Dahl agrees, “I think we have a great team. Pretty much everybody gets along really well and it’s been a really fun experience.”
Although girls were allowed on the boys’ golf team before a girls team was established, having a separate team has generated interest from many more female golfers.
Senior Amanda Hendricks, who has been playing golf since she could walk, played on the boys’ golf team last year and benefits from having an all-girls team.
“It’s different because girls have different problems with golf than boys. We can relate to each other better,” Hendricks said. “The girls’ golf program is going to be great for years to come.”
The Logan High Baseball team is having an exceptional season and hopes to carry it all the way to State.
As of April 22 the Grizzlies are 6-1 in region and are contenders for the Region Championship. Three games remain until they go to State on May 10.
The team went to St. George in March and was put up against two of the best teams. Logan played Dixie and Pine View, both of which are ranked in the top 10 of 4A. Logan fought hard but lost by one point in both games.
Logan has also had some really good games. Senior Dain Evans said the best one was in March when they played North Ridge.
Evans said, “They’re very solid, ranked in whole State, and have only had three losses, Logan being one of them.” Logan came from behind three times and in the end came out on top.
The Grizzlies had a good game on Tuesday, April 22. The team blew over Ogden 13-2.
Evans said, “We’ve won ones we needed and lost ones we should’ve won.”
Logan has set some goals for themselves. Evan said those are, “to take Region and win State.” Junior Matthew Christensen said, “The team’s main competition is Judge Memorial and Juan Diego for State and Bear River f or Region.”
The team is in good standing of accomplishing their goals.
The team practices Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in preparation for games on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Evans said he is sad for the year to end. He said, “I’m not done, but it’s my last year in my high school career and I’ve had a lot of fun.”
Senior Derek Van Noy is also sad to be leaving. Van Noy said, “I’m going to miss all the people on the team, especially the seniors.”
Senior Logan Brown mentioned that the team is doing really well and enjoys having Mike Hansen as their coach.
The team hopes to continue to do well and are looking forward to State Competition.
Logan High’s club sport, lacrosse, has experienced many highs and lows this season. As of April 21, their record was 4-5. Although this is lower than they had hoped for, they have had some success.
After making 33 saves in a recent game against Bountiful, senior goalie Lance Lumberg was named one of the top ten goalies in the state. In a down-to-the-wire-game against Weber, Logan pulled ahead in the final moments to win a once tied game.
“We’re really struggling with team chemistry on the field, even though we’re all friends,” Lumberg said.
“We’re good at proving our dominance in ways other than the scoreboard,” senior Justin Birky declared.
Commenting on this dominance, fellow senior John Goalen said that their hitting was a strong point. “We’re a very rowdy bunch; we have a lot of fun,” Goalen agreed.
In order to experience the winning season they wanted, the team felt a need to transfer the camaraderie they enjoy off the field into games. Goalen and Lumberg said that the team needed to work on passing if they were going to win more games.
Birky, Goalen, and Lumberg agreed that one major drawback of lacrosse is that it is a club sport and receives a lack of support.
Be sure to come out to Hillcrest Elementary next year to help cheer the Grizzlies on to a winning season!
Girls’ lacrosse, a new team at Logan High this year, has had a rough season so far.
Junior Eryn Anderson said, “Being a first year team definitely affects our games. It’s hard because we’re still learning the rules. I don’t want to say it, but we haven’t won a game yet.”
For a majority of the girls, this is their first time playing lacrosse. Junior Melissa Meikle says, “I joined the team because it seemed like fun; there was a boys’ team but no girl team.” This seemed to be a common response among the team.
In their last game against Bingham, they played strong, but by the end they had lost by six points.
“We worked hard but they were better, anyone is against a first year team.” Anderson said.
The girls lacrosse team has been working hard to try and get on top; they practice every weekday for two hours.
“Hopefully our practice will pay off in our next game against Judge. We’re totally going to win because they are a first year team, too!” Anderson said, expressing her enthusiasm.
In the game against Judge, the girls’ lacrosse team put up a good fight, but lost. The team will not be attending the region or state tournaments this year.
For many people with siblings involved in sports, playing within the family is where it all starts.
Playing or coaching a high school sports with other members of a family can be beneficial. Girls basketball and track coach Kelly Bennett, for example, has had many opportunities in his years to coach his kids. He has enjoyed it, although for team sports it can be a bit of a pressure situation.
Bennett said, “When you are your kid’s coach, others think that you favor your kid. You just have to deal with it.”
This also puts pressure on the player because they are generally held to a higher standard so that there is no doubt of the reasons why they are on the team and playing their respective amounts of time.
Coach Bennett says he pushes his kids to be better anyways. He also knows of coaches stepping down from their positions once their children are old enough to play for them, in order to alleviate these issues.
Individual sports can be much easier for the parent-coach relationship. In a sport such as track or cross country, where there are no tryouts and all players can participate, a lot of that pressure is eliminated and the focus can be primarily on improving and having fun.
Rachael Bennett, daughter of Coach Bennett, has always enjoyed having her dad as a coach. She says, “He’s pretty much the only coach I’ve ever had. I haven’t had many others, but I’ve always enjoyed it.”
While coaches with their own children on the team are pretty common, what happens even more often is players with a brother or sister on the team with them. Some examples of this at Logan High are Madi and Hillary Dodd, Josh and Spencer Thatcher, Russell and Daniel Olson, Kathryn and A.J. Anderson, and George and Joe Pauni. For the most part this occurrence is beneficial. Many times a certain sport is the forte of a family, and two or even three members of a family may play at the same time.
Russell and Daniel Olson both participate in track and cross country. Daniel says of this experience with his brother, “When he goes faster it pushes me to be faster. I think it helps me get better.”
Coach Bennett has coached as many as three members of one family at a time and he feels that it is awesome. He also said, “There is usually more pressure on the younger one to be better.”
Siblings are able to work hard and get better at their sport with a member of their own family, but they are often compared to each other. While this is not always a desirable circumstance, it can help with the competition of the athletes.
In light of those interviewed, there are a few times where having family members on the same sports team is not beneficial. In general, they are great for the athletes and good for the sport.
