As school has started, students leave behind the glow of summer, but the joy of fall sports brings a new happiness to student athletes. Volleyball, baseball and cross country are the three main fall sports in Region 20.
The month of September marks the halfway point for most of these sports, so let’s take a recap of Piute’s fall sports. Some stats and words from Piute’s volleyball, baseball and cross country coaches can all be found below.
Volleyball
Piute’s volleyball team this year may be small in numbers, but don’t underestimate them! After the loss of five seniors, the younger classmen stepped up and are taking the challenge of filling some big shoes. Piute’s volleyball team has nine girls that play varsity, with six of them being sophomores.
Assistant Coach, Kaylie Barney said, “The sophomores bring excitement and energy. They bring the fun, while the older girls have that more mature outlook towards the game. Between the two groups of girls, they are having fun and look good as a whole.”
One new aspect of Piute’s volleyball team is that they have a new head coach this year, McCall Blood. Coach Blood previously was an assistant coach for Piute’s volleyball team back in 2021. Assistant Coach Barney said of the new coach, “She is focusing on the technique and little things,” and “We are working on the mentality of our team and our skills. Our mindset and our confidence in our skills is something we are working on this year.”
Things to look for in Piute’s team are their progress and synchronization. Watch as the girls have fun and continually grow as one.
Baseball
Piute Baseball can be said to be one of the best programs around. They have a streak of winning five consecutive state championship titles. Piute baseball has produced multiple state champions and has broken school records. Not only that, but the kids that play learn valuable skills for after high school.
Assistant Coach Andy Barney said, “We try really hard to keep these boys humble, we make sure that they understand that just because we have five in a row doesn’t automatically mean that they will win this year. We believe that we are underdogs and with that mentality that we can rise up.”
So far Piute Baseball has had a win-loss ratio of 11-3. They are placed in the number two spot in the RPI (Ranking Percentage Index). Like the other sports at Piute, baseball had some varsity spots after the loss of great senior players. In baseball as well, the sophomores have stepped up and filled the shoes of past players. Coach Barney said, “I’ve never seen a group of boys that genuinely love each other like these boys, they really have each other’s back and I think that’s very special.”
This year the Piute Baseball program has been teaching the boys to “never quit. The game isn’t over until the last game is over.” Coach Barney explained, “All of these kids watch the pros and want to hit home runs, and that isn’t Piute Baseball. We keep focusing on never quitting and working on our line drive hitting.”
Cross Country
Cross country might be one of the most underrated sports activities. It builds endurance and gives a sense of freedom. Cross country, while a team sport, has strong individual aspects as it is up to the athlete how hard they want to push themselves. Cross country is the fall sport that can get lost in the mix of baseball and volleyball as it takes place at the same time as both other sports but has fewer formal events
Head Coach Steve Hoagland said that “this year Piute’s cross country coaches and I have been trying to emphasize to the kids that they need to be training on their own time. With our students playing multiple sports at time, we want the kids to be prepared the whole season rather than the week before state, so it’s a game of continually improving.”
For the boys this year Piute has four awesome seniors who have been running all four years of their high school career. Kade Severe has won Piute’s first two meets for the boys. Kole Westwood, another great athlete, has taken 9th and 2nd for those first two races. The girls’ cross country team has always been small, but definitely mighty. Their seniors, Ainsley Talbot and Kinley Shakespear are strong competitors.
Coach Hoagland said, “I don’t have the numbers I’ve had in the past, so we are still looking for more student athletes that want to join or support our amazing cross country team. Our younger kids such as Lenner Quinones (freshman), Kenadi King (sophomore), Jalee Barnson (freshman), and Alayna Severe (sophomore), are bringing big things to the table.”
“Again cross country takes a special kind of athlete. It prepares students for other sports, makes these kids mentally tough and those are the abilities that we love here at Piute High,” said Coach Hoagland.
– by Ari Hurdsman
Feature image caption: Kel Blood throws a pitch in a game against the Panguitch Bobcats. Courtesy of Mandy Morrill.
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.