Team of The Week: Soda Springs Track and Field

Ask anyone in the state of Idaho to list the top track and field coaches and Jeff Horsley’s name will be right at the top.  Coach Horsley has been coaching for Soda Springs High School in one form or another since 1997.  During his tenure he has put Soda Springs on the map as being a running powerhouse in the State of Idaho.  Even with his deep background and wealth of knowledge Coach Horsley is happy to have several coaches assisting him.  Alan Erickson is one of those assistants.  Alan is a Soda Springs native and has been a part of the school culture for a lot of years.  Sally Jensen is another one of the assistants who competed in track at the collegiate level for UVU and brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.  Ryan Yamauchi, Linda Seipert, and Jared Shelton are all involved as well in a variety of running, jumping and throwing disciplines.  Coach Horsley stated, “In track and field there are so many different things going on that if you tried to do it yourself there’s no way you could do it justice.”  

When asked about his coaching philosophy Coach Horsley likes to use track as a good metaphor for life.  “You get out of it what you put into it.”  He spoke about how some kids have tons of potential but put in little work compared to those who grind and work hard and get a lot out of it.  “You also see some kids that are grinders and sometimes things don’t necessarily go the way that they want.  That’s kind of the way life is.  You work hard and maybe you don’t get that promotion but through sport you learn lessons to be better prepared for life.  Out on the playing field is where some of those lessons might sink in.”  As the season has progressed and we get closer to districts I asked the coach what his team goals are expecting to hear answers like win districts or qualify a certain number of athletes for state.  Coach Horsley simply answered “We just want to be better than we were the day before.  If we’re working in a manner that is going to help us get better then all those other things fall into place.”  When asked which athletes he would consider standouts on the team Coach Horsley refused to mention names but answered, “The kids that are having success, it’s not by mistake.  Those are the kids doing extra stuff.  Trying to get better and have a good work ethic and that translates into being successful.”

Looking at the results from their most recent meet it appears that Soda Springs has a wealth of athletes with just that type of work ethic.  Last Friday the Cardinals took part in the Direct.Com meet at Davis Field on the campus of Idaho State University.  This particular meet seems to grow every year and is becoming one of the biggest meets in our corner of the state.  With twenty-nine total teams of all sizes of schools from around the state the Cardinals would represent very well.  In the team scoring the Cardinal men would place seventh and the women’s team would top all teams outscoring the second place team Pocatello 101.2 to 70.5.  An incredible margin of victory considering the size and scale of the competition.  Some of the notable PR’s for the men’s team would include Zayden Garbett who broke the twenty five second mark in the 200 meters, Landon Moldenhauer and Austin Housley who would PR in both the 800 and 1600 meter races.  Cole Garbett would PR in the discus and finish second overall in the meet.  Additionally Degan Stoor would sweep the hurdle races and the 4x200 relay team would place a respectable fifth overall.  As you would assume the Cardinal women had their own fair share of success and PR’s.  Madilyn Kempe would PR in the long jump and finish sixth overall.  Anna Petrova would PR in the 300m hurdles and place fifth overall.  Lizzie Beutler would PR in both the 3200 meter and the 1600 meter race placing fifth overall in the 1600 just one place behind teammate Ellie Wood who finished with a season record.  Wood would also set a PR and place fourth in the 800 meter race.  Several of the women’s sprinters would PR including Macee Simmons who placed eleventh overall.  No other athlete could match the unstoppable Jinettie Garbett who swept the three sprint races while setting a PR in the 200 meters.  The Lady Cardinal relay teams would do very well also as they would place fourth in the medley relay, second in the 4x100 and take the top spot in both the 4x200 and
4x400 races.

Coach Horsley was very pleased with all of the performances and was thrilled to see so many Soda residents on hand to see the team’s success.  “We appreciate the support of the community and the school and hope we can continue to improve.”